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On Monday, it became official that Quebecor Incorporation has submitted paperwork to the National Hockey League to formally express its “candidacy for the NHL expansion process in order to bring the Nordiques back to Quebec City”.
According to ESPN, solely applying for an expansion franchise costs $10M, of which $2M is non-refundable regardless of the outcome, meaning that the business group is very serious about bringing hockey back to Quebec. Additionally it is also estimated that the actual expansion fee if a team is awarded to Quebec City will cost more than $500M.
Currently Quebec City would be considered the front runner to be awarded an expansion team, ahead of Seattle, Portland and Las Vegas.
Quebec has been without an NHL franchise since the Nordiques moved to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche in 1995. The Avs then won the Stanley Cup in their first season in Colorado behind legendary goaltender Patrick Roy.
The Nordiques originally left due to financial troubles attributed to poor attendance and a weakening Canadian dollar. Despite Quebec not being a successful franchise monetarily or record-wise, holding a career NHL record of 497-599-160 with zero Stanley Cups, it is undeniable that Quebec City is a hockey city. It is much more deserving of a franchise than the likes of Dallas, Carolina, Nashville, Arizona and Florida.
The Nordiques have also produced five NHL Hall of Famers in Michel Goulet, Guy Lafleur, Joe Sakic, Peter Stastny and Mats Sundin.
It has been estimated that the earliest Quebec City could have a team is the 2017-2018 NHL season, however if and when they do return, fans would appreciate if they kept their classic logo and classic jerseys, or at least a modern rendition that paid tribute to Quebec’s hockey heritage and the unmistakable Fleur-de-lis.
