Despite having an NHL-size rink and a rich history, Quebec City gets passed over yet again.
From a junior-sized college rink to a basketball-first facility, the NHL doesn’t seem to mind where the Arizona Coyotes play hockey next season — as long as it isn’t in Canada.
Seriously, Salt Lake City? What does that city have that Quebec City doesn’t?
Well, aside from being located in the southern U.S.
That’s the only reason why a picturesque city of about 204,000 residents in Utah of all places has been chosen ahead of Quebec City, which has more than double the population, as well as an NHL-sized rink and a hockey-starved fan base that used to cheer on the Nordiques.
Alas, Quebec City won’t be getting an NHL franchise. Not now. Probably not ever again.
According to various reports, the NHL is already preparing the framework to move the Coyotes from their temporary home at Arizona State University to where the Utah Jazz play basketball games next season.
There's also talk that the NHL wants to continue expanding, with as many as 36 teams in the near future. But the list of potential NHL cities now includes Atlanta, Houston, Portland and Kansas City. Even Arizona is expected to get a team again at some point.
However, Quebec City — and Toronto or Hamilton, for that matter — do not appear to be on the NHL’s radar screen.
Which is strange, because it was previously believed that the only reason why Quebec City had not received a franchise yet was because it was waiting in line for a team to relocate.
"The issue is going to be will we have a team that wants to relocate at the present time? That's not the case," Bettman told reporters in January. "Or will we want to expand? As I sit here today, we have no plans to expand.”
Back in 2016, when the NHL was accepting applications for expansion franchises, the league cited the “fluctuating Canadian dollar” and a “geographical imbalance” as reasons why Quebec City would not be getting a team.“
Quebec’s on our radar screen,” said Bettman. “We know there’s potential ownership, we know there’s an arena and we know that there’s a lot of passionate fans in the market. But the circumstances at this point in time for the reasons we articulated, it didn’t make it a possible reality.
Eight years later, not much has changed. Bettman hasn’t officially closed the door on the NHL’s return to Quebec City. But it appears that he’s blocked the entry with yellow caution tape.
That’s despite having an 18,259-seat hockey arena that sits vacant on most nights when the Quebec Remparts aren’t playing. And that’s despite hosting a pair of exhibition games featuring the Los Angeles Kings in the 2024-25 pre-season.
As hockey fans in Quebec might say, "Ah, zut!"