Bill Daly comments on the future of NHL hockey in Quebec City.

Hope for fans in Quebec?

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Published 5 years ago
Bill Daly comments on the future of NHL hockey in Quebec City.
Olle Wande/Bildbyran/Zuma

This may not mean a great deal, but it may also be a faint glimmer of hope for hockey fans fans in Quebec City.

We have heard very little regarding the future of the National Hockey League in the capital of Canada's only French speaking province and that is likely by design. The NHL held major expansion talks dating back just a few years now in which it appeared that Quebec City was all but destined to once again be graced with it's very own franchise in the NHL but at the end of those talks it was the city of Las Vegas that emerged with the Las Vegas Golden Knights while fans in Quebec were wondering if they would ever see the return of their beloved hockey team.

Although there is no question that the Golden Knights have been a tremendous success, nearly capturing the Stanley Cup Championship in their inaugural season, the decision from the NHL not to put another team in Quebec left many fans in that area of the world bitter and disenfranchised altogether. Add to that the fact that Quebec has barely been mentioned in a whisper while rumors about potential new teams or relocation in Seattle and Houston and you have a fan base in Quebec City that has been left puzzled as to why they have not received their fair shake at another team.

The reality of course is that the lack of big corporations and spending power in the immediate metro area of Quebec City has caused the NHL to shy away from the market while looking more favorably on others who do have both of those factors in their arsenal. That being said though this does not mean that Quebec City has no hope of regaining an NHL franchise and with a relatively new arena, the Videotron Center was built in 2015, there are many who still believe we will see an NHL team in Quebec City again in the near future. 

NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly was asked recently above the possibility of hockey in Quebec and, although he was non committal, he clearly left the door open for the return of the Nordiques.

“We’re in fairly regular touch with Quebec City,” said Daly as per the Boston Globe. “They continue to have an interest in an NHL franchise. We’re not in a position to promise them one at this point, but the dialogue continues for sure.”

Whether or not that dialogue will lead to a team in Quebec City once again remains to be seen, but after so much silence on this front over the past several months this has to feel like a glimmer of hope, if a faint one, for fans in that city.

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