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161-604: Construction was completed and doors opened for the first event on September 20, 2003, with a sold-out exhibition hockey game between the Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers . The Colorado Eagles established a new record for minor league professional hockey with their 145th consecutive regular-season sellout, set on January 12, 2008, in a victory vs. rival Rocky Mountain Rage . Including playoff games,

322-579: A hat-trick . In July 2004, Joel Quenneville was hired for the position of head coach, replacing Tony Granato, who became his assistant. The 2004–05 NHL season was canceled because of an unresolved lockout . During the lockout, many Avalanche players played in European leagues. David Aebischer returned home with Alex Tanguay to play for Swiss club HC Lugano ; Milan Hejduk and Peter Forsberg returned to their former teams in their native countries, HC Pardubice and Modo Hockey . Nine other players from

483-732: A 43–30–9 record for 95 points, good enough to finish second in the Division, seven behind the Calgary Flames and tied with the Edmonton Oilers. The season paused in February for the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin , Italy . The Avalanche sent a league-leading 11 players from eight countries. Finnish Antti Laaksonen earned the silver medal, while Ossi Vaananen ended up not playing because of an injury; Czech Milan Hejduk won

644-545: A 45–28–8–1 record, winning the Northwest Division. Colorado had the league's lowest goals conceded: 169, an average of 2.06 per game. The NHL season was interrupted for the 2002 Winter Olympics , in Salt Lake City . The Avalanche had nine players representing six countries. Canada won the ice hockey tournament , with Rob Blake, Adam Foote , and Joe Sakic won gold medals. American Chris Drury took home

805-594: A Stanley Cup run with the Montreal Canadiens in 1993, he was unable to change the team's fortunes and the Lightning ended up losing 55 games. That team's .268 winning percentage is still the worst in franchise history. By most accounts, the Lightning's plunge to the bottom of the NHL was due to inattentive ownership by Kokusai Green. Rumors abounded as early as the team's second season that the Lightning were on

966-525: A ThunderDome crowd of 28,183. This was the largest crowd for an NHL game, a record that stood until the 2003 Heritage Classic in Edmonton; and it still stands today as the largest crowd at a Stanley Cup playoffs game. An injury to Puppa in that game, however, would see the Lightning lose the next three games and the series. The Lightning moved into a new arena in downtown Tampa, the Ice Palace (later

1127-479: A bronze medal. In the conference quarterfinals, Colorado defeated Dallas Stars team that had the second-best record in the conference, in five games. The team was swept in the conference semifinals by the Anaheim Ducks . The next day, Pierre Lacroix resigned after service as GM since 1994 and François Giguère was hired as his replacement. Lacroix remained president of the franchise until spring 2013, when

1288-746: A buyer. Although William Davidson , longtime owner of the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association (NBA), was thought to be the frontrunner, the buyer turned out to be insurance tycoon and motivational speaker Art Williams , who previously owned the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League (CFL). The team was $ 102 million in debt at the time the sale closed. Williams knew very little about hockey, but

1449-581: A chance to overtake the Thrashers one final time and once again become division champions for the third time in team history, on April 6, 2007, in the final week of the regular season, the Lightning suffered a loss to the Florida Panthers , the night before the season finale in Atlanta. That same night, the Thrashers defeated the Carolina Hurricanes and subsequently clinched the division. For

1610-541: A company of which he was a director would raise millions of dollars in investments in the Lightning, but his plans were unsuccessful and he was later convicted of wire fraud. The Lightning played their first preseason game in September 1992 against the Minnesota North Stars , and then turned heads later that preseason when Manon Rhéaume became the first woman to play in an NHL game, which also made her

1771-400: A contest Colorado would lose to Detroit 3–0. Colorado redeemed themselves in game two of the season on October 10, 2011, against the 2011 Stanley Cup champion Boston Bruins . Varlamov negated all 30 shots registered by Boston and posted the fifth shutout of his career and first win as an Avalanche in the regular season. Milan Hejduk scored the game-winning goal and first goal of the season for

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1932-504: A contract and began a holdout that lasted over a year. On June 30, 1992, he was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for five players, the rights to Swedish prospect Peter Forsberg , two first-round draft picks, and US$ 15 million. The Eric Lindros trade turned the moribund Nordiques into a Stanley Cup contender almost overnight, and is seen in hindsight as one of the most one-sided deals in sports history. In

2093-500: A fourth-round draft pick in 2009 . Jan Hlavac , a regular contributor, was also traded, moving to the Nashville Predators in exchange for a seventh-round pick in 2008 . Defenseman Dan Boyle was re-signed to a six-year contract extension reportedly worth $ 40 million. However, after the trade deadline, the Lightning fared no better than they had throughout the entire season. After the February 26 trade deadline,

2254-404: A franchise cornerstone player for years to come. The Lightning were the worst team on the road in the NHL, winning only 11 games. Another showing of the team's poor play was the difference from the previous season's success in the overtime/shootout periods. In the 2006–07 season, the Lightning had one of the best extra period records, winning 15 games in either overtime or the shootout. However, in

2415-696: A free agent during the summer of 1997, Joe Sakic signed a three-year, $ 21 million offer sheet with the New York Rangers . Under the collective agreement in place at the time between the NHL and NHL Players' Association (NHLPA), the Avalanche had one week to match the Rangers' offer or let go of Sakic. Colorado would match the offer, which instigated a salary raise for NHL players. The Avalanche sent 10 players representing seven countries, as well as head coach Marc Crawford representing Canada, to

2576-536: A heavy burden for the Avalanche in the salary cap era. That same season saw an 11-year sell-out streak of 487 home games ended on October 16, 2006, in a home game against the Chicago Blackhawks, that saw the Pepsi Center under capacity by 326 seats. The sell-out streak was an all-time NHL record for the longest consecutive attendance sell-outs at home games with 487; and began on November 9, 1995, on

2737-547: A host for the 2026 NCAA Hockey Frozen Four Regional round and previously hosted the 2022 Frozen Four Regional. 40°26′38″N 104°59′22″W  /  40.44389°N 104.98944°W  / 40.44389; -104.98944 Colorado Avalanche This is an accepted version of this page The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver . The Avalanche compete in

2898-661: A later date; they would wear patches in honor of the Columbine victims on their jerseys during the playoffs. The series was altered to a 2–3–2 format as a result of the tragedy. After defeating both the San Jose Sharks and the Detroit Red Wings in six games in the first two rounds, Colorado met the Presidents' Trophy-winning Dallas Stars in the conference finals, where they lost in seven games. Forsberg,

3059-674: A league championship. They were also the second major North American sports team to win a championship a year after moving, joining the National Football League (NFL)'s 1937 Washington Redskins . In the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals , the Avalanche defeated the New Jersey Devils in seven games to win their second championship. In the 2022 Stanley Cup Finals , the Avalanche defeated the Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win their third championship. As

3220-446: A lower point total at this time of the season, with 40 points. On February 13, 2008, it was announced that Palace Sports & Entertainment had agreed to sell the Lightning to OK Hockey LLC, a group headed by Oren Koules , a producer of the Saw horror movies, and Len Barrie , a former NHL player and real estate developer. The Lightning were active during the trade deadline, similar to

3381-618: A move in any of the four major North American sports leagues, following the NFL's Washington Commanders . They also became the second team from the WHA to win the Cup. With the Cup win, Russians Alexei Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky, and Swede Peter Forsberg became members of the Triple Gold Club , the exclusive group of ice hockey players who have won Olympic gold , World Championship gold , and

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3542-655: A non-expansion team since 1967. During the 2017 NHL draft , Colorado held the fourth overall pick, which they used to draft defenseman Cale Makar . Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida . The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in

