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One Quebec columnist eyeballs two potential teams to fill new Quebec City arena

Image (1) quebecnordiqueslogo-thumb-250x161-19888.jpg for post 15211

So we’re all a bit excited that they’re going to build an NHL-sized arena in Quebec City. Granted this is something that’s coming about 15 years too late given that one of the main reasons why the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver to become the Colorado Avalanche is because they played in the archaic and run-down Colisee de Quebec. The catch now is that Quebec doesn’t have a team to put in their new arena and the NHL is a bit reticent to moving teams haphazardly (just ask Jim Balsillie about that).

François Gagnon of La Presse picks out a couple of teams he thinks make good candidates (column in French) to move to Quebec City to fill the new arena. Many thanks to Julie Veilleux for translating this section of his column for us.


The Thrashers or the Panthers?

That being said, he might be dreaming about the NHL, but I don’t see how he can dream about the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Well! It’s obvious that the idea of Vincent Lecavalier, Martin St-Louis and Simon Gagné playing in Québec is alluring, as is the prospect of the city inheriting a team that has a real chance of getting ahead of the Canadiens in the standings next season and is led by three Québécois.

But the Lightning won’t leave Tampa.

The new owner is filthy rich. He made some colossal investments to ensure his team would be well established in North Florida and will not budge.

At least not in the short term.

Which means that if we are to see the Nordiques’ rebirth in La Belle Ville any time soon, we have to turn our focus to the Florida Panthers or the Atlanta Thrashers as potential teams likely to head for Québec.

Why not Phoenix?

Because Phoenix apparently already has a foot - or a skate - in the door in Winnipeg, the Manitoban capital that the former Jets deserted in the spring of 1996.

All right, so once again things boil down to the two teams that lack in fan support and attendance and that’s not surprising. That said, these hopes and pipe dreams might need to step on the gas if fans in Quebec are hoping that either of these teams could be on the way north.

Florida may turn out to be bad this year, but with Dale Tallon in charge as the GM, things may be turning around fast. The Thrashers were decent last season and took advantage of the Blackhawks miserable handling of the salary cap to load up their team this year, something that could put them in the playoffs as soon as this year.

These are high hopes and big dreams for fans in Quebec City who have been forlorn without the Nordiques, and rooting for teams to fail in other markets seems to invite a lot of bad karma. Then again, the Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in their first season in Denver so perhaps fans in Quebec don’t give a crap about such mysticism.