The story behind the Quebec Nordiques moving from Canada to Colorado to become the Avalanche is well-documented.
The Nordiques had run into serious financial trouble, leaving the team’s ownership group, represented by Marcel Aubut, with no choice but to sell the franchise, which then relocated to Colorado.
The rest, as they say, is history.
But Colorado has the Nordiques to thank for its 1996 Stanley Cup win for an interesting reason. The Nordiques, despite the significant level of dysfunctionality, laid the groundwork for what would become the team’s first championship.
We could spend hours and hours, and thousands of words recounting the story. But we could start by thanking the botched Eric Lindros trade as the foundation for the Nordiques’ success.
Lindros had been adamant about not wanting to play in Quebec. But the Nordiques, who had the first-overall selection in 1991, took Lindros anyway. That led to a mess of a trade in which the Nordiques traded Lindros twice.
The winners were the Philadelphia Flyers, who sent Peter Forsberg to Quebec. Forsberg joined Joe Sakic, the captain of the Nordiques. Along with Forsberg came Mike Ricci and two first-round picks.
Those picks would turn into useful pieces. Philly’s 1993 pick would turn into Jocelyn Thibault, who would then go to Montreal in the Patrick Roy trade. Philly’s 1994 first-round was part of the package in the Wendel Clark trade that sent Mats Sundin to Toronto. Clark would turn into Claude Lemieux. The Nordiques also got Sylvain Lefebvre, who would be a part of the 1996 Avalanche.
The Nordiques had also drafted other key players who made up the supporting cast. First, there was Joe Sakic. The Nordiques took Sakic 15th overall in 1987. Then, the Nordiques also drafted Adam Foote, Stephane Fiset, Curtis Leschyshyn, and Adam Deadmarsh.
Fate has a cruel way of making things work out. The Nordiques laid the groundwork for Colorado’s first championship years before anyone thought the team could move. Yet, the Nordiques did and gifted the Avalanche a Stanley Cup.
Steve Duchesne played key role in helping Colorado Avalanche win '96 Cup
Now, you might be thinking, “Steve Duchesne wasn’t on the Colorado Avalanche when they won the Stanley Cup in 1996.”
That’s right. But Duchesne played an instrumental role in helping the Avalanche get there. Duchesne was another one of the players included in the Lindros trade with Philadelphia. However, he was traded to the St. Louis Blues in the Ron Sutter trade.
Sutter, was then traded to the New York Islanders in a deal that landed Uwe Krupp in Colorado. Once again, the rest is history.
Here’s a look back at Krupp’s legendary goal:
Interestingly, the Avalanche beat the Florida Panthers in the 1996 Stanley Cup Final. The Panthers would have to wait roughly three decades before claiming their first championship.
Still, the way fate plays out can be mind-shocking. Even one of the most talented writers in the world couldn’t have envisaged the way the Nordiques morphed into the Avalanche, and those very same players, well, most of them, became the cornerstones that won a Stanley Cup.
It’s fascinating to contemplate that, if the Nordiques had stayed in Quebec, they could have won the Cup and not the Colorado Avalanche.
So, the next time you have a chance, thank the hockey gods for axing the Nordiques and sending them down to Colorado.