Colorado Avalanche

The Colorado Avalanche is an American professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado that plays in the National Hockey League's (NHL's) Central Division of the Western Conference. The Avalanche were originally the Quebec Nordiques, playing out of Quebec, Canada before they were sold and moved to Denver to become the Avalanche. As the Avalanche, the franchise has won three Stanley Cup Championships (1996, 2001, and 2022). The team plays out of the Ball Arena, formerly known as the Pepsi Center, which was built in 1999 and seats 17,809 people for hockey games. The arena is shared by the Avalanche with the Denver Nuggets.

A pre-game ceremony at the Avalanche's Ball Arena.

The Colorado Avalanche's primary logo.

When the Quebec Nordiques were sold to COMSAT Entertainment Group in May of 1995, the company had to find a new nickname (as Nordiques no longer made sense). Briefly considered nicknames included "Black Bears," "Blizzards," and "Outlaws" before the group decided to with "Rocky Mountain Extreme." The name was leaked to the public, and public opinion was incredibly negative, as the name sounded closer to an energy drink rather than a sports team. COMSAT backtracked and officially named the team the Avalanche on August 10, 1995.

The original Colorado Avalanche jersey.

Since then, the Colorado Avalanche have used a stylized "A" logo with a puck swirling around it to depict a snow flurry. The logo represents a force of nature, as the team stylizes itself. As well, the team has used a color mix of burgundy, blue, and silver since it moved to Denver, with a jersey design that has been unique since its inception. The jersey has gone through minor tweaks over time, with the team making a major change during the Reebok Edge era and introducing various third or alternate jersey designs, only to return to a version of the original jersey since. The one change on the team's main jersey came with the removal of the "yeti foot" third logo, which sat on the shoulder of the original jersey and would be replaced by the "C" from the Colorado state flag. Other small changes have included using the Colorado blue for the jersey numbers on their road white jerseys.

Before the Colorado Avalanche found themselves in Denver, hockey fans in the city were frequently disappointed by the clubs that called the city home. This included franchises such as the Denver Falcons, Denver Mavericks, Denver Invaders, and Denver Rangers, along with the more stable Western Hockey League's Denver Spurs, which lasted from 1968 to 1976, and the NHL's Colorado Rockies, which played in Denver from 1976 to 1982 before the franchise was relocated to New Jersey where they were renamed the Devils.

Early Quebec Nordiques team.

The club that would come to be known as the Colorado Avalanche was formally founded in 1972 as the Quebec Nordiques as one of the franchises of the World Hockey Association (WHA), a competitor league to the National Hockey League (NHL). As the Nordiques, the franchise was originally awarded to an ownership group in San Francisco, but when the deal soured, the WHA hastily intervened to resell the franchise to a new ownership group out of Quebec City, which moved the team to Quebec. The team had originally been given a "Sharks" nickname, but given the culture and language of the province of Quebec, the franchise was renamed "Nordiques" (which roughly translates to "Northerners" or "Northmen"'; Quebec City was one of the more northerly hockey franchises in either the WHA or NHL). The Nordiques would play out of the Colisée de Québec (or Quebec Coliseum), which had been built in 1949 and renovated in 1980 to expand seating from around 10,000 to 15,750.

Quebec Nordiques during their WHA period.

The Nordiques entered the inaugural season of the WHA with legendary Montreal Canadiens player Maurice "Rocket" Richard behind their bench. Two games into the season, Richard resigned as the head coach, and the Nordiques' director of scouting, Maurice Filion, filled in as head coach and was later promoted to general manager, a position he held for the next fourteen years. Unsurprisingly, the Nordiques struggled in their first few seasons, until in the 1974–1975 season, the Nordiques made the playoffs for the first time and even made it to the WHA finals that season, where they were defeated by the Houston Aeros, led by Gordie Howe. In 1976–1977, the Nordiques bounced back and beat the Winnipeg Jets in seven games to win their first and only WHA championship, known as the AVCO World Trophy.

With the WHA and NHL merger in 1979, the Nordiques were accepted (along with the other Canadian teams) into the NHL, where they were placed in the then-named Adams Division of the Wales Conference. As part of the agreement, only three players were kept by the Nordiques, with the rest going through a dispersal draft. The previously competitive WHA team was dispersed, and the Nordiques finished last in their division in their first season, mustering a meager twenty-five wins.

