Post by JETStender on Sept 22, 2009 13:45:10 GMT -5
An NHL rebirth in Quebec?
By PAT HICKEY, The Gazette September 22, 2009
It's the kind of comment that will probably send shivers down commissioner Gary Bettman's spine, but I suspect Canadiens' Ryan O'Byrne was speaking for many NHLers when he was asked about the possibility of an NHL team in Quebec City.
"I'd love to play here," O'Byrne said after the Canadiens dropped a 2-1 decision to the Boston Bruins Sunday night before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 15,141 at Le Colisée. "This beats playing someplace in the (southern United States) where it looks like there's a hundred people in the stands."
Hopes of an NHL rebirth in Quebec have been fuelled by the interest shown by media tycoon Pierre Karl Péladeau, who was the losing bidder when George Gillett put the Canadiens on the block. Péladeau, who sees an NHL team as prime content for a new all-sports network and other multi-media platforms, is bitter over losing the Canadiens to the Molson brothers and he'd guarantee a return to the good ol' days of the Montreal-Quebec rivalry.
There are many hurdles that would have to overcome before Quebec gets a team. For starters, there has to be a team available and, as Jim Balsillie has discovered, Bettman and the NHL aren't crazy about the idea of relocating teams from the Sun Belt to the Snow Belt.
Quebec probably needs a new arena. Le Colisée was a marginal NHL rink a decade ago and is even more outdated today. And while Sunday's game suggests there is a strong fan base for the NHL, there is still the question of whether the city has the corporate backing that is the lifeblood of pro sports today.
The Nordiques struggled financially before the club was sold and moved to Denver in 1995.
People might say the climate is better today, with a salary cap in the NHL, but it should be noted that the Nor-diques' payroll in their final season in Quebec City was a shade over $18 million; in the salary-cap era, teams are required to spend more than double that just to reach the minimum.
Bouillon finds work: Former Canadiens defenceman Francis Bouillon has agreed to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Nashville Predators, contingent on Bouillon passing a physical today.
Bouillon, who was among the 10 unrestricted free agents cast adrift by the Canadiens on July 1, will become Predator for the second time. Nashville claimed him off waivers from the Canadiens on Oct. 4, 2002.
Bouillon played four games for the Predators before he was placed on waivers and reclaimed by the Canadiens on Oct. 24.
Two of the Canadiens' unrestricted free agents are still on the market. Defenceman Patrice Brisebois, whose career was extended by last-minute contracts from the Canadiens in each of the past two seasons, seems resigned to the fact his career is over.
Instead of waiting at home for a call, he has been visiting our troops in Afghanistan. Robert Lang would like to continue playing, but teams are wary about signing him because he'll be 39 in December and he's recovering from a severed Achilles tendon.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette
By PAT HICKEY, The Gazette September 22, 2009
It's the kind of comment that will probably send shivers down commissioner Gary Bettman's spine, but I suspect Canadiens' Ryan O'Byrne was speaking for many NHLers when he was asked about the possibility of an NHL team in Quebec City.
"I'd love to play here," O'Byrne said after the Canadiens dropped a 2-1 decision to the Boston Bruins Sunday night before a wildly enthusiastic crowd of 15,141 at Le Colisée. "This beats playing someplace in the (southern United States) where it looks like there's a hundred people in the stands."
Hopes of an NHL rebirth in Quebec have been fuelled by the interest shown by media tycoon Pierre Karl Péladeau, who was the losing bidder when George Gillett put the Canadiens on the block. Péladeau, who sees an NHL team as prime content for a new all-sports network and other multi-media platforms, is bitter over losing the Canadiens to the Molson brothers and he'd guarantee a return to the good ol' days of the Montreal-Quebec rivalry.
There are many hurdles that would have to overcome before Quebec gets a team. For starters, there has to be a team available and, as Jim Balsillie has discovered, Bettman and the NHL aren't crazy about the idea of relocating teams from the Sun Belt to the Snow Belt.
Quebec probably needs a new arena. Le Colisée was a marginal NHL rink a decade ago and is even more outdated today. And while Sunday's game suggests there is a strong fan base for the NHL, there is still the question of whether the city has the corporate backing that is the lifeblood of pro sports today.
The Nordiques struggled financially before the club was sold and moved to Denver in 1995.
People might say the climate is better today, with a salary cap in the NHL, but it should be noted that the Nor-diques' payroll in their final season in Quebec City was a shade over $18 million; in the salary-cap era, teams are required to spend more than double that just to reach the minimum.
Bouillon finds work: Former Canadiens defenceman Francis Bouillon has agreed to a one-year, $750,000 contract with the Nashville Predators, contingent on Bouillon passing a physical today.
Bouillon, who was among the 10 unrestricted free agents cast adrift by the Canadiens on July 1, will become Predator for the second time. Nashville claimed him off waivers from the Canadiens on Oct. 4, 2002.
Bouillon played four games for the Predators before he was placed on waivers and reclaimed by the Canadiens on Oct. 24.
Two of the Canadiens' unrestricted free agents are still on the market. Defenceman Patrice Brisebois, whose career was extended by last-minute contracts from the Canadiens in each of the past two seasons, seems resigned to the fact his career is over.
Instead of waiting at home for a call, he has been visiting our troops in Afghanistan. Robert Lang would like to continue playing, but teams are wary about signing him because he'll be 39 in December and he's recovering from a severed Achilles tendon.
phickey@thegazette.canwest.com
© Copyright (c) The Montreal Gazette