The Nordiques Didn't Move Because of Low Attendance
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- Опубліковано 28 вер 2024
- This is a narrative I don't understand. They left because they needed a new arena and there was no salary cap. The team never lost money. They had plenty of fan support.
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This video is why you’re the number one source for hockey information for so many people.
The amount of times I’ve argued with someone about this and than said “watch the video by the hockey guy about it” and then they never respond is amazing
The Nordiques still drew 15,080 people per game even though they only won 12 games out of 80. That's incredible.
Quebec has a Major Junior team that get's better attendance than some NHL teams. They sell over 100K tickets for an International Peewee tournament every single year it became so big that they needed to change the dates so they didn't outdo their winter festival which is the Biggest in Canada BTW...
Yeah and the NHL owners don't care with their MONEY boy leader! They don't care about the game ! They can't even skate!! All they care about is money and ego !! Quebec should of had a NHL team years ago ! D
BRING BACK MY NORDIQUE
I'd love for Quebec to have a team again. Only if they have a new logo. Sorry not sorry
Im zParanoid No other City - IS NEXT - The French Need another Team
VIVE LE NORDIQUES DE QUEBEC
Bring back Quebec Cleveland Seattle Kansas City & get a team in Hamilton Regina & mybe try Halifax
Your Nordiques live on as Junior Hockey Teams in Maine
100% accurate
This is kind of what happened to the Baltimore Colts, sadly
Lol love the pfp
@@dnasty312 even the Canadian Football League Colts did not stick around once the Browns moved to Baltimore
As a Member of the Boston Community I root for the Colorado Avalanche and have since they moved the team in the 1995-96 season. Thank you The hockey Guy for this informative and entertaining video.
I am from slovakia, but I always knew, the people of quebec city always loved their nordics, support them trough their hearts, I could feel it, if I would be very rich, I would build new arena and give chance to all talented hockey players ( a lots of them sitting at home because their parents can't afford it) and idiot kids WANNA BE with rich parents are destroying the game of hockey. Loved nordics always in my heart!!!!!
They have a new arena now. They just need the NHL to let them have a team again.
@@edmerc92 that would be dream come true for many
The elitism of the NHL front office has never ceased to disgust and amaze me.
Quebec City, Hamilton, and Houston all deserve NHL teams.
I never had the opportunity to attend Le Colisee in person but I always enjoyed watching televised games from there. The reason was the viewer got a sharper view of the ice surface. This was similar to the former Met Center home of the North Stars. I don’t know if it will ever happen in my lifetime but I’d love (like so many others) to see the NHL return to Quebec City. To see a renewal of the rivalry with the Canadiens would be great for the NHL but reality is probably going to dictate otherwise.
Bring back the Expos
I don’t know why, but they were one of my favorite baseball teams growing up. Would be cool to see them back
I'd rather see a new MLB team in Vancouver. When you see a Blue Jays vs Mariners game in Seattle, over half the fans have Blue Jays jerseys.
Maddhouse ...before the 94 strike they were hell.
Walker, Bichette and Guerrero. Nothing is more old-school than that Montreal Expos logo
Soon
Glorious_Dominator16 A lot of people hated the Astro turf and their stadium but I thought it was pretty unique
Just finding your channel and damn am I impressed. Way to lay it out for us guys too young to know what was going down back in the day. Thanks for making this video!
It's such a pity that the Nordiques left. I used to really enjoy travelling to Quebec to watch the Capitals play there. But the same thing has happened in Houston (NFL), St. Louis (NFL), Baltimore (NFL) where the team asked a city or state to build a new playground or else. No mayor or governor or premier can cave in to owners' demands, but after a few years another one can spend twice as much to bring a new team in. There are creative ways to get things done without burdening the tax payers completely and maybe that was done in Quebec to build the Videotron Centre. I think that the best way to settle things, whether it's an opera house, a stadium or a power plant, is to put it to referendum. If the taxpayers want an arena, fine. They can vote to pay for it.
As a Canes fan, I'd love to see the Nordiques back, I just don't want it to come at the cost of the Hurricanes.
