May 19, 2023

As long as Gary Bettman is the commissioner of the National Hockey League, the Nordiques will not be back in Quebec. Never the national capital will have a new team of the circuit during its mandate.

• Read also: Jonathan Marchessault dreams of the return of the Nordiques

• Read also: “The carrots are done” for the NHL in Arizona, believes former Coyotes Éric Bélanger

• Read also: NHL: The 5 most plausible destinations for the Coyotes, whose amphitheater project was rejected by referendum

The American, who turns 71 in June, has been in the job for more than 30 years and he doesn’t seem to want to retire.

He’s done some good things, including lining owners’ pockets with expansions and TV deals.

But some governors need to hold themselves accountable. The Coyotes flop in Arizona is ridiculous and laughable. The team, the League and the other formations have been losing money for a long time.

After all these years, does Bettman have too much ego or too prideful to acknowledge the failure of the Coyotes? He made it a personal project.

And the club will still evolve next season in a university arena with less than 5,000 seats. This is not serious. Which professional athletes can thrive there? Not Jakob Chychrun anyway. The defender asked to be traded and his wish was finally granted. He took the road to Ottawa.

And following the public refused the construction of an amphitheater in Tempe, the father of the excellent Clayton Keller mentioned on Twitter that his son will not be there at the start of the next campaign. His post was later deleted, but the damage was done.

Tired of being fooled

Meanwhile, Quebec is waiting. Quebec awaits with its passionate hockey fans who fill a modern Videotron Center that can accommodate more than 18,000 spectators. We’re a long way from Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena.

We have the impression that there is at least one news per year that reminds us that Quebec does not have an NHL team and that all Quebecers are being fooled.

When we talk regarding organizations in difficulty, several cities that might potentially host a club, such as Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta ( once more!) or Salt Lake City, resurface. But it is only in Canada that we speak of Quebec, otherwise this name is pronounced lip service, not too loudly.

If no journalist asks questions to Bettman, he will never pronounce the name of the capital of La Belle Province.

However, behind the scenes, the commissioner must certainly use Quebec as a negotiating tool with the other cities so that they get organized quickly.

Even when Quebec had its chance, it was not necessary to talk regarding it too much, for fear of offending Bettman. It was necessary to respect it and not to attract attention.

What does it give ? Pierre Karl Péladeau, Quebecor, the mayor at the time Régis Labeaume, the Government of Quebec all followed the instructions to the letter, building an amphitheater that meets the criteria of the circuit and depositing millions of dollars on the table just to present a application file. But Bettman’s choice was already made. He took our money and went to Las Vegas, then to Seattle.

false hopes

Bettman has once run out of options when things went wrong with the Atlanta Thrashers. Winnipeg was ready and the Jets came back to life. The Commissioner will not want to repeat such a scenario. If the Coyotes are guaranteed to stay in Arizona in 2023-2024, it is because the next destination is not yet ready. Bettman prefers to wait a little longer rather than move the club to Quebec where there is already an arena, fans and an interesting market.

Let Bettman say so and confirm that he doesn’t want to know regarding the return of the Nordiques, stop fooling us, giving us false hope. It’s annoying, because we’ve been taken hostage.

The role of CH

The Canadian might also play an important role in helping Quebec. The CH took advantage of this great rivalry. Montreal would do well to find its sworn enemy. It would force the organization to be better in every way. The two teams would snap up the best Quebec players, they would be more attentive to what is happening in the QMJHL. Everyone would win, but that, Bettman does not want to see.

Honestly, I hope for the return of the Nordiques more than I really believe in it. It is a sad reality.

▶ Be honest: did you watch the entire game between the Florida Panthers and the Carolina Hurricanes? Not me ! I lay down, but I did not see the winning goal, scored following 139 min and 47 s of action. The sixth longest game in NHL history. Four overtime periods is too long. The athletes are tired, the risk of injury is high and the show suffers. At the start of the playoffs, I advocated a 3-on-3 overtime only in the first round. Today, I would be ready to spread this format for all playoffs. There will be a winner and a loser either way.

-Comments collected by Mylène Richard