Return of the Nordiques: very unrealistic according to Renaud Lavoie
In his most recent article for TVA Sports, insider Renaud Lavoie has dissected the possible return of the Quebec Nordiques from top to bottom. A file that would have very little chance of materializing, according to him...
The next step would be for Quebec's Minister of Finance, Éric Girard, to find an investor and even if new investors could be brought into the picture, Quebecor, owner of TVA Sports and the Centre Vidéotron, would not be out of the equation either.
Moreover, as much as the CAQ wants to do everything in its power to bring back the Nordiques, Lavoie doesn't see how it could succeed in doing what neither Pierre-Karl Péladeau nor Bryan Mulroney were able to do, which was to convince the NHL to return to Quebec City.
The wrong approach?
Lavoie mentions, however, that Commissioner Gary Bettman's approach to choosing his markets may not be the right one.
Indeed, the league's philosophy is to go to the richest and most populous markets, which is why Bettman is adamant about keeping a team in Arizona despite the franchise's failures, because it is the 16th richest market in the United States.
But is this market of about four million people really a bigger hockey market than Quebec City? Nothing is less certain.
In short, Renaud Lavoie concludes by saying that the return of the Nordiques is a dream that will probably never become reality, as long as Bettman is in office, because the interest is simply not there.
