1995-96

• Unable to secure financing for a new arena in Quebec City, the Quebec Nordiques move to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche. At the end of the season, the NHL would bid adieu to the Winnipeg Jets, who would move to Phoenix in the off-season.

• For the Canadiens and their fans, December 2, 1995, will forever be a date that will live in infamy -- and it went far beyond the 11-1 shellacking by the Red Wings in front of their home fans. Newly-hired coach Mario Tremblay kept Patrick Roy in net and watched him give up nine goals before finally pulling him for Pat Jablonski. With the relationship between former teammates (and roommates) Roy and Tremblay already strained beyond repair, Roy told GM Ronald Corey right after he was pulled that he had just played his last game as a Canadien. Four days later, in one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history, Roy and Mike Keane were traded to the Avalanche for Jocelyn Thubault, Andrei Kovalenko and Martin Rucinsky.

• The NHL's third jersey program gets underway with five teams -- Anaheim, Boston, Los Angeles, Pittsburgh and Vancouver -- unveiling alternate jerseys. One would stick around for a while, one for a couple years, one would become the team's new full-time road jerseys and the other two are quickly put to pasture.

• The Detroit Red Wings set NHL records for most wins (62) in the regular season. It would not translate to a Stanley Cup title, as they are eliminated by the Avalanche (and the aforementioned Patrick Roy) in a very physical six-game series.

• The Avalanche get it right the first time, winning the Stanley Cup in their inaugural season in Denver, sweeping the three-year-old Florida Panthers in the Final.