3703-695: A pick acquired from the St. Louis Blues in the controversial trade that sent power-forward Chris Stewart , long time top prospect Kevin Shattenkirk and a second-round pick to the Blues in exchange for their first-round pick, veteran Jay McClement and 2006 former first overall pick, Erik Johnson . A complete overhaul at the goal-tending position sent Peter Budaj to the Montreal Canadiens and Brian Elliott to St. Louis, Elliott having been acquired from

3864-476: A player who would be a cornerstone of the team for years to come. Williams was widely seen as being in over his head. Early in the 1998–99 season, the Lightning lost ten games in a row, all but ending any chance of making the playoffs. They ended up losing 54 games that year, more than the expansion Nashville Predators . By the spring of 1999, Williams had seen enough. He had not attended a game in some time because "this team broke my heart". He lost $ 20 million in

4025-611: A playoff spot. Unable to make a final push for the playoffs, they were officially eliminated from contention within the first week of April. The Lightning finished the season 34–36–12 for 80 points, fourth in the Southeast Division and 12th in the Eastern Conference. Steven Stamkos scored 51 goals in just his second NHL season, earning himself a share of the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy by finishing tied for

4186-684: A purchase agreement for the team and the leasehold on the St. Pete Times Forum. MacLean is the former president and general manager of the Columbus Blue Jackets and former head coach for both the Blue Jackets and the Florida Panthers. The group announced it planned to keep the team in Tampa, but the deal collapsed during the 2007–08 season. The Lightning struggled to maintain success during the 2007–08 campaign . Although

4347-475: A record of 22–56–4 and 48 points, the worst record in the league and the franchise's worst since moving to Denver (only the 1989–90 and 1990–91 Nordiques finished with fewer points). It was also the worst record of any team in the NHL since the Atlanta Thrashers finished with a record of 14–61–7 and 39 points in the 1999–2000 season (which was their first season in the league) and one of the worst for

4508-438: A record of 30–43–11 for 71 points. Another disappointing season followed in the lockout-shortened 1994–95 season with a record of 17–28–3 for 37 points. In their fourth season, 1995–96 , backed by Bradley's team-leading 79 points, second-year forward Alexander Selivanov 's 31 goals, and Roman Hamrlik 's All-Star year on defense, the Lightning finally qualified for the playoffs, posting a 38–32–12 record for 88 points, ahead of

4669-588: A record of 36–25–16 for 93 points, breaking the 90-point barrier for the first time in team history. They won the division by just one point, giving them home-ice advantage in their first-round match-up with the Capitals. At season's end, coach Tortorella was recognized for his efforts by being named a finalist for the Jack Adams Award , losing out to Jacques Lemaire of the Minnesota Wild . In

4830-538: A record of 46–22–8–6 for 106 points, second-best in the NHL after the Western Conference's Detroit Red Wings—the first 100-point season in franchise history. The Lightning lost only 20 man-games to injury. In the first round of the playoffs, the Lightning ousted the New York Islanders in five games, with Khabibulin posting shutouts in games 1, 3, and 4. In the second round, the Lightning faced

4991-644: A result, they remain the only active NHL team that has won all of its appearances in the Stanley Cup Finals . The Avalanche have won twelve division titles since moving to Denver (and set the league record for most consecutive division titles at nine in a row from 1995 to 2003; one in Quebec, the rest in Colorado), and qualified for the playoffs in each of their first ten seasons after the move; this streak ended in 2007. The Quebec Nordiques were one of

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5152-458: A season, with 95 (finishing with 108). The record was previously held by Martin St. Louis, who had set the record in the 2003–04 Stanley Cup-winning year. Lecavalier also broke the franchise's goal-scoring record, finishing with a league-leading 52 goals. The Lightning were busy during the final weeks before the NHL's trade deadline, acquiring wingers Kyle Wanvig , Stephen Baby and defenseman Shane O'Brien . Former first-round pick Nikita Alexeev

5313-698: A separate subsidiary, Ascent Entertainment Group Inc., which went public in 1995. COMSAT retained an 80% controlling interest, with the other 20% available on NASDAQ . The Avalanche played their first game in the McNichols Sports Arena in Denver on October 6, 1995, winning 3–2 against the Detroit Red Wings . It marked a return of the NHL to Denver after an absence of 13 years, when the Colorado Rockies (not to be confused with

5474-629: A silver medal. With the win, Blake and Sakic became members of the Triple Gold Club. The Avalanche advanced through the first two rounds of the playoffs, winning 4–3 against the Los Angeles Kings and 4–3 against the San Jose Sharks. Patrick Roy had a shutout on the decisive game of each series. The Avalanche made the conference finals for the fourth consecutive season (and sixth overall in the last seven seasons), meeting

5635-601: A trade to a contender for a chance to win the Stanley Cup. However, Colorado lost in the conference finals against the Dallas Stars in seven games after defeating the Phoenix Coyotes and Detroit Red Wings in five games. The Avalanche's success came amid considerable turmoil in the front office. COMSAT's diversification into sports ownership was proving a drain on the company. Cost overruns associated with

5796-461: A website with the slogan "Seen Stamkos?" On July 4, 2008, Dan Boyle, despite coming off a recent contract extension, was traded (along with Brad Lukowich ) to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Matt Carle , Ty Wishart , a first-round draft pick in 2009 and a fourth-round pick in 2010 . Boyle was pressured to waive his no-trade clause by Tampa Bay's ownership, who said they would otherwise place him on waivers, where he would likely be claimed by

5957-499: Is still the worst in franchise history. As a result, the team earned three consecutive first overall draft picks, used to select Mats Sundin ( 1989 ), Owen Nolan ( 1990 ), and Eric Lindros ( 1991 ). Lindros made it clear he did not wish to play for the Nordiques, to the extent he did not wear the team's jersey for the press photographs, only holding it when it was presented to him. On advice from his mother, he refused to sign

6118-518: The 1998 Winter Olympics ice hockey tournament in Nagano , Japan . Milan Hejduk won the gold medal with Czech Republic , Alexei Gusarov and Valeri Kamensky won the silver medal with Russia , and Jari Kurri won bronze with Finland . In the following season, Colorado won the Pacific Division with a 39–26–17 record for 95 points. The team lost in the conference quarterfinals against

6279-594: The 2008–09 season in the Czech Republic against the New York Rangers as a part of the NHL's regular season "Premiere" that selects several teams to open the regular season in Europe. Barry Melrose would record his first win as a head coach in over 13 years on October 21, 2008, with a 3–2 victory over the Atlanta Thrashers. However, the Lightning did not get off to a great start as hoped, and Melrose

6440-576: The American Hockey League (AHL), as head coach. Bednar walked into a difficult situation. He was hired just a month before the opening of training camp, and thus had nowhere near enough time to install his own system. He was also unable to bring his own staff, having to make do with holdovers from Roy's staff. On December 10, 2016, the Avalanche allowed ten goals in a 10–1 loss to the Canadiens. The Avalanche closed out their season with

6601-660: The Detroit Vipers of the now-defunct International Hockey League . Davidson remained in Detroit, but appointed Tom Wilson as team president to handle day-to-day management of the team. Wilson immediately fired Demers, who despite his best efforts (and fatherly attitude toward Lecavalier) was unable to overcome the damage from the Kokusai Green ownership. Wilson persuaded Ottawa Senators general manager (and former Vipers general manager) Rick Dudley to take over as

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6762-579: The Eastern Conference . They play their home games at Amalie Arena in Downtown Tampa . The Lightning were founded as an expansion team on December 6, 1990, and began play in the 1992–93 NHL season . The team has won three Stanley Cup championships: in 2004 , 2020 , and 2021 . Since 2015, the Lightning have reached the conference finals six times ( 2015 , 2016 , 2018 , 2020 , 2021 and 2022 ) and have made four appearances in