Josh- If your in Carolina, I was at Hartford when it moved and with all the rumors of cities then the Whale could go to, I'm glad Carolina got it. A legendary sportscaster here then Arnold Dean said then to Whalers fans, Carolinians are good people. The 2006 cup win was the last one I saw with my wife before she passed. I feel affection for that. I'm also a Panthers fan as my wife was a Floridian there. Hope the Panthers always stay put also.
Josh Siegel Screw you and Carolina!
Its ok Lerone- I have bad days also, perhaps you ex is from Carolina and you don't like being reminded of her.
LMAO love that comeback.
dennis menace My ex is Hartford!
No Canadian team would move due to low attendance. As evidence, Winnipeg. They sold out every game when they left. They get their team back, still sell out every game. Probably the same thing with Quebec.
I love ❤️ the Nordiques and Nordiques fans. Colorado Quebec will always share the Championships and success of the Avalanche.
The Quebec Nordiques need to return to the NHL ASAP!! The league just doesn’t feel the same without them- at all! Please return Quebec City!
Let's resume this video. Let's say only true things and see how it goes ! Bravo!
I’d love to have the Québec Nordiques back. They deserve a team.
I grew up in Winnipeg and people tried to say same thing about original Jets. It was all about needing new arena. Never about fan support
Well said
NHL Just bring the Nordiques back please and thank you, whether its relocation or expansion.
I’m quite sure it will be relocation if they do come back
@@InfiniteHorizons Florida Panthers
@@seanstours3913 Yeah
As much as I detested the Nordiques as a die-hard Whalers fan, it was still sad to see them go (of course, exponentially more so for the Whale). I still put much of the blame on Gary Bettman, he couldn't wait to see these franchises moved.
Yeah, it's funny right. He didn't do anything to try to stop the move of the Nords, Jets and Whalers, who had loyal fanbases. But the Coyotes, who have never once turned a profit and has no consistent fanbase, he fights tooth and nail to to save.
And let's not forget letting the North Stars move to Dallas, when there was a 3-year-old building in Minneapolis in the Target Center that offered to house the team.
Us in Hartford fully sympathize
For years I wondered why the Nordiques left Quebec now I understand and I hope Quebec gets there Nordiques back and I would love to talk to some hardcore Nordiques fans
If any fan base DESERVES a team, it's the Nords. Maybe Hartford closely after that.
Oh really! I knew nothing about it. Sure...the main issue some teams moved was no new stadium/arena built. What about the Montreal Expos? Could you please shed a light? Thanks.
Pretty much bang on the truth. Love your jersey here.
Lol.... no support from fans for the Nordiques?? That is crap and I agree too! There’s even evidence of that from UA-cam video broadcasts from the Nordique home games where the fans would go WILD for the Nordiques! I’ve seen the fans from the videos and they were very supportive and Loud!
To tag a famous quote from an very popular HBO Serial, fully adapted to Quebec Nordiques.... "the north remembers"...
The moment when high profile Eric Lindros balked after he was drafted no.1 overall in the 1989 draft I knew the Quebec Nordiques were done and that followed by a lot of high profile players refusing to play for the Nordiques because of salary cap issues....The Nordiques had a solid fan base but they could seem to get high profile players to sign due to the Canadian dollar value compare to the US and players wanting to be paid in US Dollars instead of Canadian and revenue is based on the Canadian Dollar value which was 80 cents US to 1 Canadian Dollar.
Je t'aime, Shannon.
I am with you Shannon to many bandwagon fans talking out of there asses knowing nothing. The Nordiques where always a packed house.
Let's go Nordiques!! Bring them back!
If Quebec gets another team they'll have another name it won't be Nordiques
The owners asked Marcel Aubut to find buyer for their team a year before the move because they didn't want to loose money and because the NHL didn't get a cap salary. the owners sold the team for $75M. From the french perspective, people in Quebec are pissed of at Marcel Aubut. He was the one that announced the departure of the team, so he is the bad guy. At the end, they got $75M + the money from the Lindros trade that they didn't touch. I got the info from a Nordiques Podcast.
Sorry to correct you , but it was under Lucien Bouchard that the Nordiques get denied acces to public for the new theatre , not Parizeau … although the attances was there … most income per game cames from cooperate lodges in witch The Colisée has nearly none ( less then a 1/3 of other Stadium… a new stadium was needed big time … and Butman is anti Canadien as we all know … sadly no futur for this town ex Nordiques fan
Why is it that Hamilton never gets mentioned as far as expansion or relocation. The city should have been granted a club after Rendezvous '87. Bloody disgrace.
