The Colorado Avalanche are a professional North American ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). The team plays in the Central division of the NHL’s Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association (WHA) and joined the NHL as a part of the NHL-WHA merger in 1979. After the 1994-1995 season, the team relocated to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado Avalanche. The team had limited success as the Nordiques, but they won a Stanley Cup championship in their first season as the Avalanche. They won their second championship in 2001 by defeating the New Jersey Devils. Since their move, the Avalanche have won nine division titles, most recently in 2014, and two Presidents’ Trophies (awarded to the NHL team with the most regular season points), most recently in 2001.

The Avalanche play their home games at the Pepsi Center in Denver, Colorado. This arena is shared with the NBA’s Denver Nuggets. The Avalanche have had nine former players inducted into the NHL Hall of Fame, including Dave Andreychuk, Paul Kariya, and Teemu Selanne, who were all inducted in 2017. The team has also retired six jersey numbers. The offensive attack of Joe Sakic (number 19), Peter Forsberg (number 21), and Milan Hejduk (number 23) were a major part of the team’s two Stanley Cup championships. Patrick Roy (number 33) is considered to be one of the greatest goalies of all time.