6923-689: The Florida Panthers . Martin St. Louis led the team and the NHL with 94 points (his 38 goals were fourth-most after the 41 of tied trio Jarome Iginla, Rick Nash and Ilya Kovalchuk ), and won the Hart Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player. St. Louis also won the Lester B. Pearson Award for the NHL's most outstanding player as voted by the NHL Players' Association , and tied the Vancouver Canucks ' Marek Malik for

7084-724: The Hart Memorial Trophy , given to the NHL's most valuable player during the regular season; the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy , awarded to the player that has shown the best sportsmanship and gentlemanly conduct combined with performance in play; the Lester B. Pearson Award ; and shared the NHL Plus/Minus Award with Patrik Elias of the Devils. Patrick Roy won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of

7245-410: The Major League Baseball team of the same name ) moved to New Jersey to become the New Jersey Devils . Valeri Kamensky scored the first goal as the Avalanche, as well as the game-winning goal in the final minutes. Led on the ice by captain Joe Sakic , forward Peter Forsberg , and defenseman Adam Foote and with Pierre Lacroix as the general manager and Marc Crawford as the head coach ,

7406-419: The Minnesota Wild in the first round . Nonetheless, for his outstanding job as a first-year coach, Roy won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's top coaching honors. Just prior to the start of the 2014–15 season , Sakic was given the title of general manager while Sherman was demoted to assistant GM, formalizing the de facto arrangement that had been in place since 2013. Despite the front office changes,

7567-441: The Montreal Canadiens ; Lecavalier, Richards, and Khabibulin led the team to a four-game sweep of Montreal. Next, they faced the Philadelphia Flyers in the conference finals. After a tightly fought seven-game series in which neither team was able to win consecutive games, Fredrik Modin notched the winning goal of the seventh and deciding game, earning the Eastern Conference championship for the Lightning and their first-ever berth in

7728-449: The NHL Plus/Minus Award . A season of superlatives was capped with one final accolade, as The Sporting News named general manager Jay Feaster as the league's executive of the year for 2003–04. The Lightning had to wait a year to defend their title due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout , but in 2005–06 , they barely made the playoffs with a record of 43–33–6 for 93 points in a conference where six teams notched 100 or more points. They lost to

7889-536: The NHL's First All-Star Team , with Rob Blake elected to the Second All-Star Team. The following season, 2002–03 , saw the Avalanche claim the NHL record for most consecutive division titles, nine, breaking the Montreal Canadiens' streak of eight titles from 1974 to 1982. The division title came after a bad start by the team, that led to the exit of head coach Bob Hartley in December. General manager Pierre Lacroix promoted assistant coach Tony Granato , who had only three months of coaching experience as an assistant, to

8050-446: The National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference . The team plays its home games at Ball Arena , which it shares with the National Basketball Association 's (NBA) Denver Nuggets and Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL). Founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques , the team was one of the charter franchises of the World Hockey Association (WHA). The franchise joined

8211-431: The Olympic break . Three Avalanche team members played in Vancouver: Paul Stastny for the United States, Ruslan Salei for Belarus and Peter Budaj for Slovakia . Following the Winter Olympics, the Avalanche struggled but eventually clinched a playoff spot with 95 points on the season, a 26-point improvement from the previous year's effort, and good enough for eighth place in the Western Conference. The Avalanche fell in

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8372-427: The Ottawa Senators for Craig Anderson during the team's downward spiral the season previous. Goaltender Semyon Varlamov was dealt to Colorado from the Washington Capitals in exchange for a first and second pick, while veteran netminder and former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sébastien Giguère was signed as a free agent in hopes to mentor the young Varlamov. Duncan Siemens was sent back to his major junior team,

8533-412: The Pritzker family , backed out a few months before the bid, to be replaced by a consortium of Japanese businesses headed by Kokusai Green, a golf course and resort operator. Although it appeared on paper that the Karmanos/Rutherford group had more financial resources, it only wanted to pay $ 29 million of the $ 50 million expansion fee before starting operations. In contrast, the Esposito/Kokusai Green group

8694-414: The Saskatoon Blades in camp, while Gabriel Landeskog made the opening night roster against the Red Wings on October 8, 2011, at Pepsi Center. Adam Deadmarsh was promoted from video/developmental coach to offensive assistant coach after Steve Konowalchuk accepted a job as head coach in the minor league. Peter Forsberg's number 21 became the fourth jersey number retired by the Avalanche on opening night,

8855-418: The Stanley Cup Finals. Their opponent in the final round was the Calgary Flames . The final round also went the full seven games, with the deciding game played in the St. Pete Times Forum on June 7, 2004. This time, Ruslan Fedotenko was the game 7 hero, scoring both Lightning goals in a 2–1 victory. Brad Richards, who had 26 points in the postseason, won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player of

9016-408: The World Hockey Association 's (WHA) original teams when the league began play in 1972 . Though first awarded to a group in San Francisco , the team was subsequently sold and moved to Quebec City prior to the start of the league's opening. During their seven WHA seasons, the Nordiques won the Avco World Trophy once, in 1977 , and lost the finals once, in 1975 . In 1979 , the franchise entered

9177-421: The "Big 3" of Vincent Lecavalier , Martin St. Louis and Brad Richards , along with Vaclav Prospal , had performed up to expectations, they had little consistent play from supporting players. At the start of the All-Star Break on January 25, 2008, the Lightning had a 20–25–5 record, and with 45 points, were in last place in both the Southeast Division and the Eastern Conference. Only the Los Angeles Kings had

9338-407: The 1998–99 season alone, as much money in one year as he had estimated he could have reasonably lost in five years. Williams sold the team for $ 115 million—$ 2 million less than he had paid for the team a year earlier—to Detroit Pistons owner William Davidson, who had almost bought the team a year earlier. Along with the sale, the Lightning acquired a new top minor league affiliate; Davidson also owned

9499-414: The 2007–08 season, they won only three games, losing nine. Vincent Lecavalier suffered a dislocated shoulder as the result of an open-ice hit from Matt Cooke of the Washington Capitals in the game before the season finale in Atlanta. Lecavalier, who planned on having arthroscopic wrist surgery after the season's ending, would undergo surgery to repair his right shoulder as well. Cooke was fined $ 2,500 by

9660-479: The Atlanta Thrashers. In the fallout from the trade, Boyle would call Lightning ownership "liars" for misrepresenting the aforementioned events to the public, while former coach Tortorella later labeled them as "cowboys" and said he had zero respect for them. Frustrated at interference in the team's hockey operations by Barrie and Koules, seven days later, Jay Feaster resigned as general manager, despite having three years remaining on his contract. The Lightning opened

9821-399: The Avalanche and Nuggets in Denver for at least 25 years. Sturm had made his bid in his own name, and the city wanted to protect taxpayers in the event Sturm either died or sold the teams. While Sturm was willing to make a long-term commitment to the city, he was not willing to be held responsible if he died or sold the teams. After negotiations fell apart, Liberty bought all of Ascent, but kept

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9982-410: The Avalanche became stronger when All-Star Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy joined the team. Roy joined the Avalanche on December 6, 1995, together with ex-Montreal captain Mike Keane in a trade for Jocelyn Thibault , Martin Rucinsky , and Andrei Kovalenko . The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 47–25–10 record for 104 points, won the Pacific Division, and finished second in