They chose Ottawa instead. Beside that the Leafs and the Sabres would not agree. You have the population there, it's like Geoff Molson with Nordiques ''here''.
As long as Bettman runs the NHL.. no Quebec. And also no Arizona leaving
Capacity at Ottawa's Civic Centre was about 11,000 during the years mentioned
The fact that all that was needed was a new arena to generate more revenues proove that quebec is a good market, you dont ask the goverment to build a new arena if you dont think that it will be half-empty and all the box not sold. Aubut knew that the demands was there. Colisee was too small...
Maybe time to revisit this with the jersey issue flare up.
The salary cap helps strengthen the argument for a return of the NHL to Quebec. Spot on 100% that the LAST reason they moved was because of (alleged) lack of fan support. Low CDN $, paying salaries in US $ and in the 90s, a lack of corporate sponsorship and luxury boxes at Colisee. Now they have a state of the art arena, more corporate support and a loyal fan base waiting to pounce. I'm curious though if the reasons run deeper though of the lack of a return at this time to QC: Is Montreal fighting it behind the scenes because of TV rights? Does the NHL view QC as a market that won't grow the game and interest at the scale of say Houston and soon-to-be Seattle? I'm not saying it's right or that I know this to be valid reasons. I just have a hard time believing that the NHL thinks fans won't turn out for the Nordique - has to be some other reason.
Nos Nordiques :(
Florida Panthers in 1993-98 played in the Miami Arena which only had a capacity of around 11-12k. I agree with your point as a Hurricanes fan when fans wanting a team to be relocated to their city, troll other fans of teams, maybe the people in Hartford could learn a lesson from your point about silence
I agree with that and I'm from Hartford.
I agree with everything you said hockey guy
You dont have to just look a numbers, but also % of the building. End of 80s and start of 90s, most teams in the nhl did not sold-out.
No matter who's to blame, I still felt like my girlfriend was breaking up with me. Then to later learn she's got married a year later. That relocation hurt me man.
so how did the videotron centre get built in the first place? Kind of a missed opportunity for the whole province to say no, lose a beloved team that was in the midst of a glorious and nasty Battle of Quebec rivalry, then turn around and say yes to vidtron. Who could they have possibly said yes to if it wasn't the Nordiques?
The only way Quebec gets a team is if the Sens move there,i cant see them ever getting an expansion team.
It's a slim possibility for sure. Melnyk is such a douche.
You might be right, but concretly it doesn't make sense. About the same market, even bigger for Ottawa, which have an establish team since 1992. They have great crowds when the team is decent. Arena location is a problem indeed as people would have been going much often with an arena within the real Ottawa or greater downtown. People are arriving at 11 pm or so at home after a game.
How did the owner feel about moving? Is he despised in Quebec City?
Maybe moving Quebec and Winnipeg are the reasons Canada hasn’t won a cup since hmmm?
Brandon By every year - IT IS Getting closer to Win The Cup ! LA vs MNT - That Was an Classic ! Gretzky vs Montreal
The Jets may end that drought soon.
@@dennyboyafc9608 JETS Look Real GOOD / and about Time ! Great City that know Their hockey !
Good.
"the team never lost money"
(the coyotes hide in the corner)
Jaques parisite? Yeah, hate him as well.... But Aubut got the Nords for peanuts. He made out like a bandit. And Aubut was vilified in the Quebec press for years after the sale. Especially since the Avs won the cup soon after. But you’re right, the fan base was there. The Colisee was in piss poor shape and.... they couldn’t add private boxes witch is where the money is.
Thanks for talking about the Nords. We need more teams up here.
