Colorado Rockies (NHL)
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[edit] Team History
The former Kansas City Scouts made a fresh start by moving to Denver, Colorado for the 1976-77 NHL season. The club won its first game 4-2 over Toronto Maple Leafs. They picked up momentum and looked like a possible playoff contender, but things collapsed in February, and the Rockies finished the 1976–77 season with a record of 20-46-14; good for 54 points. The next season, despite finishing with fewer wins (they finished 21 games under .500), they managed to edge the Vancouver Canucks out of the last playoff spot by two points, but were quickly eliminated by the Philadelphia Flyers in the first round of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs.
A lack of stability continually dogged the team. In their first eight years, the Scouts/Rockies combined franchise went through ten coaches, including eight in their first seven years, and none lasting more than one full season. While in Denver the team changed owners twice.
Prior to the 1978–79 season, owner Jack Vickers sold the team to Arthur Imperatore, who announced that he wished to move the team to the New Jersey Meadowlands. The NHL vetoed the move since the Brendan Byrne Arena was still being built, and there was no suitable temporary facility in the area. In 1979, the team hired Don Cherry as head coach and traded for Maple Leafs star Lanny McDonald. Despite these moves, the Rockies still posted the worst record in the NHL. They played the next two seasons with the possibility of moving until May 27, 1982, when New Jersey shipping tycoon John McMullen purchased the team and announced that the long-expected move to New Jersey would finally come to pass. The club would be rechristened the New Jersey Devils.
[edit] Head Coaches
[edit] Captains
[edit] Record Per Season
[edit] NHL Award Winners
[edit] Hall of Fame Members
[edit] Retired Numbers
[edit] Video Gallery
[edit] Picture Gallery
[edit] See Also
[edit] Recent Colorado Rockies (NHL) ArmchairGM Stories
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