10143-416: The Avalanche failed to qualify for the 2015 playoffs after finishing with a record of 39–31–12, resulting in a seventh-place finish in the Central Division. After failing to qualify for the playoffs again following the 2015–16 season , Roy resigned his posts on August 11, 2016. Following the departure of Roy, the Avalanche hired Jared Bednar from the Calder Cup champions, the Lake Erie Monsters of

10304-513: The Avalanche had since moving to Denver. Posting a record of 32–45–5, finishing 15th in the Western Conference (28th overall), and recording the fewest points since their days in Quebec during the 1979–80 season. The Avalanche missed the postseason for the second time in three seasons. It would be the first time in Avalanche history the team's top scorer would score less than 70 points on the season, as Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth would register only 59 points each. On April 13, 2009, just one day after

10465-492: The Avalanche hosted the 51st NHL All-Star Game . Patrick Roy, Ray Bourque, and Joe Sakic played for the North American team, who won 14–12 against the World team, which featured Milan Hejduk and Peter Forsberg. All but Hejduk were part of the starting lineups. Before the playoffs, the Avalanche acquired star defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht from the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Adam Deadmarsh , Aaron Miller , and their first-round 2001 draft pick. In

10626-426: The Avalanche made it to the playoffs but lost in the conference quarterfinals 4–2 against San Jose. Joe Sacco finished third in Jack Adams Trophy voting that season. In the 2010–11 season, the Avalanche saw their worst season yet since moving to Denver. They only had 68 points in the standings and had winless streaks after the All-Star break. They finished 29th in the 30-team NHL, besting only their division mates,

10787-474: The Avalanche's 2006–07 season, no team in the history of the NHL had ever made it to 95 points without earning a spot in the playoffs. In the Eastern Conference , three teams progressed to the playoffs with fewer than 95 points: the New York Rangers (94), the Tampa Bay Lightning (93) and the New York Islanders (92). For the 2007–08 season , the Avalanche signed two free agents: defenseman Scott Hannan and left winger Ryan Smyth . These acquisitions filled

10948-419: The Avalanche's eighth regular season home game during the 1995–96 season at the McNichols Sports Arena . The record has since been broken by the Pittsburgh Penguins, who saw their own streak end in October 2021 at 633 games. The Avalanche missed the playoffs for the 2006–07 season, missing it for the first time since 1993–94 , when they were still in Quebec. The team had a 15–2–2 run in the last 19 games of

11109-487: The Avalanche's lone representative at the 2012 NHL Awards, won the Calder Memorial Trophy, joining Chris Drury, Peter Forsberg and Peter Stastny for earning top rookie honors for the Avalanche. On September 4, 2012, Gabriel Landeskog was named the fourth captain of the Avalanche. Milan Hejduk relinquished the captaincy a week earlier. At 19 years and 286 days old, Landeskog became the youngest captain in NHL history at that time, being 11 days younger than when Sidney Crosby

11270-434: The Blue Arena. The Events Center has played host to: musicians Widespread Panic , David Bowie , Rod Stewart , Yes , and ZZ Top ; comedians Bill Cosby , Ron White , Carlos Mencia , Gabriel Iglesias & Larry the Cable Guy ; as well as Cirque Du Soleil , Ringling Bros. Barnum & Bailey Circus , Disney on Ice , The Wiggles , Sesame Street Live , and The Harlem Globetrotters . The Events Center will serve as

11431-414: The Bruins. After the firing of Melrose, the Lightning went 19–33–14 and would finish the season 24–40–18 with 66 points, their lowest point total since the 2000–01 season. With the second overall pick in the 2009 NHL entry draft , the Lightning selected Swedish defenseman Victor Hedman , who would also be another major part of the franchise for years to come. In the 2009 off-season, the Lightning removed

11592-477: The Chicago Blackhawks and the Edmonton Oilers , defeating them in six and five games, respectively. During a rematch of the previous year conference finals, the Avalanche lost to the Detroit Red Wings in six games. Detroit went on to sweep the Stanley Cup Finals just as the Avalanche had done the year before. Sandis Ozolinsh was elected for the NHL's first All-Star team at the end of the season. As

11753-574: The Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs for the fifth time in seven years. Colorado had a 3–2 lead after five games, but lost Game 6 at home, 2–0, and Game 7 in Detroit, 7–0. As in 1997, Detroit went on to win the Stanley Cup . Peter Forsberg was the playoffs' leading scorer with 27 points (9 goals, 18 assists). Roy won the William M. Jennings Trophy , given to the goaltenders of the team with fewest goals scored against. Roy and Sakic were both elected to

11914-602: The Eagles had sold out 181 consecutive games total – every single game during their first 4½ years of operation. Blue Arena was previously named the Budweiser Events Center, but changed after Budweiser's contract expired in October, 2023 after which Blue Federal Credit Union was awarded the contract. The Colorado Eagles hosted the 2009 Central Hockey League All-Star Game and the 2013 ECHL All-Star Game at

12075-472: The Edmonton Oilers in seven games, having led the series 3–1. Peter Forsberg was the NHL's second-highest scorer in the regular season with 91 points (25 goals and 66 assists) and was elected for the NHL's First All-Star Team. After the end of the season, head coach Marc Crawford rejected the team's offer of a two-year contract. Bob Hartley was hired to the head coach position in June 1998. In 1998–99 , with

12236-590: The Edmonton Oilers. Matt Duchene set a franchise record as the youngest scoring leader in Quebec/Colorado history with 67 points, sharing the club goals-leader title with David Jones . Former Avalanche player Peter Forsberg attempted a comeback in the NHL with Colorado mid-season. However, after two games, no points and compiling a plus-minus rating of −4, Forsberg announced his retirement from professional hockey. Captain Adam Foote also retired after

12397-548: The Hart Memorial Trophy for the regular season's most valuable player, and shared the NHL Plus/Minus Award with teammate Hejduk. Hejduk scored 50 goals to win the Maurice "Rocket" Richard Trophy , awarded annually to the leading goal scorer in the NHL. Forsberg was elected to the NHL's First All-Star Team; Hejduk was elected to the Second All-Star Team. Patrick Roy retired after that season, and

12558-416: The Lightning a "skating vaudeville show." Even in their first playoff season, the team was awash in red ink and Kokusai Green was looking to sell the team; however its asking price of $ 230 million for the team and the lease with the Ice Palace deterred buyers. A possible sale was further hampered by the team's murky ownership structure; many team officials (including Crisp) did not know who really owned

12719-454: The Lightning a financial nightmare, with a debt equal to 236% of its value, the highest of any major North American sports franchise. Even though the Ice Palace was built for hockey and the Lightning were the only major tenant, Forbes called the team's deal with the arena a lemon since it would not result in much revenue for 30 years. It was also behind on paying state sales taxes and federal payroll taxes. Finally, in 1998, Kokusai Green found

12880-415: The Lightning narrowly missed the playoffs. They would not tally as much as 60 points again for five years. Most of the Lightning's early stars were gone by the 1998–99 season due to free agency and a series of ill-advised trades. Crisp was fired 11 games into the 1997–98 season and replaced by Jacques Demers . Though Demers had presided over the resurgence of the Detroit Red Wings in the 1980s and helmed

13041-486: The Lightning were thought to be very close to respectability. However, they arrived somewhat earlier than expected in 2002–03 . The young team was led by the goaltending of Nikolai Khabibulin and the scoring efforts of Lecavalier, St. Louis, Modin, Richards and Ruslan Fedotenko . Throughout the season, the Lightning battled the Washington Capitals for first place in the Southeast Division. They finished with

13202-477: The Lightning won only five games. Finishing with a 31–42–9 record, with 71 points, they had the highest chance of winning the top overall pick in the 2008 NHL entry draft through the draft lottery, which they eventually won on April 7. They would use their first overall pick to select Steven Stamkos of the Ontario Hockey League 's Sarnia Sting who, like Lecavalier before, was expected to become

