New “Espoir” Found in Hockey Bailout
Apparently Americans aren’t the only ones asking for a little government assistance via federal funding. However, Canada’s plan to dish out finances is likely something almost all Canadians will support. The Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers may soon be playing in The House That Stephen Harper Built, when the prime minister let on that federal funding made available to help construct a new hockey arena in Quebec might also be available in other instances, implying all of Canada’s major cities will be treated equally.Hockey fanaticism in Canada is well-documented, with Quebec serving as the country’s largest hockeyless metro area. Once upon a time, Quebec was a hockey fan’s paradise, as the Nordiques roaming the ice at Colisee de Quebec (Quebec Coliseum in an amateur translation). The Nordiques entered the NHL to start the 1979-80 season, following the league’s merger with the World Hockey Association. The Nordiques were among the WHA’s inaugural teams, as the upstart league posed the most serious direct competition to the NHL since the Western Hockey League folded in 1926. WHA owners paid a premium for top hockey talent, often luring free agents away from their NHL clubs. As a result, hockey fans in Quebec truly enjoyed the top talent on the ice since the Nordiques first skated in 1972, hoisting the WHA’s Avco World Trophy in 1977, the only championship the Quebec City faithful would enjoy in the history of the Nordiques existence. While the Nordiques enjoyed a loyal fan base, concerns over Quebec City’s small market, native French tongue and ownership’s financial instability painted a bleak long term picture for the Nordiques future viability in the area. At the time, the organization sought a bailout from the provincial government, unsuccessfully, though no federal funds were ever considered. In 1995, the Nordiques relocated to Denver, Colorado, where they have since played under the Avalanche banner, leaving thousands of heartbroken fans in their wake.Apparently, qualms over big league hockey in a small, French speaking city are no longer of importance to the Canadian government, whether or not the NHL takes kindly to restoring hockey to Quebec (new arena or not), with plenty of American suitors laying in waiting as well, remains to be seen.