I loved Parizeau
When we say support we don't mean fan but business or govt support. Not losing money doesn't mean anything as in this case the profits did not reflect the inputs. Buddy fan tickets and merch don't come close to the revenues needed. Ticket revenue at avg $100 a ticket would be about 55 million a season but profit wise be like only ten max. I mean profit after costs of arena non player staff etc paid for all but player costs. Lucky to have a profit of ten mil maybe twenty if charge Leaf prices concessions merch might draw in another 40 mil if played right as that's where most fan based profit comes from. Anyways minimum cap space limit wouldn't even be covered by this. Absolutely no team in modern era including then made it just on fans or ever will unless want to pay thousands a ticket. It's private business and govt that provide most of the funding not the fans. Fans aren't even close to that. You started off with numbers but just attendance. Said they never lost money but didn't say anything about the Quebec govt cash injections then or that even with that profits were only around ten mil a year. Lol seems lots to you. Then that would cover your top stars salary and maybe bonuses for a year now it be ba second line player. Sorry buddy but it's pro sports and the fans as as a whole never ever own it even in so called community owned teams ( lol have to buy a share etc which means of course one person or such can buy the majority of shares so really not community owned but rather a buzz word for fans to latch onto and feel like part of team biz when clearly not)
I think NHL needs some kind of re-organization, and the way i'd probably do it is by removing three of the worst teams, those being Buffalo, Carolina and Arizona. I would then replace those with five new teams, in a way that east and west conference have both the same number of teams.
I just watched your video, I agree the fans were there and fully supported the Nordiques. I need you to clarify 2 things though.
1) The Nordiques made money.
That is not what I have heard, from RDS nor from the newspaper. What I know is that the Nordiques were not making enough money. As a result, they were the 1st team to put adds along the boards and on the ice to generate more money. They also planned on unveiling a new jersey (with a white dog face) at the end of their final year to boost sales. There were also rumors that they would end up trading some of their best players to save money, even though they had already lost Mats Sundin, Steve Duchesne and Ron Hextall after the 1993 playoffs.
2) The infrastructure was a major problem.
You emphasised on salary cap and Canadian dollar (and you are right). But, you never mentioned the Colisée had no VIP lounge. It was basically a small-city arena.It was limited by capacity and by quality. I will also had that Parizeau said the financial needs of the Québécois is more important than allowing money to build a new arena. To me, it sounded like a safe answer to an important issue, and I am sure the people would have been willing to support Quebec even if the financial status of the province was really poor at that time.
Parizeau had one thing in mind, to seperate from Canada over that proposed arena..
Blame the North Stars , they started a string of teams moving during the 90s
I guess we just hope for a better canadian dollar and Quebec Nordiques could be back!?
I honestly don't get this bollocks. Just look at the names on the back of the best hockey players' jerseys in the world. Most of them are french. Not spanish.. So what's the point of having teams in Anaheim, Los Angeles, Las Vegas or San Jose? No passion from the crowds but they pay more for wattered down budweiser? What a fucking joke NHL has become - so sad... Keep your work up mate - perhaps we'll see Nordiques again one day with Roy, Sundin, Stastny and Sakic watchung in the stands.
The point is to make hockey more popular and make new hockey fans. That's joke to you? The NHL not wanting to remain a niche sport that only Canada and Northeastern US care about?
@@Czechmate29 You're not making new hockey fans in half-empty arenas. Come on. The Florida Panthers' games are always half-full, and the team is competitive. Same with the Coyotes. It's a joke to see highlights of games in Florida, Arizona and Carolina where the building is half full. Or when it does fill up, most of the fans are there for the opposing team. That's not growing the game. That's hammering the point home that, for the most part, people don't care in non-traditional markets.
@@pomerlain8924 Florida last won a playoff series in 1996 when they made the final. Made the playoffs just 4 times since then. Phoenix managed to get past Round 1 exactly once in 24 years. That's competitive to you? There are only a few markets that could survive such misery attendence-wise. Blackhawks' arena was also half full before Toews&Kane. Pittsburgh almost relocated to Kansas City before Crosby. Southern teams can work if they have a truly competitive team. Look at Nashville, San Jose, Vegas, Tampa. Look what happened in Carolina this year once the fans had something to be excited about.
@@Czechmate29 Carolina still didn't finish with good attendance despite having 99 points and making the playoffs. They were 28th in average attendance, with 14,322, in a building that can seat 18,360+. That's 76.7% capacity, which ranked 30th. Fans magically showing up for the playoffs does not reverse bad attendance. That's the same argument people were making when they Coyotes went to the conference finals in 2012. We saw this with Florida after 2012 and 2016. And we saw where all those fan were the next season. Not there, like usual. And the same will happen to Canes.
