The Colorado Avalanche began life as the Quebec Nordiques in 1972 when the franchise was an original member of the World Hockey Association (WHA). After winning the WHA’s Avco Cup in 1976/77, the team joined the NHL in 1979 when several WHA franchises merged into the world’s top hockey league.
However fans in Quebec were deeply disappointed when the club relocated to Denver, Colorado for the 1995/96 season and the Canadian city is still hoping to be awarded with another NHL franchise one day.
The move worked wonders for the team though as Colorado has won 12 division titles since relocating and a league-record 9 straight between 1995 and 2003 with the first one coming while based in Quebec. The Avalanche have also captured 3 Presidents’ Trophies as the NHL’s top regular-season squad with these triumphs coming in 1996/97/, 2000/01 and 2021/22.
As far as Stanley Cups go, the Colorado Avalanche have won the famous Stanley Cup trophy 3 times, which were in 1995/96, 2000/01 and and 2021/22.
The team currently plays in the Western Conference’s Central Division and have boasted many star players in Colorado over the years such as Cale Makar, Nathan MacKinnon, Gabriel Landeskog, Mikko Rantanen, Adam Foote, Matt Duchene, Paul Stastny, Alex Tanguay, Milan Hejduk and Hall of Famer’s including Rob Blake, Ray Bourque, Peter Forsberg, Jarome Iginla, Patrick Roy, Joe Sakic and Teemu Selanne.
Stanley Cup Finals 1996: Colorado Avalanche vs Florida Panthers
Colorado entered the 1995/96 playoffs as the league’s best regular-season team and were the top seed overall with a record of 47-25-10 for 104 points and won the Pacific Division. The Panthers, who were seeded 4th in the Eastern Conference, racked up 92 points from a mark of 41-31-10 and finished 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
Florida reached the Final by beating the East’s 5th-seeded Boston Bruins in 5 games, the top-seeded Philadelphia Flyers in 6 and the 2nd-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in 7 contests. Colorado, who were coached by Marc Crawford, downed the 7th-seeded Vancouver Canucks in 6 games, the 3rd-seeded Chicago Blackhawks in 6 and the top-seeded Detroit Red Wings in 6 outings to advance to the Final.
The franchises were meeting in postseason action for the first time and it was also the first appearance in a Stanley Cup Final for each team. The Avalanche had a win and a tie in the 2 regular-season meetings between the clubs and had home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs.
The series opener went to Colorado by a score of 3-1 thanks to scoring 3 goals in a 5-minute span in the 2nd period. The Avalanche pounded Florida 8-1 in game 2 with Peter Forsberg netting a hat-trick and the team burying 4 power-play goals. Colorado took a stranglehold on the series by winning the 3rd contest 3-2 with Joe Sakic scoring the winner.
The Cup was won by the Avalanche as they took game 4 on the road when Uwe Krupp scored at 4:31 of the third overtime period and Patrick Roy made 63 saves in a 1-0 shutout. Colorado became the third franchise to lift the Stanley Cup after relocating and the first to win it in the very first season after moving.
Check out the drama of the series-clinching game in this video:
Who led the Colorado Avalanche to the 1995/96 Stanley Cup?
Four of the league’s top-10 playoff scorers were members of the Avalanche as Joe Sakic led the way with 18 goals and 16 assists for 34 points in 22 games and won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP. Valeri Kamensky finished 4th with 10 goals and 12 helpers for 22 points in 22 contests, Peter Forsberg was 5th with 10 goals and 11 assists for 21 points in 21 games and Sandis Ozolinsh finished 9th with 5 goals and 14 helpers for 19 points in 22 outings.
As for netminder Patrick Roy, he went 16-6 and finished 2nd in goals-against average at 2.10, 3rd in save percentage at 92.1 and tops in shutouts with 3.
Stanley Cup Finals 2001: Colorado Avalanche vs New Jersey Devils
Once again, Colorado entered the playoffs as the league’s best regular-season team and were the top seed overall with their mark of 52-16-10 for 118 points and won the league’s Northwest Division. The Devils, who were seeded 1st in the Eastern Conference, had 111 points from a record of 48-19-12 and topped the Atlantic Division.
New Jersey reached the Final by downing the East’s 8th-seeded Carolina Hurricanes in 6 games, the 7th-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in 7 and the 6th-seeded Pittsburgh Penguins in 5 games. Colorado, who were coached by Bob Hartley, swept the 8th-seeded Vancouver Canucks in 4 games, edged the 7th-seeded Los Angeles Kings in 7 and the 4th-seeded St. Louis Blues in 5 contests to reach the Final.
The franchises were meeting in playoff action for the first time and it was the 2nd appearance in a Stanley Cup Final for Colorado and 3rd for New Jersey. It was also the 2nd straight Final for the Devils as they won the Stanley Cup the previous season. New Jersey won both games of the regular-season series but Colorado had home-ice advantage throughout the playoffs once again.
The series opened with a decisive 5-0 win by Colorado as Joe Sakic scored twice and Patrick Roy made 25 saves for the shutout. New Jersey won game 2 by a score of 2-1 with all 3 goals coming in the 1st period. Colorado defenceman Ray Bourque notched the winner on a power-play early in the 3rd period in a 3-1 win in game 3 but the Devils evened the series in game 4 with a 3-2 victory.
