Colorado fans have been spoiled by their Avalanche. They inherited a team that was the result of another city's years of struggle; they inherited a team that was ready to contend for the Stanley Cup and did. For several years the Avalanche were a team that went out and out-bid other teams in free agency and every year when the trade deadline came along, they were a team that went out and always seemed to pick up the biggest names. After the NHL lockout in 2005 and the advent of the salary cap era, the Avalanche began a slow decline that epitomized in a rebuild in 2009.
Where do we go from here?