And having a competitive team doesn't mean you make the playoffs all the time or win a series. Being competitive means the team is winning and in the playoff hunt and a factor even if they don't make it. The Minnesota Wild are competitive, even with the fact they've only made it out of the first round 3 times in their history. The Kings had 6 straight down years between 2002-09 where they didn't make the playoffs, but they still continued to draw well. Contrary to popular belief, their fans did not start showing up only after they won cups. They were already there.
The Panthers missed the playoffs this year and last year, but still posted a winning record. In 2015, when they missed the playoffs, they posted a winning record. But despite the team busting their ass, people still don't show up. They were playing the best team in the NHL last season in the Predators in a must-win game as they fought to make the playoffs, and the building was 60% full.
Southern teams, save for a few exceptions, have no loyal fans. For the most part, even if the team wins, not enough people care. That is not growing the market. Add to that the fact that these teams are money pits, constantly losing $10-20 million a year, and needing other teams to prop them up. We've seen Atlanta fail TWICE with NHL teams, and both times lost their teams to smaller Canadian markets where fans actually care and appreciate the team being competitive, even if they don't make the playoffs or make it out of the first round. If fans in a market don't care to support their team after 2 decades, and the building is still half-full, you're not growing interest. Yeah, just further proving how the location does not care.
columbus should just move to quebec already
Really? I was always fed the b.s. they no one went to the games, and I live in Quebec.
They’ll get one eventually. I’m 34 and I bet it will be in my lifetime if I live to 70 or 80
Hi David-at least there will be another team in Quebec before there's another Stanley Cup in Toronto.😉
who the fuck saying they didnt support the team everyone knew it was because of the rink it was in the news at the time
Why they say never support the team because it non sense and if Quebec want another team they need to relocate a team to Quebec City??
We won’t get another team until bettman leaves the nhl
If Quebec gets another team I'll bet they come up with another name it won't be Nordiques
It all depends on what your definition of “low” is. It wasn’t Kansas City Scouts low, and they did draw better than they did in their WHA years, but look at the last few seasons and their attendance was sliding... not as bad as the Jets, but with a small arena, less TV revenue than all Canadian teams except the WHA clubs, and high ticket prices caused by the exchange rate, the Nords needed every fan they could get in a league that depends heavily on gate receipts. The exchange rate took the team from a dive into a death spiral.
You realize the building capacity was 15 000 right?
Look up Marcel Aubut's recent past regarding sexual misconduct and Lindros' story about not wanting anything to do with the team. Aubut was a creep to his mother and that's what apparently happened, not money, not the team, Lindros even married a frenchie...
C'est les parents de Lindros qui voulaient pas qu'ils joue là parce que sont père ne pensait qu'il ne se ferait pas comprendre et sa mère voulait qu'il joue dans un gros marché américain. La vie privée d'Aubut est seulement une excuse. Il y a en a des biens pire sûrement à travers la LNH actuellement.
Oh yeah, that "do not enter, Thrashers only" sign has got me and my buddies cracked up. We say if there's a door with that on it, it's physically impossible to go in the room because the team technically isn't around anymore exist.
Eric Lindros not wanting to sign there was a sign they were on the way out
I know your comment is 7 months old but I still want to point out the bullshit, Lindros had nothing to do with the Nordiques leaving for Colorado, he had personal issues with the owner Marcel Aubut, in fact the entire Lindros family could not stand Aubut , and we now know why, he was accused of sexual harassment by many women including Bonnie Lindros
If the Nordiques had not relocated then where would Patrick Roy have been traded to? The Habs certainly were never going to trade him to Quebec.
Detroit talked with Montreal. They ended up not trading away Vernon cauze they felt it would be unfair for Vernon to be traded after recently joining the team.
@@kahnmashin That would've made more sense. Maybe even Pittsburgh or LA would've been in the conversation (then again,the Kings did trade Gretzky a few months later),but Roy for Hrudey straight up would've been interesting
They outnumbered Ottawa because the senators were playing at a 10,000 Civic centre
Yep, just listing the attendance numbers. San Jose got a new arena too.
Arizona should go to Quebec, end of story.
tyler tremblizy will never happen. Players love playing in Arizona because of the climate, low state income tax, and bad Canadian dollar.