Quebec Nordiques forward during their NHL period.

The Nordiques soon turned that around with the signing of brothers Anton and Peter Stastny (later joined by brother Marian), who helped lead the franchise to the NHL playoffs for the first time during the 1980–1981 season. The first trip ended early, in five games, at the hands of the Philadelphia Flyers. The next season, the Nordiques returned and defeated inter-provincial rivals Montreal Canadiens until meeting the defending Stanley Cup champions, the New York Islanders, in the Wales Conference Finals, where the Nordiques were swept.

Players scrumming during the "Good Friday Massacre."

One of the more memorable moments of the Nordiques' history came in the 1983–1984 season. Following a lackluster previous season and an early playoffs exit at the hands of the Boston Bruins, the Nordiques returned to the playoffs and advanced to their divisional finals, where the team once more faced inter-provincial rivals Montreal Canadiens. These teams were at different places, with the Nordiques expected to challenge for the Stanley Cup, and the Canadiens considered lucky to be in the playoffs. There was no love lost between the teams either, as they had come to represent more than their clubs or fans and were often seen as symbols of the tensions, which racked the province during the period.

In the series, the teams split the first four games before the Montreal Canadiens won game five, pushing the Nordiques to the brink of elimination. On Good Friday, April 20, 1984, the clubs faced off for game six. Quebec jumped to an early 1–0 lead while the players took shots at each other and scrummed between whistles, turning up the heat. This exploded late in the second period, as fourteen different fights broke out, with the teams clearing their benches for the general melee. The fighting included Canadiens Mario Tremblay punching Peter Stastny of the Nordiques in the nose and forcing Stastny out of the rest of the game and Nordiques player Louis Slegher sucker punching Canadiens Jean Hamel in the eye, knocking Hamel out completely. Teams were sent back to their respective dressing rooms, and the remainder of the second period was played in the third. The brawl resulted in a total of 252 penalty minutes.

Quebec Nordiques and Montreal Canadiens players during "Good Friday Massacre".

In the third, the Nordiques rode the momentum from the brawl to extend their lead to 2–0. However, before the period came to an end, the game turned on its head, with the Canadiens scoring five unanswered goals in eight minutes to take the game 5–3 on a late Nordiques goal and to take the series. The game became an infamous playoff game for both franchises, increasing the legend of their rivalry. It was dubbed the "Good Friday Massacre."

Mats Sundin playing for the Nordiques.

With limited playoff success through the mid-1980s, the Nordiques lost playoff series in 1985, 1986, and 1987 before failing to make the playoffs in 1988 and ending a seven-year stretch of playoff appearances, leading to a five-year stretch of finishing last place. The Nordiques in this stretch were terrible, with the result of their stunning on-ice incompetency being first overall picks in the 1989, 1990, and 1991 NHL Entry Drafts. The first two selections were Mats Sundin and Owen Nolan, both of whom spent a few seasons with the Nordiques before being traded: Sundin to Toronto in 1994 for a multi-player deal and Nolan to San Jose for Sandis Ozolinsh in a one-for-one swap.

Eric Lindros, after being drafted, refused to wear a Nordiques jersey.

The 1991 first-overall pick became infamous. With the pick, the Nordiques selected the obscenely dominant Eric Lindros, who, at 6 foot 3 inches and 230 pounds, was physically capable and skilled to take over games. Every team wanted the big center, who had endorsement deals before playing in the NHL. The Nordiques, however, selected Lindros with full knowledge that Lindros wanted nothing to do with the Quebec-based franchise, publicly telling them he would never play for Quebec. This led to Lindros sitting out for the 1992 season and refusing to sign a contract, which would mean he would be available in the 1993 Entry Draft.

With little choice, the Nordiques traded Lindros. The trade added drama to the affair, as the Nordiques traded him twice. First, he was traded with a verbal agreement to the Philadelphia Flyers. But, Marcel Aubut, team president, would later say he got cold feet and went to the New York Rangers to get a deal slightly larger than the Philly deal. This led to mass confusion, and the Flyers filed a grievance with the NHL. The NHL assigned a third-party arbitrator to rule on the case. The process took five days and included more than 400 pages of notes and eleven witnesses before it was decided that Lindros was a Flyer.