13363-462: The Lightning's new general manager; Dudley, in turn, brought Vipers coach Steve Ludzik in as the team's new head coach. Wilson, Dudley and Ludzik had helped make the Vipers one of the premier minor league hockey franchises, having won a Turner Cup in only their third season in Detroit (the team had originally been based in Salt Lake City ). However, as had been the case with Demers, the damage from

13524-448: The Lightning, beginning in 2008–09. The next day, the Lightning officially introduced him as their new head coach. Steven Stamkos was selected first overall by Tampa Bay. On July 29, 2008, he signed an entry-level contract with the Lightning in which he could earn as much as $ 8.55 million in performance bonuses. Leading up to the start of the 2008–09 season , the Lightning centered their promotional efforts around Stamkos, including

13685-503: The Lightning, this meant having to settle for the seventh seed in the Eastern Conference with a final record of 44–33–5 (93 points). However, the Lightning were eliminated from playoff competition on April 22, after a 3–2 home loss to the New Jersey Devils in game 6 of the conference quarterfinals. Following their playoff exit, on August 7, 2007, Absolute Hockey Enterprises, a group led by Doug MacLean , announced it had signed

13846-467: The Minnesota Wild in six games. In the conference semifinals, however, the Avalanche were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings . On May 9, 2008, the Avalanche announced that Joel Quenneville would not return to coach the team next season. Two weeks later, Tony Granato was named head coach of the Avalanche for the second time. The 2008–09 season was the worst season

14007-582: The NHL announced it would expand. Two rival groups from the Tampa Bay Area decided to bid for a franchise: a St. Petersburg -based group fronted by future Hartford Whalers / Carolina Hurricanes owners Peter Karmanos and Jim Rutherford , and a Tampa-based group fronted by Phil Esposito and his brother Tony , both members of the Hockey Hall of Fame . One of the Esposito group's key backers,

14168-752: The NHL for the hit, as Lecavalier did not have possession of the puck at the time. Perhaps the lone bright spot in the season was Lecavalier's winning both the King Clancy Memorial Trophy and the NHL Foundation Player Award for work through his foundation, including a $ 3 million pledge to All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg, Florida, for what would become the Vincent Lecavalier Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center at All Children's Hospital. Head coach John Tortorella

14329-632: The NHL in 1979 as a result of the NHL–WHA merger . Following the 1994–95 season , they were sold to the COMSAT Entertainment Group and moved to Denver. During their first season in Denver, the Avalanche won the Pacific Division and went on to sweep the Florida Panthers in the 1996 Stanley Cup Finals . The 1996 Avalanche became the first Denver-based team in the four major North American professional sports leagues to win

14490-432: The NHL lead in goals with Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby . During the season, the team was sold to Bostonian investment banker Jeffrey Vinik . Following the late-season collapse, Vinik cleaned house, firing both head coach Rick Tocchet and general manager Brian Lawton on April 12, 2010, one day after the season ended. In May 2010, Vinik hired Steve Yzerman away from the Detroit Red Wings front office to be

14651-507: The NHL, and the changing financial environment in the NHL made things even more difficult. In 1995, team owner Marcel Aubut asked for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government as well as a new publicly funded arena. The bailout fell through, and Aubut subsequently began talks with COMSAT Entertainment Group in Denver , which already owned the Denver Nuggets . In May 1995, COMSAT announced an agreement in principle to purchase

14812-409: The NHL, along with the WHA's Edmonton Oilers , Hartford Whalers , and Winnipeg Jets . After making the postseason for seven consecutive years, from 1981 to 1987 , the Nordiques started to decline. From 1987–88 to 1991–92 , the team finished last in their division every season, with three of those finishes landing them last in the league. This included a dreadful 12-win season in 1989–90 that

14973-586: The Nordiques. Paul Stastny , son of Nordiques legend Peter Stastny , also provided a link to the franchise's past. Before the previous season's playoffs, in a move reminiscent of Patrick Roy's trade, the Avalanche traded Aebischer to the Montreal Canadiens for the Vezina Trophy -winning Jose Theodore . However, the move would not turn out to be as successful when Theodore posted a 13–15–1 record in 2006–07, with an .891 save percentage , and 3.26 goals against average (GAA). His US$ 6 million salary became

15134-418: The Northwest Division and ninth in the Western Conference with a 44–31–7 record for 95 points, one less than eighth-seeded Calgary. Nonetheless, the result was greater than expected by hockey pundits; Sports Illustrated previewed before the start of the season that the Avalanche would finish 13th in the Western Conference. During that last game of the season, Joe Sakic scored a goal and two assists and became

15295-649: The Nuggets and Avalanche on the market. Finally, in July 2000, the teams and the Pepsi Center were bought by real estate entrepreneur Stan Kroenke , and brother-in-law to the Lauries, in a $ 450 million deal, with Liberty retaining a 6.5% interest. As part of the deal, Kroenke placed the teams into a trust that would ensure they stay in Denver until at least 2025. After the deal, Kroenke organized his sports assets under Kroenke Sports Enterprises . The 2000–01 season

15456-640: The Ottawa Senators in five games in the first round of the 2006 playoffs . During the off-season, the Lightning traded Fredrik Modin and Fredrik Norrena to the Columbus Blue Jackets in exchange for goaltender Marc Denis in an effort to replace the departing John Grahame , who had signed with the Carolina Hurricanes. However, free agent Johan Holmqvist would eventually receive the majority of playing time and most of

15617-473: The St. Pete Times Forum, Tampa Bay Times Forum and now Amalie Arena ) for the 1996–97 season . They had acquired goal-scorer Dino Ciccarelli from the Detroit Red Wings during the 1996 off-season, and he did not disappoint, scoring 35 goals while Chris Gratton notched another 30 goals. The team appeared destined for another playoff appearance, but suffered a devastating rash of injuries. Puppa developed back trouble that kept him out of all but six games during

15778-704: The Stanley Cup Finals, winning in 2020 and 2021 and finishing as runners-up in 2015 and 2022 to the Chicago Blackhawks and Colorado Avalanche , respectively. Additionally, the Lightning won the Presidents' Trophy in 2019 after they tied the then all-time record for regular season wins in the 2018–19 season, tying the 62 wins of the 1995–96 Detroit Red Wings (later broken by the 2022–23 Boston Bruins ), and won eleven straight playoff series from 2020 to 2022. The team's sustained success in

15939-399: The Stanley Cup. In 1996–97 , Colorado won the Pacific Division again as well as the Presidents' Trophy for finishing the regular season with the best record in the NHL, at 49–24–9 for 107 points. The team was also the NHL's best scoring with an average of 3.38 goals scored per game. The Avalanche met the two lowest scorers of the Western Conference in the first two rounds of the playoffs,

16100-493: The Western Conference. Colorado progressed to the playoffs, defeating the Vancouver Canucks , Chicago Blackhawks , and the Presidents' Trophy -winning Detroit Red Wings in the conference finals, all in six games. In the Stanley Cup Finals , the Avalanche met the Florida Panthers , who were also in their first Finals. The Avalanche swept the series 4–0. In Game 4, during the third overtime and after more than 100 minutes of play with no goals, defenseman Uwe Krupp scored to claim

16261-624: The addition of the Nashville Predators , the NHL realigned their divisions, moving the Avalanche to the new Northwest Division . Despite a slow 2–6–1 start, Colorado finished with a 44–28–10 record for 98 points, won the Division and finished second in the Western Conference. Between January 10 and February 7, the Avalanche had their longest ever winning streak with 12 games. Following the Columbine High School massacre , Colorado postponed their first two playoff games to

