The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) and the National Hockey League (1979–1995). The franchise was relocated to Denver, Colorado in May 1995 and renamed the Colorado Avalanche. They played their home games at the Colisée de Québec from 1972 to 1995. The Nordiques were the only major professional sports team based in Quebec City in the modern era, and one of two ever; the other, the Quebec Bulldogs, played in the National Hockey Association (NHA) from 1910 to 1917 and one season in the NHL in 1919–20. History Beginnings in the WHA The Quebec Nordiques formed as one of the original World Hockey Association teams in 1972. The franchise was originally awarded to a group in San Francisco and named the San Francisco Sharks. However, the San Francisco group's funding collapsed prior to the start of the first season. Rather than play an unbalanced schedule with 11 teams, the WHA hastily awarded the Sharks' assets the organization to a consortium of Quebec City-based businessmen who owned the highly-profitable Quebec Remparts junior team. They bought the team after the American Hockey League team, the Quebec Aces, moved south to Richmond, Virginia. The team was renamed the Quebec Nordiques because they were one of the northernmost teams in professional sports in North America. Quebec City is located at 46 degrees north latitude; Nordiques translated from French to English means "Northerners" or "Northmen." The only WHA teams located farther north were the Alberta Oilers (who changed their name to the Edmonton Oilers after one season), Calgary Cowboys, Vancouver Blazers, and Winnipeg Jets. The Nordiques' first head coach was the legendary Maurice "Rocket" Richard but he only lasted two games – a 2–0 loss to the Cleveland Crusaders and a 6–0 win against the Alberta Oilers. Richard decided coaching was not his forte and stepped down. The Nordiques' first star was two-way defenceman J. C. Tremblay, who led the WHA in assists in the league's first season and would be named a league All-Star for his first four years in Quebec. The next season Serge Bernier and Rejean Houle joined the Nordiques. In 1974–75 season, they finally made the playoffs with the help of the high-scoring Marc Tardif; the year also saw the debut of Real