Jocelyn Thibault when playing for Nordiques.

Despite the confusion and the mess the Lindros affair became, the return for Lindros made the Nordiques an overnight contender. For Lindros, Nordiques received Peter Forsberg, Mike Ricci, Ron Hextall, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, future considerations (which became Chris Simon), a first-round pick in the 1993 NHL Entry draft (which they used to select Jocelyn Thibault), a 1994 first-round pick (which they used to select Nolan Baumgartner), and $15 million cash.

The Nordiques managed to make the playoffs in 1993, and they were defeated in the first round by the Canadiens. And in the 1994–1995 season, following a division realignment, the Nordiques failed to make the playoffs. The last season in Quebec, the Nordiques reached the playoffs once more to face the New York Rangers, but once more exited early. That off-season, the team was sold.

The 1994–1995 season spelled the end for the Quebec Nordiques. The Nordiques had been playing in the city for twenty-three years, and in the NHL, it was the smallest market. Without a salary cap (which would be introduced to the NHL in the 2004–2005 lockout) and player salaries rising amongst the most competitive clubs, the Nordiques struggled to compete in player salaries. Further, the club's arena was the smallest in the NHL, and the team struggled to fill the rink. Along with struggling revenues from advertising and television, the team continued to lose money.

Team president Marcel Aubut had worked to fund a new arena, which was sorely needed but required provincial funding to do so. But Aubut and Quebec premier Jacques Parizeau were not fond of each other, and Parizeau instead offered to buy Aubut out, underwrite some team deficits for two years, and conduct a feasibility study on the arena. The owners, however, decided that was enough. Fans were ready for the change, as Aubut complained nearly constantly about the state of the team, and when those same fans failed to fill the Colisée de Québec during their 1995 playoff series against the New York Rangers, and those same fans failed to turn out for a save-the-Nordiques rally, the writing was on the wall.

COMSAT Entertainment Group, who already the National Basketball Association's (NBA's) Denver Nuggets, purchased the Nordiques for $103 million. The new team, eventually named the Colorado Avalanche, would play their first few seasons out of McNichols Sports Arena as COMSAT worked to complete the $130-million Pepsi Center (now named the Ball Arena) for the 1997–1998 season. For Denver-based fans, COMSAT's president, Charlie Lyons, noted they were receiving not an expansion franchise but one of the league's rising talents.

Patrick Roy during Stanley Cup Finals series against the Florida Panthers.

Denver fans would not have to wait long. The Colorado Avalanche played and won their first game against the Detroit Red Wings on October 6, 1995. The team had been built not just through the draft or the Eric Lindros trade but through shrewd trades and changes by the management group. None was more important than when the Avalanche traded for All-Star Montreal Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy after the goaltender had felt humiliated after being left in the net after having let in nine goals against the Red Wings. Roy would prove pivotal for the Avalanche, joining the likes of captain Joe Sakic, forward Peter Forsberg, and defenseman Adam Foote, led by head coach Marc Crawford.

Avalanche players celebrate their first Stanley Cup win.

The Avalanche finished the regular season with a 47–25–10 for 104 points, winning the Pacific Division and finishing second in the Western Conference. In the playoffs, the Avalanche won their series against the Vancouver Canucks, Chicago Blackhawks, and the Presidents' Trophy winners Detroit Red Wings. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche met the Florida Panthers, with both teams in their first Stanley Cup Finals. The series was short, with the Avalanche sweeping the Panthers. Game four went to a third overtime, with more than 100 minutes of playing time, before Avalanche defenseman Uwe Krupp scored the game's only goal to claim the franchise's first Stanley Cup. Joe Sakic won the Conn Smythe Trophy for the most valuable player during the playoffs after scoring 18 goals and 16 assists for 34 points to lead the Stanley Cup playoffs in points. The 1996 Stanley Cup also marked the first major professional championship won by a Denver-based team.