16422-438: The blossoming of Lecavalier and Brad Richards into NHL stars. Ludzik was replaced in early 2001 by career NHL assistant John Tortorella . The March 5 trade deadline offered another glimmer of hope when the team acquired hold-out goaltender Nikolai Khabibulin from the Phoenix Coyotes for three players and a draft pick. The 2001–02 season , Tortorella's first full year behind the bench, saw some improvement. Martin St. Louis

16583-442: The brink of bankruptcy and that the team was part of a money laundering scheme for the yakuza (Japanese crime families). Its scouting operation consisted of Tony Esposito and several satellite dishes. The Internal Revenue Service investigated the team in 1994 and 1995, and nearly threatened to put a tax lien on the franchise for $ 750,000 in back taxes. The situation led longtime NHL broadcaster and writer Stan Fischler to call

16744-435: The club in a 1–0 victory over the defending champions. In April 2012, the Avalanche were eliminated from playoff contention and finished 11th place in the Western Conference. Despite a 20-point improvement from last season's efforts, the team failed to reach the playoffs for the second-straight year, the first time the club history since their move to Denver. Head coach Joe Sacco signed a two-year contract extension shortly after

16905-524: The club's wins. The first half of 2006–07 was inconsistent for the Lightning, maintaining an 18–19–2 record throughout the first few months. January and February were far better months for the team, going 9–4–0 in January and 9–2–2 in February, driving them back into the playoff race. Fourteen games in March were split even, and on March 16, 2007, Vincent Lecavalier broke the franchise record for most points in

17066-506: The conference quarterfinals to the top-seeded San Jose Sharks in six games. Stan Kroenke purchased full ownership in the NFL's St. Louis Rams in 2010. Since the NFL does not allow its owners to hold majority control of major-league teams in other NFL cities, Kroenke turned over day-to-day control of the Nuggets and Avalanche to his son, Josh, toward the end of 2010. Kroenke had to sell his controlling interest in both teams by 2014. In 2010,

17227-406: The construction of Pepsi Center had shareholders up in arms. Finally, in 1997, COMSAT agreed in principle to sell Ascent to Liberty Media . However, Liberty was not interested in sports ownership at the time (though it has since purchased Major League Baseball's Atlanta Braves ), and made the deal contingent upon Ascent selling both the Avalanche and Nuggets. After almost two years, Ascent sold

17388-523: The days of the Edmonton Oilers" was not good enough as the franchise failed to win the Northwest Division title, ending the NHL record streak. The 40–22–13–7 record was good enough for 100 points, one less than the Northwest Division champion Vancouver Canucks. This ended a streak of nine consecutive division titles dating to the team's last year in Quebec. During a game against Vancouver on March 8, 2004, Canucks player Todd Bertuzzi punched Colorado's Steve Moore from behind, leaving Moore unconscious. It

17549-514: The defending Stanley Cup champion New Jersey Devils for the eighth spot in the Eastern Conference by a single win. Due to his stellar play in net, Puppa was named a finalist for the Vezina Trophy (losing out to Jim Carey of the Washington Capitals ). Playing the Philadelphia Flyers , a team seen as a Stanley Cup contender, in the first round, the Lightning split the opening two games in Philadelphia before taking game 3 in overtime before

17710-423: The end of the season, the Avalanche relieved Francois Giguere of his general manager duties. Colorado would go on to receive the highest draft pick in Avalanche history, third overall. That pick turned out to be Brampton Battalion star Matt Duchene . In the 2009 off-season, the Avalanche named Greg Sherman the new general manager and Joe Sacco the new head coach. The following month, top scorer Ryan Smyth

17871-555: The end of the season. Stand out rookie Gabriel Landeskog overtook Matt Duchene as the youngest in franchise history to lead the team in goals, scoring 22 in 82 games. Having resigned most of their free agents, the club wouldn't see much change in the 2012 off-season, with the exception of losing unrestricted free agents Peter Mueller , Jay McClement and Kevin Porter . Colorado would add Greg Zanon , John Mitchell and high scoring winger P. A. Parenteau to its roster. Gabriel Landeskog,

18032-450: The final game of the season. In the off-season, Colorado had two first-round picks. Present at the draft, former Avalanche great Joe Sakic served his first duties as new alternate governor and adviser of hockey operations of the club. With their first pick, second overall, they selected Gabriel Landeskog , the young captain of the Ontario Hockey League 's Kitchener Rangers . Second, they selected defenseman Duncan Siemens 11th overall,

18193-532: The final say on hockey matters. The Avalanche held the top overall pick in the 2013 NHL draft , which they used to draft Nathan Mackinnon , who had previously played against the team that Patrick Roy had coached in the QMJHL . Under Roy, in 2013–14 , the Avalanche returned to the playoffs, finishing first in the Central Division and second in the Western Conference, but would lose a seven-game series to

18354-483: The first goal of a 2–1 victory against the Boston Bruins on October 13, 1999. The Avalanche finished the season with a 42–28–11–1 record for 96 points, winning the Division. Before the playoffs, the Avalanche strengthened their defense for a run towards the Stanley Cup by acquiring Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and forward Dave Andreychuk . Bourque, who had been a Bruin since 1979 , requested

18515-425: The first round of the playoffs , the Lightning quickly fell two games behind in the series but followed the two losses with four consecutive wins for their first playoff series win in franchise history. However, in the semifinals, they went down in five games to the New Jersey Devils , who went on to win the Stanley Cup. The Lightning's dramatic improvement continued through the 2003–04 regular season , finishing with

18676-471: The first season after the trade, 1992–93 , the Nordiques reached the playoffs for the first time in six years. Two years later , they won the Northeast Division and had the second best regular season record during the lockout-shortened season . While the team experienced on-ice success, it spent most of its first 23 years struggling financially. Quebec City was by far the smallest market in

18837-443: The first time anyone connected with the Lightning or the NHL even saw Okubo was in the spring of 1998. Esposito was forced into several trades just to keep the team above water. The team's financial situation was a considerable concern to NHL officials; rumors surfaced that the NHL was seriously considering taking control of the team if Okubo failed to find a buyer by the summer of 1998. Forbes wrote an article in late 1997 calling

18998-585: The first woman to play in any of the major professional North American sports leagues. She played for the Lightning against the St. Louis Blues , and stopped seven of nine shots. The Lightning played their first regular season game on October 7, 1992, in Tampa's tiny 11,000-seat Expo Hall at the Florida State Fairgrounds . They surprised the visiting Chicago Blackhawks , winning 7–3 with four goals by little-known Chris Kontos . The team rose to

19159-484: The franchise's first Stanley Cup . Joe Sakic was the playoff's scoring leader with 34 points (18 goals and 16 assists), winning the Conn Smythe Trophy . The 1995–96 Cup was the first major professional championship won by a Denver team. The Avalanche are the only team in NHL history to win the Stanley Cup their first season after a move, and only the second team to win a championship their first season after

19320-552: The head coach position. The team's playoff spot seemed in doubt at one point, but the Avalanche managed to finish with 105 points, ahead of the Vancouver Canucks by one. The race to the title was exciting, namely the second-to-last game of the season, as the Avalanche needed to win the game to stay in the race, and Milan Hejduk scored with ten seconds left in overtime to defeat the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim . The title

19481-421: The interim status of Rick Tocchet, making him the full-time head coach and signing him to a multi-year contract. The Lightning had an up-and-down beginning to the 2009–10 campaign. Despite an overmatched roster on paper, and a team that struggled in the first two periods of many games, the Lightning remained competitive in the playoff race until March, when they went 5–10–1 for the month and fell eight points out of