Alexander Mogilny scored the winner late in the 1st period in game 5 for a 4-1 Devils triumph to reclaim home-ice advantage. Game 6 went to the Avalanche as Patrick Roy stopped 24 shots in a 4-0 shutout to force game 7 in Colorado. Home ice definitely did prove to be an advantage as Colorado won the Cup with a 3-1 win as Alex Tanguay notched the series-clincher in the 2nd period.
Check out the series-clinching game video here:
Who led the Colorado Avalanche to the 2000/01 Stanley Cup?
Five of the league’s top-10 playoff scorers were members of the Avalanche as Joe Sakic led the way again, this time with 13 goals and assists for 26 points in 21 games. Milan Hejduk finished 3rd with 7 goals and 16 helpers for 23 points in 23 games. Alex Tanguay finished 5th with 6 goals and 15 assists for 21 points in 23 games while Rob Blake was 6th with 6 goals and 13 helpers for 19 points in 23 outings and Chris Drury finished 9th will 11 goals and 5 assists for 16 points in 23 contests.
As for netminder Patrick Roy, he went 16-7 and finished 1st in goals-against average at 1.70, 1st in save percentage at 93.4 and tops in shutouts with 4. Roy was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner as the playoff MVP for a league-record 3rd time in his career.
Stanley Cup Finals 2022: Colorado Avalanche vs Tampa Bay Lightning
Colorado entered the 2021/22 postseason as the top seed in the Western Conference as they won the Central Division with 119 points from a record of 56-19-7. Tampa Bay, who were seeded 5th in the Eastern Conference, had 110 points from a record of 51-23-8 and finished 3rd in the Atlantic Division.
Tampa reached the Final by edging the East’s 3rd-seeded Toronto Maple Leafs in 7 games, the top-seeded Florida Panthers in 4 and the 4th-seeded New York Rangers in 6 games. Colorado, who were coached by Jared Bednar, swept the 8th-seeded Nashville Predators in 4 games, beat the 4th-seeded St. Louis Blues in 6 and also swept the 5th-seeded Edmonton Oilers to reach the Final.
Colorado and Tampa were meeting for the first time ever in postseason play. It was the 3rd appearance in a Stanley Cup Final for Colorado and the 3rd straight for the Lightning and 5th overall as they had won the Cup in each of the past 2 seasons and first won it in 2003/04. Colorado won both games in the regular-season series and also had home-ice advantage.
The Avalanche scored 3 times in the 1st period of the series opener but didn’t score again until Andre Burakovsky scored at the 1:23 mark of the first overtime period for a 4-3 victory. Colorado pummelled Tampa 7-0 in game 2 thanks to a pair of power-play goals and a shorthanded marker while Darcy Kuemper made 16 saves for the shutout. Tampa rebounded at home in game 3 with a 6-2 win by outscoring Colorado 3-1 in both the 1st and 2nd periods. In game 4, the Avalanche triumphed 3-2 when Nazem Kadri scored at the 12:02 mark of the 1st overtime period.
Tampa stayed alive in the series with a 3-2 road win in game 5 as Ondrej Palat scored the winner with 6:22 remaining in the 3rd period. Colorado clinched the cup in Tampa with a come-from-behind 2-1 victory in game 6 as Artturi Lehkonen scored the winner at the 12:28 mark of the 2nd period.
Check out the series-clinching game in this YouTube video:
Who led the Colorado Avalanche to the 2021/22 Stanley Cup?
Four of the league’s top-10 playoff scorers were members of the Avalanche as Cale Makar finished 3rd with 8 goals and 21 assists for 29 points in 20 games. Mikko Rantanen finished 5th with 5 goals and 20 helpers for 25 points in 20 contests while Nathan MacKinnon finished 6th with 13 goals and 11 assists for 24 points in 20 outings and Gabriel Landeskog was 9th with 11 goals and assists for 22 points in 20 outings.
Cale Makar was named the playoff MVP and took home the Conn Smythe Trophy for his efforts and became just the 3rd defenceman behind Nicklas Lidstrom and Bobby Orr to win the Conn Smythe, Norris Trophy and Stanley Cup in the same season. In addition, Tampa’s Corey Perry became the first ever NHL’er to play on 3 different losing teams in 3 straight Stanley Cup Finals.
How Many Times Have the Colorado Avalanche Appeared in the Stanley Cup Finals?
The Colorado Avalanche franchise has played in 3 Stanley Cup Finals, all as the Avalanche, and won all 3 of them. They took down the Florida Panthers in 4 straight games in 1995/96, downed the New Jersey Devils in the full 7 contests in 2000/01 and beat the Tampa Bay Lightning in 6 games in 2021/22. Heading into the 2022/23 playoffs, Colorado is the only team to have won every Stanley Cup Final they have appeared in.
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Jamie is the founder of Hockey Response and he is the chief writer/ lead editor. Jamie has been playing hockey for over 20 years. He was the defenseman of the year in NL and has played Jr A level hockey. Jamie has coached several kids hockey camps and he was the assistant coach of the Western Kings.
