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.

[13] 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.

[25] 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, the Avalanche became stronger when All-Star Montreal Canadiens goaltender Patrick Roy joined the team.

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.

Forsberg, the playoffs' leading scorer with 24 points (8 goals and 16 assists),[28] 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.

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.

[24] 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.

[50] 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,[24] with Liberty retaining a 6.5% interest.

[36] 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.

[54] 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.

[63] The title 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.

Patrick Roy retired after that season, and the team signed star wingers Paul Kariya from the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, and Teemu Selanne from the San Jose Sharks.

[69] Having "nine elite players",[70] "the most talented top six forwards on one team since the days of the Edmonton Oilers"[71] was not good enough as the franchise failed to win the Northwest Division title, ending the NHL record streak.

[74] In Denver, after the Moore hit, it became tradition for the home fans to boo Todd Bertuzzi every time he gained possession of the puck, whenever his team faced the Avalanche at Pepsi Center.

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 a hat-trick.

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.

[106][107] The following month, top scorer Ryan Smyth 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.

Three Avalanche team members played in Vancouver: Paul Stastny for the United States, Ruslan Salei for Belarus and Peter Budaj for Slovakia.

[111] 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.

[117] 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.

Duncan Siemens was sent back to his major junior team, the Saskatoon Blades in camp, while Gabriel Landeskog made the opening night roster against the Red Wings on October 8, 2011, at Pepsi Center.

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.

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.

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 the Minnesota Wild in the first round.

[135] 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.

[138] Following the departure of Roy, the Avalanche hired Jared Bednar from the Calder Cup champions, the Lake Erie Monsters of the American Hockey League (AHL), as head coach.

[156] The "C" logo also served as the main crest of the Avalanche's 2016 Stadium Series uniforms, which featured a white base, enlarged lettering and numbers, and steel blue, silver, and burgundy sleeve stripes.

[159][160] As part of the 2020 Stadium Series, the Avalanche unveiled special edition uniforms inspired by Colorado's majestic landscape and the Cadet Chapel of the United States Air Force Academy.

The uniforms bore a steel blue top and burgundy bottom, with white accents forming the shape of an "A" in front and the middle stripe at the back.

[165] Peter McNab, the long-time color commentator for the Colorado Avalanche from 1995 until his death in 2022, is honored inside Ball Arena with a banner under broadcast booth.