re: I'm considering getting into hockey, help me pick a team

I don't think it's bandwagnoning to pick a team in the playoffs. I mean, half of the league is in the playoffs. You can't choose a team that just won, but to pick a team BEFORE they win is fine by me (and there's no guarantee they will win -- going by the #fancystats, the Avs have almost no chance of winning the title. A win by the Avs would go against the past decade of hockey statistical trends, but outliers always happen and that's what makes this so much fun)

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If i may pose one to the hockey minds: If you had to pick one thought, opinion, fact, story etc about the Colorado Avalanche, what would it be? 30 for 30 my arse with knowledge on them.

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The 30 for 30 would certainly be the move from Quebec and the Lindros deal.

Lindros was the first overall draft pick in 1991 and was already being called the Next One. He was the most hyped draft prospect in hockey since Mario Lemieux. And he wasn't going to play for Quebec, no matter what. He refused to even put on a Nords sweater at the draft and he reportedly turned down a $50 million offer. The Nords kept trying to sign him, but finally recognized the reality of the situation, and traded him to the Flyers. The next day, the Rangers had a better offer, so the Nords traded him AGAIN as they hadn't officially turned in the paperwork to the NHL.

The case went to an arbitrator as both the Flyers and Rangers made the case for the Next One. Eventually, the Rangers lost the case, and were able to keep the reported package of Alexei Kovalev, Tony Amonte, Doug Weight, John Vanbiesbrouck, cash, and draft picks. I know you don't know hockey well, but trust me, those guys were awesome. Instead, the Flyers won the case and won the right to trade everything that wasn't nailed down to the Nordiques for Lindros.

The Nordiques received defensemen Kerry Huffman and Steve Duchesne, goalie Ron Hextall, forwards Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, and Peter Forsberg, draft picks, and $10 million. As it turned out, Forsberg for Lindros might've been a win for the franchise, getting the rest of the roster was just icing on the cake.

It wasn't enough. The Nordiques, though vastly improved from perennial doormat standards, had to move to Colorado in 1995. In their first season in Denver, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup, the only team in the modern era of sports to win a title in their first year of existence. Also taken from the province of Quebec was not just the team, but the goalie Patrick Roy.

Roy was humiliated by his coach and left in the game in which he allowed 9 goals, an 11-1 loss to the Red Wings, the worst loss in Habs history. He vowed never to play for Montreal again. Had the Nords remained in Quebec, there is literally no chance the Habs would have traded him there, but now in Colorado, Roy ended up on the Avs.

The Avalanche's title run was almost entirely at Quebec's expense, making them the rest of Canada's favorite American team ever.