Peter Stastny (and his brother, Anton) sent shockwaves in the world of hockey when he defected from Czechoslovakia to play professional hockey with the Quebec Nordiques in 1980.  Stastny had just been named the Czechoslovakian Player of the Year, so it was certainly expected that he would be spectacular, and he would not disappoint.  He would score 109 Points as an NHL rookie and win the Calder.  This year would usher in a six-year streak where Stastny would exceed the 100 Point mark, peaking with 139 in 1981-82.  That year, he finished fourth in Hart Trophy voting and would later have two seventh-place finishes.  Stastny was a bona fide scoring machine and is the answer to the question of who has the second-most points behind Wayne Gretzky in the 1980s.

After playing for Birmingham in the WHA as an underage player, Michel Goulet was drafted 20th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1979 NHL Amateur Draft.  Playing at Left Wing, Goulet would become an elite NHL sniper.  Goulet would have four consecutive 50 Goal Seasons (1982-83 to 1985-86) and would finish in the top ten in Goals six times.  His scoring touch was the backbone of vibrant Nordiques teams in the 1980s, and he was rewarded with three First Team All-Star and two Second Team All-Star Selections.

The Quebec Nordiques drafted Eric Lindros #1 in the 1991 NHL Draft, knowing full well that he would never report to the team.  As it turned out, Quebec would trade him to the Philadelphia Flyers for a plethora of players and assets, one of which was the rights to Peter Forsberg, a Swedish player who was largely unknown in North America.  As it turned out, that was the best piece that Quebec got.

There have been a plethora of phenomenal players who have suited up for the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche.  Still, it was effortless to choose Joe Sakic as the greatest Avalanche player ever.