19642-458: The last few seasons under Kokusai Green was too much for Ludzik to overcome. Even with a wholesale transfer of talent from Detroit to Tampa (a move that eventually doomed the Vipers, which folded along with the IHL in 2001), the Lightning lost 54 games in 1999–2000 and 52 in 2000–01 , becoming the first team in NHL history to post four straight 50-loss seasons. The lone bright spots in those years were

19803-510: The mid-1970s and coached the Calgary Flames to a Stanley Cup in 1989 , was tapped as the first head coach. Phil Esposito also hired former teammates from the Boston Bruins of the 1970s, including former linemate Wayne Cashman as an assistant coach and former Bruin trainer John "Frosty" Forristal as the team's trainer. The inaugural team photo has him flanked by Cashman and player Ken Hodge, Jr. , son of his other Bruins' linemate. In 1991, Angus Montagu, 12th Duke of Manchester announced that

19964-578: The new general manager on a five-year contract. Yzerman then hired Guy Boucher from the Montreal Canadiens organization to succeed Rick Tocchet as the head coach two weeks later. Yzerman's first off-season with Tampa Bay began with a splash. With the sixth pick of the 2010 NHL entry draft , the Lightning selected forward Brett Connolly despite a history of injuries while playing for the Western Hockey League (WHL)'s Prince George Cougars . On July 1, 2010, veteran blueliner Andrej Meszaros

20125-679: The playoffs' leading scorer with 24 points (8 goals and 16 assists), was again elected to the NHL's First All-Star team, and Chris Drury won the Calder Memorial Trophy for the best rookie of the season. Both Drury and Hejduk were elected to the NHL All-Rookie Team at the end of the season. It was in the 1999–2000 season that the Colorado Avalanche played their first game in the new Pepsi Center , which cost US$ 160 million. Milan Hejduk scored

20286-410: The playoffs, Colorado swept their conference quarterfinals against the Vancouver Canucks. In the conference semifinals, the Avalanche defeated the Los Angeles Kings in seven games, after having wasted a 3–1 lead. After the last game of the series, Peter Forsberg underwent surgery to remove a ruptured spleen and it was announced he would not play until the following season. The injury was a huge upset for

20447-424: The playoffs. Shjon Podein was awarded the King Clancy Memorial Trophy for significant humanitarian contributions to his community, namely his work on charitable organizations and his own children foundation. Ray Bourque and Joe Sakic were elected to the NHL's First All-Star Team. Rob Blake was elected to the Second All-Star Team. In the 2001–02 season , Colorado finished the regular season with 99 points from

20608-536: The playoffs; the Lightning had won all 31 contests in which he had scored a goal since the opening of the season. Tortorella won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's Coach of the Year. Only three years after their last of four consecutive seasons of 50 or more losses, and in only their 12th year of existence, the Lightning became the southernmost team ever to win the Stanley Cup, an accomplishment since surpassed by

20769-584: The previous season. More notable trades included Vaclav Prospal's trade to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect Alexandre Picard and a conditional draft pick. Additionally, former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Brad Richards and goaltender Johan Holmqvist were traded to the Dallas Stars in exchange for goaltender Mike Smith and forwards Jussi Jokinen and Jeff Halpern , as well as

20930-583: The puck, whenever his team faced the Avalanche at Pepsi Center. In the 2004 playoffs , Colorado won the conference quarterfinals against the Dallas Stars in five games, but lost in the conference semifinals against the Sharks in six games. Joe Sakic was, once again, elected to the 2004 All-star team , winning the NHL/Sheraton Road Performer Award , and became the first Avalanche player ever to be chosen as game MVP , when he scored

21091-421: The roster played in Europe during the lockout. After the 2004–05 lockout and implementation of a salary cap, the Avalanche were forced to release some of their top players. Peter Forsberg and Adam Foote were lost in free agency to save room in the cap for Joe Sakic and Rob Blake. Although the salary cap was a blow to one of the highest spenders of the league, the team finished the 2005–06 regular season with

21252-486: The season to keep their playoffs hopes alive until the penultimate day of the season. A 4–2 loss against the Nashville Predators on April 7, with former player Peter Forsberg assisting the game-winning goal scored by another former player, Paul Kariya, eliminated Colorado from the playoff race. As consolation, the team won the last game of the season against the Calgary Flames the following day and finished fourth in

21413-422: The season, was fired and replaced by his assistant, Jay Feaster . Still the Lightning showed some signs of life, earning more than 60 points for the first time since 1997. Tortorella stripped Lecavalier of the captaincy due to contract negotiations that had made the young center miss the start of the season. With a young core of players led by Vincent Lecavalier, Brad Richards, Martin St. Louis and Fredrik Modin ,

21574-478: The season; he would only play a total of 50 games from 1996 until his retirement in 2000 . Bradley also lost time to a series of concussions that would limit him to a total of 49 games from 1996 until his retirement in December 1999. Center John Cullen developed non-Hodgkin lymphoma , and missed the last 12 games of the 1996–97 season; he would eventually be forced to retire in 1999. Decimated by these ailments,

21735-532: The second year in a row that the defending champions lost in the Finals, as the Devils themselves defeated the Dallas Stars in 2000 . After being handed the Cup from NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman , captain Joe Sakic immediately turned and gave it to Ray Bourque, capping off Bourque's 22-year career with his only championship. Sakic was the playoffs' leading scorer with 26 points (13 goals and 13 assists). He won

21896-418: The second-oldest player in NHL history to reach 100 points, behind only Gordie Howe , who had 103 points at age 40 in the 1968–69 season . During the season, Paul Stastny set an NHL record for longest point streak by a rookie, with 20 games, three more than the previous record, held by Teemu Selanne and Karlis Skrastins set a new NHL record for the longest game streak by a defenseman, with 495 games. Until

22057-468: The team Rocky Mountain Extreme . When The Denver Post leaked the intended name, fan reaction was so negative that COMSAT reconsidered and chose the name Colorado Avalanche . The new name was revealed on August 10, 1995. With the move, the newly relocated team transferred to the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. After purchasing the team, COMSAT organized its Denver sports franchises under

22218-411: The team owner's son, Josh Kroenke, took over as team president and governor. Pierre Lacroix remained an advisor to the team until his death in 2020 from COVID-19 . By the beginning of the 2006–07 season , Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk were the only two remaining members from the 2000–01 Stanley Cup-winning squad, with Sakic being the only one from the team's days in Quebec, though Hejduk was drafted by

22379-569: The team signed star wingers Paul Kariya from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Teemu Selanne from the San Jose Sharks. Both struggled during their first season with the team—Kariya spent most of the 2003–04 season injured and Selanne scored only 32 points (16 goals and 16 assists) in 78 games. There were doubts if goaltender David Aebischer could perform at the top level the team was used to while having Roy. Having "nine elite players", "the most talented top six forwards on one team since

22540-415: The team's needs and were expected to help make an impact in the playoffs. On February 25, 2008, unrestricted free agent Peter Forsberg signed with the Avalanche for the remainder of the 2007–08 season. A day later, at the trade deadline, they re-acquired defenseman Adam Foote from the Columbus Blue Jackets as well as Ruslan Salei from the Florida Panthers. In the conference quarterfinals, Colorado defeated

22701-529: The team. Kokusai Green's owner, Takashi Okubo, had never met with the Espositos or with NHL officials in person prior to being awarded the Lightning franchise, and never watched his team play during his seven years as owner. Nearly all of Kokusai Green's investment in the team and the Ice Palace came in the form of loans, leaving the team constantly short of cash. At least one prospective buyer pulled out after expressing doubts that Okubo even existed. In fact,

