The Colorado Rockies were an American professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). They played in Denver, Colorado, from 1976 to 1982. They had been the Kansas City Scouts, a 1974 expansion team, until the franchise was moved to Denver. In 1982 the franchise again moved to East Rutherford, New Jersey, in 1982 and was renamed the New Jersey Devils. The NHL did not return to Denver until 1995, when the Quebec Nordiques moved to become the Colorado Avalanche.