Following their first Stanley Cup win in their inaugural season, Colorado continued to win. This time, they won their Pacific Division (again) and won the Western Conference and the Presidents' Trophy for finishing with the best record that season, going 49–24–9 for 107 points. The Avalanche met the two lowest seeds for the playoffs in the Chicago Blackhawks and Edmonton Oilers, who the Avalanche beat 4–3 and 4–1, respectively. During a rematch of the previous year's conference final, the Avalanche lost a six-game series against the Detroit Red Wings.

In the 1997 off-season, financial problems led to COMSAT selling Ascent Entertainment to AT&T's Liberty Media Group for $775 million, and Liberty put the sports assets up for sale. At the same time, Joe Sakic signed a three-year, $21 million contract—after an offer sheet from the New York Rangers—which instigated a salary raise across the NHL for players. The team made the playoffs in the 1997–1998 season, only to fall to the Edmonton Oilers in a seven-game series after having taken a 3–1 series lead. At the end of the season, head coach Marc Crawford left and was replaced by Bob Hartley.

Goaltenders for the Avalanche and Red Wings fight during the team's rivalry through the 1990s and early 2000s.

The 1998 off-season also saw the addition of the Nashville Predators to the league, leading to division realignments that placed the Colorado Avalanche into the new Northwest Division. The Avalanche started the 1998–1999 season slowly but eventually finished 44–28–10, good for 98 points, winning the new Northwest Division and finishing second in the Western Conference. The Avalanche made it through the San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings to meet the Presidents' Trophy winning Dallas Stars, who beat the Avalanche in a seven-game series.

The next season, the team finally moved to the new Pepsi Center, which was originally supposed to be open for the 1997–1998 season. In the first game in the new rink, the Avalanche defeated the Boston Bruins 2–1 and went on to finish the season with a 42–38–11 record for 96 points and once more won the Northwest Division. The season also saw the Avalanche record their longest winning streak, from January 10 to February 7, with 12 consecutive wins. During this season, the team strengthened their defense when they traded for future Hockey Hall of Famer defenseman Ray Bourque and forward Dave Andreychuk from the Boston Bruins (who received Brian Rolston, Martin Greiner, Samuel Pahlsson, and a first-round draft pick). Bourque had requested a trade to get a chance to win a Stanley Cup. He would not get the chance that off-season, as Colorado lost in the Conference Final to the Dallas Stars once again.

In July 2000, after going up for sale in 1997, Walmart heir and business entrepreneur Stan Kroenke purchased the Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and Pepsi Center in a $450 million deal, with Liberty retaining only 6.5 percent of the sports franchises. The deal guaranteed the city of Denver that the team would not be relocated for at least twenty-five years. And following the deal, Kroenke organized the sports assets under Kroenke Sports Enterprises.

The season following the sale would be one of the better seasons in the franchise's record. The Avalanche won the Northwest Division and captured their second Presidents' Trophy with a regular season record of 52–16–10–4 for 118 points. Joe Sakic led the team with 118 points (54 goals and 64 assists) behind only Jaromir Jagr's 121 points. At the trade deadline, the Avalanche acquired defenseman Rob Blake and center Steven Reinprecht from the Los Angeles Kings. In the first round, the Avalanche swept the Vancouver Canucks. In the second round, the Avs met the Los Angeles Kings and eventually triumphed in a seven-game series despite wasting a 3–1 series lead. The Kings' series also saw star forward Peter Forsberg have to undergo surgery for a ruptured spleen, which would keep him out until the following season.

Avalanche captain Joe Sakic and Hall of Famer Ray Bourque celebrate Stanley Cup win.

Despite many considering the loss of Forsberg spelling the end for the Avs, the team continued to the Conference Final, where they faced the St. Louis Blues. The Avalanche took the series in five games to meet the New Jersey Devils, who had won the Stanley Cup the year prior. The Avalanche won the series in seven games, winning the last game at Pepsi Center 3–1. Sakic, after being handed the Stanley Cup (which always goes to the team's captain first), famously handed it off to Ray Bourque, capping off Bourque's twenty-two-year career with his only Stanley Cup win.

