Gary Bettman set to meet with high-ranking Quebec government official
It's tough to get your hopes up for a return of the Quebec Nordiques to the NHL, but it is good to hear communication lines are being kept open, at the very least.
According to Quebec talk radio host and political analyst Jonathan Trudeau, NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman is set to meet soon with Eric Girard, the Finance Minister for the Province of Quebec. The talk will take place in New York and is said to be a "courtesy meeting to keep communication channels open."
Perhaps even more encouraging is this is the second meeting Bettman and Gerard have had in the last six months. The two got together for a chat back in January. Following that meeting, Bettman released a statement saying the league appreciated the passion for bringing another team back to Quebec, but "we were not aware of any opportunity that could address that interest at the current time."
Quebec City already has an arena capable of seating an NHL-sized audience (18,259) in Videotron Centre. What's really needed is someone with the money to invest in it. Quebec Premier Francois Legault has said he believes the province can easily sustain two teams, and there's not much doubt he's right, should the proper financing come about. As for hopes that the Arizona Coyotes might be relocated to Quebec, it seems the NHL is content to let the team just barely tread water before allowing that to happen.
| POLL | ||
MAI 19 | 214 ANSWERS Gary Bettman set to meet with high-ranking Quebec government official Do you think the province of Quebec could handle two NHL teams? | ||
| Yes, no problem | 135 | 63.1 % |
| No, one is enough | 49 | 22.9 % |
| Expansion needs to go to US cities first | 30 | 14 % |
| LIST OF POLLS | ||
| G | A | PTS | ||
| Zachary Werenski | 2 | 3 | 5 | |
| Sean Monahan | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| Jesper Bratt | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Frederick Gaudreau | 2 | 1 | 3 | |
| Jack Hughes | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Nikita Kucherov | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Mackenzie Weegar | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Kent Johnson | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Alexander Wennberg | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Mitchell Chaffee | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Anthony Cirelli | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Matthew Coronato | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Marcus Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Nick Foligno | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Conor Geekie | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Brandon Hagel | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Stefan Noesen | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Corey Perry | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Igor Sharangovich | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Dmitry Voronkov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Complete stats | ||||
| STANDINGS 2024-2025 | ||||||
TOP 10 | GP | W | L | OL | PTS | |
Jets | 19 | 16 | 3 | - | 32 | |
Wild | 19 | 13 | 3 | 3 | 29 | |
Hurricanes | 19 | 14 | 5 | - | 28 | |
Devils | 22 | 13 | 7 | 2 | 28 | |
Capitals | 19 | 13 | 5 | 1 | 27 | |
Golden Knights | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Maple Leafs | 20 | 12 | 6 | 2 | 26 | |
Rangers | 18 | 12 | 5 | 1 | 25 | |
Panthers | 20 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 25 | |
Flames | 20 | 11 | 6 | 3 | 25 | |
| Conference | Cumulative | ||||||