Players literally have no impact on a team moving, makes no sense.
tyler tremblizy I know, it was just a side note. Its not going to happen because the Canadian dollar is way too low. That's enough of a reason right there.
tyler tremblizy For as long as Bettman lives Arizona will never move. All AZ needs is a downtown stadium downtown (which will bring it closer to the east valley) and they’ll be set for a long time.
Ya either the coyots or the panthers
As long as jewbag Gary Buttman is commish no Canadian teams winning cup
That is so dead on. I remember the Nordiques leaving Quebec in '95, my heart died. Quebecers can now support a team even better than ever. Only one problem: Gary Bettman.
My heart broke too. And I'm a Sabres fan! How I LOVED (to hate) the Nordiques! My favorite WHA team and my favorite rival! It's a shame ... (though I don't put all the blame on Bettman.)
This was a great video. Thanks for explaining what happened. I hated the moves of the Jets, Nordiques, North Stars and Whalers. How heartbreaking for Nordique fans to lose their team and then see them win the Cup the next year. How joyous it would be if they get their team back!
I hate the idea that public funds are needed for billionaire owners to keep a team in a market. That is pure bullshit. They want free money so they don't have to pay into the team. Quebec shouldn't have moved. I get moving out of La Colisee, but Aubut wasn't exactly the best owner either. The Lindros fiasco kinda proved it.
Clutch28 Aubut used to sexually harassed women
Ok...which came out while he was a member of the Olympic committee. What pray tell does this fact have ANYTHING to do with Quebec losing the Nordiques?
Clutch28 Its the main reason why Lindros didn't join the Nordiques (Lindros said so in the french show "Tout le monde en parle"). It gives an idea of who Marcel Aubut really is.
I watched that interview, at least his responses since I could understand them and at no time did Lindros say that. The thing with fact and jumping to conclusions, is fact is real. Aubut's MANAGEMENT of the team was why Lindros did not want to play in Quebec. Not the sexual assault accusations that happened YEARS later.
My team from childhood. Had to find an alternative that never really stuck. Bring Back The Nordiques!!! And we have the nicest jerseys of all teams/times.
Even if Quebec gets a team again the Avalanche will not give up the Nordiques trademark. It’s part of the Avs identity.
@@JB-kx9bx Thumbs down because of the trademark not your comment
Loved the Nordiques. The Canadian dollar is the proper arguement, and a reason no Canadian team has won since '93.
Explain Montreal getting to the finals, champ
Parity
@@Spanluver they said "won"
@@Spanluver Many teams from Canada have made it to the finals since 93, they haven't won though.
The NHL prefers keeping teams in southern places, where there never is snow, and where hockey is in the shadow of other sports. That and they keep losing money.
Dark Magician I live in England and I'm an avs fan it is so frustrating knowing that Quebec is over looked
More southern teams are successful then unsuccessful; LA, Vegas, Tampa, Nashville, Anaheim, and Dallas outnumber Arizona, Florida, and Carolina
Clark Wilson and yet all the teams you mentioned have enjoyed playoff success. All of them would not support their team as much if they weren't successful.
Clark Wilson Nashville wasn’t very successful until the team started winning. Also, don’t forget about Atlanta, a market that failed twice.
That’s horseshit, the fans always supported Nashville. What happened was our first owner dumped the team to buy into the Wild, then our team was transferred to a man who bought it with fraud money. The only reason people didn’t show up was because this man stole their money to buy a team. Then he tried to sell to some jackass who wanted to move them to Hamilton.
Thank god Bettman stepped in, because Nashville is a rabid booming hardcore hockey market.
Glad you made this vid. You are getting it right. You think Quebec gets a team in next 5 years?
They should. The building is there. The owner is apparently still willing to shell out any fees needed.
Even the $900m Canadian you talked about in another video?
Christian Moore that was expansion, moveing someone will probably be less.
Quebecor is FILTHY rich, hugely profitable and they basically launched a new sports channel for their potential new team, TVA Sports. That channel carries the entire playoffs this year, plus the Senators games and Habs games every saturday. The machine is there, it's well-oiled and it's getting impatient.