Following their second Stanley Cup win, the Avs began the 2001–2002 season with hopes of defending their championship. The team finished the regular season with a record of 45–28–8–1, good for 99 points and good enough to win the Northwest Division. Colorado also boasted the lowest goals allowed for the season. On their way to a Cup defense, the Avalanche met the Los Angeles Kings in the first round, taking the series in seven games. They took the San Jose Sharks in the second round, in seven games as well, before meeting rival Detroit Red Wings in the playoffs for the fifth time in seven years. In the seven-game series, Colorado had a 3–2 series lead after five games but lost game six 2–0 at home, and the Red Wings took the deciding game 7–7–0. Detroit followed the series win with a Stanley Cup win.

Detroit Red Wings and Avalanche players in a handshake line following the Avalanche's defeat.

The following season, 2002–2003, the Avalanche claimed the NHL record for most consecutive division titles at nine, breaking the record, which had been held by the Montreal Canadiens at eight straight between 1974 and 1982. The division title came despite a bad start to the season by the team, which led to the firing of head coach Bob Hartley, who was replaced by assistant coach Tony Granato despite only having three months of experience. The team's playoff spot, let alone division title win, was in doubt, but the Avalanche recovered and managed to finish with 105 points, ahead of division rivals Canucks by one. The season led to an exciting, down-to-the-wire race for the division title. However, in the playoffs, the Avalanche blew another 3–1 series lead over the Minnesota Wild and lost in overtime of game seven to be eliminated in the playoffs.

Paul Kariya while playing for the Avalanche.

Patrick Roy retired after the season, and the Avalanche signed star wingers Paul Kariya and Teemu Selanne from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. However, the off-season acquisitions failed to live up to expectations, with Kariya spending most of the season injured and Selanne only scoring 32 points in 78 games. There were doubts around the team's goaltending, but the team had nine elite players, which was considered one of the most talented top-six forward groups since the 1980s Edmonton Oilers, but it was not enough as the Avalanche failed to win the Northwest division title, ending the NHL streak. The team's record was 40–33–13–7, good enough for 100 points, one less than the Vancouver Canucks, who won the division. The team would make the playoffs and lose in the second round to the San Jose Sharks in six games.

The race between the two teams, along with attempts at retributive justice, led to an ugly incident on March 8, 2004, when, in a game between the Canucks and Avalanche, Todd Bertuzzi punched Colorado's Steve Moore from behind in retaliation for a hit Moore delivered a few games prior. The punch and the consequent fall on the ice, with Bertuzzi landing on top of Moore, caused three fractured neck vertebrae, among other injuries, that ended Moore's career. Bertuzzi was suspended as a result and spent seventeen months away from hockey and faced charges.

Avalanche defenseman Rob Blake.

The 2004–2005 season resulted in a lockout, and with the implementation of a salary cap, the Avalanche were forced to let go of 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. Despite the blow the salary cap dealt to one of the highest spenders in the league, the Avalanche finished the 2005–2006 season with a 43–30–9 record, good for 95 points and a second-place finish in the Northwest Division behind the Calgary Flames and tied with the Edmonton Oilers. The Avalanche defeated the Dallas Stars once more and fell in the second round to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The day after the loss, general manager Pierre Lacroix, who had been the general manager of the franchise since 1994, resigned. Francois Giguere was hired, and Lacroix remained as the president of the franchise.

Avalanche forward Milan Hejduk.

Owing to the nature of the salary cap and time, the beginning of the 2006–2007 season saw Joe Sakic and Milan Hejduk, the only players left from the Avalanche's 2001 Stanley Cup-winning team. Sakic was the only player left from the franchise's time in Quebec. In what appeared like an attempt to recapture the magic of the Patrick Roy trade, the Avalanche traded goalie David Aebischer to the Montreal Canadiens for Vezina Trophy winner Jose Theodore. The move did not work. Theodore posted a 13–15–1 record that season with a subpar 0.891 save percentage, which in part led to the Avalanche missing the playoffs for the first time since 1993–1994. They finished the season with 95 points and became the first team in NHL history to earn 95 points and fail to make the playoffs.

For the 2007–2008 season, with newly signed free agents intended to fill the Avalanche's need, the Colorado Avalanche had renewed playoff hopes. The team stayed competitive and reacquired popular defenseman Adam Foote at the trade deadline and went on to defeat the Minnesota Wild in six games in their first-round series. In the second round, the Avalanche were swept by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Detroit Red Wings.

Forward Ryan Smyth during his short-lived Avalanche tenure.

