Quebec City among four cities in NHL expansion talks: report

When it comes to NHL expansion, it appears that Quebec City is back in the conversation.

During a Thursday episode of Insider Trading, TSN’s Pierre LeBrun suggested that it is only a matter of time before new franchises will join the NHL and that Quebec is among the top destinations on Commissioner Gary Bettman’s list.

“You certainly got that sense from listening to Gary Bettman and looking at the body language of the NHL commissioner Wednesday at the Board of Governors meeting in New York. It felt like he came so close to just saying it’s going to happen, but he said, ‘No, we aren’t ready yet,’” LeBrun explained.

“Then he talked about the recurring interest in conversations that he’s having with those four cities … Atlanta, Houston, Salt Lake and Quebec City.”

But with the Arizona Coyotes currently playing out of a college-sized arena with a capacity of 5,000 fans, LeBrun argued that the league would have to find a solution for problems the desert market is facing before looking to other locations.

“As other governors told me Wednesday at the meeting, there’s no question you have to figure out Arizona first in case you have to move them to one of those cities that we just talked about,” LeBrun added. “Especially whether that’s Houston or Salt Lake City.”

Over the years, debates have broken out about whether Quebec’s population could sustain an NHL franchise. The passion for junior hockey, which drew an average of 9,726 spectators to the city’s NHL-sized arena in 2022-23, is a strong indication that it could.

And back in Januray, while Bettman was speaking to reporters in Montreal, the topic of bringing a team to Quebec City came up.

“I know there’s been constant speculation about that,” said Bettman. “We’re not in an expansion mode,” he explained.

While the commissioner denied rumours of anything happening in the near future, he did not completely shut the door on the idea, saying, “If we decide to participate or have the possibility of expansion, we’ll let the people of Quebec City know.”

And although it’s been nearly three decades since their beloved Nordiques left to become the Colorado Avalanche, fans in Quebec City would undoubtedly jump at the opportunity.

Hopefully they get that chance.

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