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Avalanche to celebrate 25th anniversary season with upcoming 2020-21 campaign

 

Time flies when you’re having fun.

Or in this case, 25 years go by when the Colorado Avalanche have called Denver home since the start of the 1995-96 season.

The Avalanche will celebrate the organization’s 25th anniversary season during the upcoming 2020-21 NHL campaign.

The 25th anniversary celebration will recognize the rich history of the Avalanche franchise and look forward to the bright future of the club by paying tribute to its Quebec Nordiques roots, celebrating two and a half decades of community involvement, thanking the Avalanche’s faithful fans, remembering players of both past and present, championing the growth of hockey in the region and looking toward the next 25 seasons.

The Avalanche will wear a special “25th” patch on its jerseys and 25th season-themed merchandise will be available throughout the year at Altitude Authentics. 

Part of the 25th celebration will include several jersey modifications, headlined by the adidas Reverse Retro sweater that was announced Monday. The team will also be switching to new equipment colors to match the primary colors already included in the Avalanche’s home, away and alternate jerseys. The home and away sweaters will now feature the primary color of blue for the shorts, gloves and helmets, while the alternate sweater will have slight modifications to the pants and gloves.

Further details of the Avalanche’s 25th anniversary celebration will be announced when the 2020-21 NHL season schedule is released.  

The Avalanche arrived in the Mile High City on July 1, 1995 when COMSAT Entertainment Group officially acquired the Quebec Nordiques. Six weeks later on August 10, 1995, the team was introduced as the Colorado Avalanche. The Avs played their inaugural game on October 6, 1995, a 3-2 victory over the Detroit Red Wings at McNichols Sports Arena.

Colorado capped off that inaugural season by winning the 1996 Stanley Cup in a four-game sweep of the Florida Panthers, the city of Denver’s first major professional sports championship, and five years later captured its second Stanley Cup in 2001.

The organization won a league-record nine straight division championships from 1994-95 to 2002-03 and registered 487 consecutive home sellouts from Nov. 9, 1995 to Oct. 14, 2006, the longest recorded sellout streak in NHL history.

In addition to its two Stanley Cup titles, the Avalanche also won two Presidents’ Trophies (1997, 2001) and made six appearances in the Western Conference Final in its first seven seasons from 1996 to 2002.

Among the other highlights during the Avalanche’s first 24 seasons include hosting the 2001 NHL All-Star Game at Pepsi Center, playing two NHL Stadium Series outdoor games in Colorado (2016 at Coors Field, 2020 at the Air Force Academy) and competing in the NHL Global Series in Stockholm, Sweden (2017).

Avalanche players/head coaches have won 18 individual NHL trophies during the past 24 years, including two Hart Trophy winners as league MVP. Ten members of the Hockey Hall of Fame have worn an Avalanche sweater and the club has retired six jersey numbers.

RETRO JERSEYS

The Avalanche unveiled its adidas Reverse Retro jersey Monday as part of a league-wide announcement of the Reverse Retro collection for all 31 teams.

Blending both the past and present, the Reverse Retro jersey is based on the uniform the organization wore during its time in Quebec City as the Nordiques. The crest features the iconic Nordiques igloo logo, modernized in the Avalanche’s color scheme. The hem showcases the return of the fleur-de-lis symbol, modeled from Quebec’s provincial flag, with a fleur-de-lis patch also placed on the shoulder. 

One of the few Reverse Retro jerseys in white, the sweater is a nod to the snow found in both northern Quebec and the Colorado Rocky Mountains, the franchise’s two homes.

“Blending the past and present, the Avalanche’s reverse retro jersey is unique in that it represents our club’s rich history and bright future, utilizing the Nordiques’ iconic marks and remixed in the Avalanche’s beloved burgundy and blue,” said Declan Bolger, senior VP of marketing for the Avalanche and Kroenke Sports & Entertainment. “We believe the sweater pays tribute to the franchise’s time in Quebec City, the first 25 seasons in Colorado, and will be popular for not only Avalanche and Nordiques fans, but for all fans of the game.”

The jersey design also includes a wide burgundy stripe at the waistline of the sweater and narrower burgundy stripes at end of each sleeve’s hemline-the same design used on the Nordiques’ original home uniforms. On the back of the sweater, a horizontal white nameplate is situated above blue numbers trimmed in burgundy. The lettering of the nameplate is in burgundy, while the font on the sweater is in the similar block-style that was used by the Nordiques.

Inside the wide collar, which is colored in burgundy, are other details blending the franchise’s past and present. On the back neck is the text ‘COL’ and ’79’ – representing the year Quebec entered the NHL – with the adidas’ colorful reverse retro mark in between.

The Nordiques began playing in the World Hockey Association in 1972 before joining the NHL as part of a four-team expansion in 1979. The franchise relocated to Denver in the summer of 1995 and have spent the past 24 seasons in Colorado.

The Reverse Retro jerseys are available at AltitudeAuthentics.com and orders will be shipped on Dec. 1.

The full uniform design of Colorado’s reverse retro look, as well as a schedule of when it will be worn, will be announced at a later date.

(Nov. 18, 2020)

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