The 2008–2009 season proved a debacle and the worst for the Colorado Avalanche since moving to Denver. They posted a 32–45–5 record, good for twenty-eighth overall (in the then thirty-team league) and last place in the Western Conference and with the fewest points since they played in Quebec. The Avalanche missed the post-season for a second time in three seasons, and the team's top scorers, Milan Hejduk and Ryan Smyth, registered only 59 points each—the first time in Avalanche history the team's top scorer failed to reach 70 or more points on the season—and Joe Sakic played a career-low fifteen games. General manager Francois Giguere was relieved of his duties at the end of the season, and the franchise picked third overall in the NHL Entry Draft—the highest they had picked since being in Quebec—and picked OHL star forward Matt Duchene.

The Avalanche entered the 2009–2010 season with a new general manager in Greg Sherman and a new head coach in Joe Sacco, and the team seemed to be primed to rebuild through the draft. Ryan Smyth was traded to the Los Angeles Kings, and Joe Sakic retired after twenty-one seasons before the season began. The team named Adam Foote captain, the second captain in team history. Despite appearing to be a rebuilding team, the Avalanche earned 95 points—a 26-point improvement on the previous season—and earned a playoff spot. They fell in the first round to the top-seed San Jose Sharks in six games.

Avalanche forward Matt Duchen in his rookie season.

In the off-season, Avalanche owner Stan Kroenke bought full ownership of the St. Louis Rams of the NFL. As the NFL does not allow owners of their franchises to have majority control of other major-league teams in an NFL city, Kroenke turned the day-to-day control of the Denver Nuggets and Colorado Avalanche to his son, Josh Kroenke. Despite the underdog performance of the previous season, through the 2010–2011 season, the Avalanche failed to earn more than 689 points in the season and set a franchise record for losing and winless streaks, and finished twenty-ninth in the thirty-team league. The season included an attempted comeback by former Avs great Peter Forsberg, which ended after two games, in which he compiled zero points and a plus/minus rating (which rates goals against or for when a player is on the ice) of -4. At the end of the season, captain Adam Foote also retired, and the Avalanche ensured they had multiple first-round picks for the NHL Entry Draft.

Avalanche draft forward Gabriel Landeskog, future captain.

Present at that year's NHL Entry Draft was former Avalanche great and newly announced alternate governor and advisor of hockey operations Joe Sakic to serve his first duties for the club. With the club's first pick in the first round, at second overall, they selected Gabriel Landeskog. With their second pick in the first round, they selected defenseman Duncan Siemens. The Avalanche had worked to overhaul their team, sending players and goaltenders Peter Budaj and Brian Elliott, who had backstopped the poor season, were swapped for Semyon Varlamov and former Conn Smythe Trophy winner Jean-Sebastien Giguere to help mentor the young Varlamov. Gabriel Landeskog would make the opening night roster. However, the 2011–2012 season ended similar to the previous season, with the team finishing eleventh in the Western Conference despite a 20-point improvement on the previous season's efforts. They failed to make the playoffs for two straight seasons for the first time in their seventeen years playing in Denver.

Few changes came in the 2012 off-season, with the exception of losing some free agents and adding a few others, as the team tried to find a more competitive mix. Gabriel Landeskog continued to develop as a great young rookie, eclipsing Matt Duchene as the youngest player in franchise history to lead the team in goals, and would be named the fourth captain of the Colorado Avalanche on September 4, 2012. This made Landeskog the youngest captain in NHL history, as he was named captain when he was eleven days younger than when Sidney Crosby—previously the youngest NHL captain—had been named captain of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Despite the movement, the 201213 season was not what the Avalanche expected, and in April 2013 head coach Joe Sacco was relieved of his duties to be replaced by Patrick Roy, who returned not only as head coach but also vice president of hockey operations. Similarly, Pierre Lacroix was succeeded by Josh Kroenke as president of the Avalanche, and Joe Sakic had an expanded management role, being named executive vice president of hockey operations. Regardless of these moves, and despite Sherman retaining his role as general manager, the team's management was largely split between Roy and Sakic. Under the two-headed monster, the Avalanche returned to the playoffs in the 2013–2014 regular season, finishing first in the Central Division and second in the Western Conference, but would lose a seven-game series to the Minnesota Wild in the first round of the playoffs. Roy won the Jack Adams Award for the NHL's top coaching honors.