If Québec gets a team it will only be by moving one, expansion= smoke screen, I know I live in Québec City!!! Forget expansion
There's a French podcast going on on Nordiques history from WHA until relocation. One of the men who's making the show said that, in the summer of '94, he learned by one of the shareholders that the team would be sold eventually ; almost one year before the official announce of the departure. The explanation the shareholder gave was basically what The Hockey Guy said here. The Nordiques were not losing money yet, but the shareholders knew that it wouldn't last any longer, considering the salaries were getting higher and higher, there was no salary cap (and at that time, nobody could've known what would happen in 2004-05) and they couldn't have a new arena to generate more money with suites etc.
I have Been an avs fan since 98 I always bring up that we were the nordiques...it is important to appreciate where a team came from
I would be extatic if the nordiques came back an they would be a 2nd team for me no doubt
I'm from St. Louis and for some reason always liked Quebec. The stasnys and those games against Montreal were brutal
I always felt like the Nordiques jersey looked like the GOP elephant
Expand to Seattle, and relocate a couple of franchises, either Arizona, Carolina or Florida, and move then to Houston and Quebec. The league would be absolutely set.
WasabiPie:P Quebec Nords
Houston Aeros, New England Whalers or Hartford.
WasabiPie:P plus Kansas City would need a team
Yeah pretty ironic. Wouldn’t you want to never see someone go through what you did in 1996?
Kansas is a concern due to issues in low attendance, like the scouts had, and the fact that Kansas is a fairly small market. It could work, but I wouldn’t bet my bucks with the league expanding after 32 teams.
WasabiPie:P Carolina could relocate to Kansas City and then Tennessee would move to the east
The Nordiques lowest attendance after le Colisée was upgraded to 15K seats was in 1992 when Lindros refused to play for the team. On other years they usually outdrew NYI, Boston, Washington and even the Western Canadian teams. I hate consortiums and groups of investors. Aubut never lost money on the team but his group wasn't wealthy enough to make the franchise last until the lockout and we saw similar things happen to the Expos with sucky Brochu's group who refused to invest money to keep star players after the strike or to put more money into the new stadium.
Yes Nordiques fans; be quiet and be patient. Quebec City SHOULD and WILL get an NHL team, but they SHOULD NOT be paying no $650 million for it.
If the NHL rigs it so they win the cup in the first season (dream on, since this is the heart of French Quebec we're talking about), what's wrong with spending $650 Million.
If it's your money, go ahead. If it's someone else's money, how about buying an existing franchise for $350 million, moving it to Quebec, building on it for 3 or 4 years (patience, mon frere) and THEN challenging for the Cup. Ending with a team worth $450 million. Instead of spending $650 million and ending up with a team worth $500 million 5 years from now.
It killed me when they left,and then won a cup!!!Joe Sakic was my fave player ever!!!
Quebec Nordiques hands down best uniforms in all major sports
I’m ready for the return of the Nordiques. Any current candidates for relocation?
Gary Bettman is the worst thing that EVER happed to the NHL .
Yep, even in the season where they lost 61 games (89-90), they still had shockingly good crowds. But their arena was outdated even for the early 80's.
Sad, but true. An old barn (not unlike Buffalo's Aud) but just 'lacking' for the modern sports world.
I wish the Nords had won a cup before they left Quebec after all those fans went through over the years.
I'm surprised at how stupid people are about this. It's not confusing. It's clear as day.
It's Canada's game we perfected it's our so I believe we should choose capital city of Canada and the states and making teams for it
Merci de nous dire cette sombre vérité! / Thanks for saying this dark truth!
Continues ton travail! / Keep on your good work!
Fuck,Vegas and Seattle. Where’s Quebec!!? Tabernack!
I've been preaching this forever. Fan support was never the issue in Quebec City.
Hockey fan from Quebec here. Pretty much right, Shannon.
There’s also another factor that wasn’t discuss a lot. Nordiques’ ownership group was a wide joint venture between many Quebec business (insurance companies, investment funds, food retailer holding, etc.) that were on pressure from their own shareholders to sold the team since the 94-95 lockout resolution didn’t produce enough certainties over cost control for smaller markets. I still believe that a deeper-pocket owner would have kept the team there long enough to save it.
Part of the resentment by many Quebec fans reside in the way how Bettman and the league support and cling on problematic franchises now and that Quebec didn’t get the same patience in 95.
25 years later, there is still a sound business case to be made for a team in Quebec City. However, I think it’ll need a new and stronger prospective owner and a new league leadership for that to happen.