22862-493: The team. The deal became official on July 1, 1995, and 12,000 season tickets were sold in the 37 days after the announcement of the move. COMSAT considered several names for the team, including "Extreme," "Blizzards," and "Black Bears." It also debated whether to brand the team as a Denver team or as a regional franchise representing either Colorado or the entire Rocky Mountain region. Initially, COMSAT filed for copyright protection for "Black Bears", but reportedly decided to name

23023-481: The teams to Wal-Mart heirs Bill and Nancy Laurie for $ 400 million. However, a group of Ascent shareholders sued, claiming the sale price was several million dollars too low. Ascent then agreed to sell the teams to Denver banking tycoon Donald Sturm for $ 461 million. A new wrinkle appeared when the City of Denver refused to transfer the parcel of land on which Pepsi Center stood unless Sturm promised to keep

23184-399: The team—former NHL goaltender Darren Pang considered it "devastating... to the Colorado Avalanche". The team would overcome Forsberg's injury; in the conference finals, Colorado defeated the St. Louis Blues 4–1 and progressed to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they faced the defending champion New Jersey Devils. The Avalanche came back from a 3–2 series deficit and won the series 4–3, marking

23345-410: The time period from 2015 to 2022 has led some outlets to regard the Lightning as a modern NHL dynasty within that time span. The Lightning also went to the conference finals in 2011. The franchise is owned by Jeffrey Vinik , and the general manager is Julien BriseBois . Jon Cooper has served as head coach since March 2013, and is the longest-tenured active head coach in the NHL. In the late 1980s,

23506-476: The time, one of the best-ever showings by an NHL expansion team. Bradley's 42 goals gave Tampa Bay fans optimism for the next season; it would be a team record until the 2006–07 season. The following season saw the Lightning shift to the Eastern Conference 's Atlantic Division , as well as move into the Florida Suncoast Dome (a building originally designed for baseball) in St. Petersburg, which

23667-533: The top of the Campbell Conference 's Norris Division within a month, behind Kontos' initial torrid scoring pace and a breakout season by forward Brian Bradley . However, it buckled under the strain of some of the longest road trips in the NHL—their nearest division rival, the Blues, were over 1,000 miles (1,600 km) away—and finished in last place with a record of 23–54–7 for 53 points. This was, at

23828-442: Was also announced that Josh Kroenke, son of owner Stan Kroenke, was named President of the Avalanche, succeeding Pierre Lacroix. On May 23, Patrick Roy returned to the Avalanche as head coach and Vice President of hockey operations. Although Sherman retained his role as general manager, he was largely reduced to an advisory role. Roy and Sakic shared most of the duties held by a general manager on most other NHL teams, though Sakic had

23989-551: Was eventually fired by the Lightning with a 5–7–4 record. Rick Tocchet , who had been hired as assistant coach during the previous off-season, was promoted to interim head coach. On March 4, veterans Mark Recchi and Olaf Kolzig were traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the Boston Bruins and Toronto Maple Leafs , respectively. The Lightning acquired top round picks Matt Lashoff and Martins Karsums from

24150-471: Was fired by the Lightning following their worst season since Tortorella was hired. At the time working as an NHL analyst for ESPN , Barry Melrose stated on June 4 during an episode of Pardon the Interruption that he missed coaching and would entertain any NHL coaching offers. He stated, "I miss not having a dog in the fight." On June 23, ESPN reported Melrose had been chosen to be the head coach of

24311-579: Was guaranteed in the final day of the regular season, when the Avalanche defeated the St. Louis Blues 5–2 and the Vancouver Canucks lost against the Los Angeles Kings 2–0. In the conference quarterfinals, the Avalanche blew a 3–1 series lead over the Minnesota Wild , losing in overtime in Game 7. Peter Forsberg won the Art Ross Trophy for the leading scorer of the regular season, which he finished with 106 points (29 goals, 77 assists). Forsberg also won

24472-481: Was having a breakout season when he broke his leg in game number 47 and was lost for the remainder of the season. Khabibulin recorded a shut out at the NHL All-Star Game but was not named its MVP , by all accounts due to the game's voting protocol. By mid-February, the Lightning were well out of playoff contention and were sinking under a rash of injuries. Dudley, who had guaranteed a playoff berth before

24633-706: Was named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins at 19 years and 297 days. After a disappointing 2012–13 season which saw the Colorado Avalanche finish 15th in the Conference and 29th overall in the League, it was announced on April 28, 2013, that head coach Joe Sacco had been relieved of his duties. On May 10, it was announced that former long-time Avalanche captain and Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Sakic would be named Executive Vice President of hockey operations, overseeing all matters involving hockey personnel. It

24794-441: Was one of the few groups willing to pay the full $ 50 million fee up front. The Esposito group would win the expansion franchise on December 6, 1990, and name the team the Lightning, after Tampa Bay's status as the "Lightning Capital of North America". Phil Esposito assigned himself president and general manager, while Tony became chief scout. Terry Crisp , who played for the Philadelphia Flyers when they won two Stanley Cups in

24955-496: Was reconfigured for hockey and renamed the "ThunderDome." The team acquired goaltender Daren Puppa , left wing goal scorer Petr Klima , and veteran forward Denis Savard . While Puppa's play resulted in a significant improvement in goals allowed (from 332 to 251), Savard was long past his prime and Klima's scoring was offset by his defensive lapses. The Lightning finished last in the Atlantic Division in 1993–94 with

25116-571: Was said to be retaliation for a hit Moore had delivered to Canucks captain Markus Naslund the month before. Moore sustained three fractured neck vertebrae , among other injuries caused by the hit and subsequent pile up, ending his career. Bertuzzi was away from professional hockey for 17 months as a result of suspensions. In Denver, after the Moore hit, it became tradition for the home fans to boo Todd Bertuzzi every time he gained possession of

25277-422: Was the best season the team has ever had due to phenomenal play by the all-time leading scorer in Avalanche history, Joe Sakic. The Avalanche won the Division and captured their second Presidents' Trophy after having finished the regular season with 52–16–10–4 for 118 points. Sakic finished the regular season with 118 points (54 goals and 64 assists), only three behind Jaromir Jagr 's 121 points. On February 4, 2001,

25438-414: Was traded on deadline day to the Chicago Blackhawks. Other mid-season additions to the team included Filip Kuba , Luke Richardson and Doug Janik . Veteran Andre Roy , who had won the Stanley Cup with the Lightning in 2004, was claimed off waivers from the Pittsburgh Penguins . Throughout March, the Lightning had been competing with the Atlanta Thrashers for first place in the Southeast Division. With

25599-399: Was traded to the Los Angeles Kings and Joe Sakic, the only team captain the Avalanche had ever known, retired after 21 seasons in the NHL. The Avalanche named Adam Foote as his replacement. Sakic's jersey retirement ceremony took place on October 1, 2009, before the season opener at home against the San Jose Sharks where the Avalanche won 5–2. The Avalanche started the season off strong until

25760-522: Was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for their second-round pick in 2011 . Later that day, the Lightning signed star winger Martin St. Louis to a four-year, $ 22.5 million contract extension to come into effect on July 1, 2011. On July 19, in another move with the Flyers organization, the Lightning traded defenseman Matt Walker and Tampa Bay's fourth-round pick in 2011 for high-scoring winger Simon Gagne . Other off-season acquisitions included

25921-471: Was very visible and outspoken, and immediately pumped an additional $ 6 million into the team's payroll. He also cleared most of the debt from the Kokusai Green era. After taking control, Williams publicly assured the Espositos that their jobs were safe, only to fire them two games into the 1998–99 season. He then gave Demers complete control of hockey operations as both coach and general manager. The Lightning drafted Vincent Lecavalier first overall in 1998,

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