Patrick Roy during his time as a coach for the Avalanche.

Prior to the 2014–2015 season, Sakic was given the title of general manager, and Sherman was demoted to assistant general manager, formalizing the relationship that had been in place previously. Despite the team's off-ice shuffling, the on-ice product remained largely the same, hoping to build on the previous season's success, finished with a 39–31–12, which was only good for a seventh-place finish in the Central Division and failed to make the playoffs. The 2015–2016 season had a similar result, and on August 2016, Patrick Roy resigned from his head coaching and vice president of hockey operations positions with the team.

Avalanche forward and superstar Nathan MacKinnon.

For the 2016–2017 season, the Avalanche hired Jared Bednar as the team's new head coach. However, the 2016–2017 season was one of the worst seasons by a team in the salary cap era. The team went 22–56–4, good for a meager 48 points, which put them dead last in the NHL, with the next worst team at 69 points. The team was defeated on a nightly basis with a goal differential of -112 that season (an impressive feat in itself). The team was led by a young group of talent, including Gabriel Landeskog, Matt Duchene, and Nathan MacKinnon (who was selected first overall in the 2013 NHL Draft). Despite their league-worst record, the NHL Draft Lottery was not kind to the Avalanche, letting the team fall to pick fourth overall, where they would select Cale Makar.

Going into the 2017–2018 season, loaded with young stars, Sakic decided to keep Bednar behind the bench. However, the drama was not done in Denver, as Matt Duchene would request a trade to a contending team. On November 5, 2017, Sakic engineered a three-team trade between the Ottawa Senators and Nashville Predators, sending Duchene to Ottawa and receiving a first-round pick from the Senators and Sam Girard from the Predators. Girard, an under-sized defenseman, became a stalwart of the Avalanche's blueline, along with Cale Makar, who established himself as potentially the best defenseman of the salary cap era, posting numbers reminiscent of NHL Hall of Fame defenseman Ray Bourque and Bobby Orr.

Sakic continued to engineer the team, acquiring Andre Burakovsky, Devon Toews, Nazem Kadri, and Darcy Keumper in trades with various teams to find the complementary pieces necessary to allow the Colorado Avalanche to compete. With these pieces, along with other free agents, in place, the team entered the 2021–2022 season with high hopes. The team posted the best regular season record in franchise history, with fifty-six wins and 119 points. The team would end the season just short of collecting a second consecutive Presidents' Trophy but would see necessary individual efforts from key players, including MacKinnon, who had turned himself into a superstar, and Cale Makar, whose defensive prowess earned the player his first Norris Memorial Trophy as the league's best defenseman.

Colorado Avalanche celebrating their 2022 Stanley Cup victory.

The Avalanche faced and swept the Nashville Predators in the first round of the playoffs to face the St. Louis Blues, which would see Colorado take the series in six games. The Western Conference Final had Nathan MacKinnon facing off against Connor McDavid and his Edmonton Oilers, with a series that was expected to be electric but ended in four games as the Avalanche swept the Oilers. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Avalanche met the Tampa Bay Lightning, who were looking to win their third straight Stanley Cup to cement the team as a dynasty. However, the Avalanche continued on their way and won the series in six games, earning the franchise's third Stanley Cup. Unlike the team's previous two Stanley Cup wins, this iteration of the Avalanche did not have to rely on high-powered goaltending, with Darcy Kuemper posting average results, but riding the powerful offence of the forward group and the team's incredibly mobile defense corps.

The Avalanche entered the 2022–2023 season with hopes of repeating as a Stanley Cup champion. However, the team struggled through a rash of injuries, they lost second line center Nazem Kadri to free agency, but they withstood these losses to win the Central Division only to fall to the Seattle Kraken in the first round of the playoffs after seven games. That disappointment was followed by further losses, including the loss of captain Gabriel Landeskog to significant injury. The team brought in forwards Ryan Johansen, Ross Colton, Jonathan Drouin, and Miles Wood to try and refresh their lineup in an attempt to get back to the Stanley Cup finals in the 2023–2024 season.