New Developments on NHL Relocation to Quebec City: Offer Presented to Gary Bettman and Bill Daly
People living in Quebec City that love hockey have been trying for many years now to get a team back, and it's been revealed that the NHL just turned it down again.
It's been three decades since the Quebec Nordiques moved to Colorado, and fans in Quebec City have longed for an NHL return since then. Over the decades, Quebec hockey fans have clung to hope, even with rumors and speculation on the NHL perhaps re-establishing a team like the Arizona Coyotes. Instead, the league has recently turned its attention elsewhere, very notably to Salt Lake City, where the impressive bid for a team from tech billionaire Ryan Smith caught the eye of the NHL and eventually the Arizona Coyotes moved there and became the Utah Hockey Club. That has left Quebec City's hockey faithful feeling overlooked once more.
A recent development has cast light on the fact that Quebec City could have been the new home of the Coyotes. There were reports that billionaire Luc Poirier had provided a very viable presentation to relocate the financially troubled Coyotes to Quebec. But despite the sound financial footing and the rich history of hockey in the city, the NHL decided to turn down the proposal. The belief by many in this regard was due to some kind of reluctance toward returning another team to Canada despite the country being viewed as a powerhouse in hockey.
Most fans and analysts who follow the sport wonder why the league was so determined to keep the team in Arizona for so long when it had an out to go to Quebec City, where at least the franchise would have had a more surefire fanbase and a more stable future. The league ended up moving them to Utah instead, which so far seems to have a good fanbase, but no doubt those in Quebec could have easily matched, if not outdone the Utah fanbase. Poirier, the story goes, was ready when the NHL was ready to expand once again to make Quebec the league's 32nd team. Seattle won this bout of bidding a few years ago though, with an offer more to the liking of the NHL for its bigger picture moving forward.
On paper, it would appear Quebec City has all the ingredients of an NHL team: a state-of-the-art arena, a rabid fanbase, and a strong financial backer. But the league has nevertheless continued to pursue its U.S. market expansion and has seemed to turn a blind eye to any demand in Canadian markets. A Quebec City NHL franchise remains in doubt, leaving lots of other questions about what more the city could do to make its case. Today, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman holds tight to developing the sport in emerging American markets, with Salt Lake City being the latest team added.
While Quebec City may still hold out some hope for an eventual return to the ranks of the NHL, it would certainly appear as though the league has its sights very much elsewhere, tending to its expansion in the U.S. rather than backward to where it originated. Passing over Poirier's bid in favor of an owner from Seattle and Salt Lake City would imply that NHL aspirations within Quebec itself remain on indefinite hold.
