The first of the Los Angeles Kings' two pre-season games in Quebec City featured excited fans, but the debate on the millions spent for this continued with a march and more.

The year-long saga over a multi-million-dollar subsidy the Quebec government gave the Los Angeles Kings to play two pre-season games in Quebec City continued right up to the start of Thursday night’s game between the Kings and the Boston Bruins.

But the polemics vanished once the puck hit the ice in front of a near-capacity crowd of 17,000 at the Centre Videotron.

“This is incredible,” said Felix Boutet, a nine-year-old from nearby Levis who plays minor hockey and follows the NHL closely. “I’ll never forget it,” he said in French.

“He watches all the games, knows all the players,” said his father Simon, an iron worker who bought tickets for the game when they went on sale a year ago. “We had to come.”

Boutet said he had mixed feelings about the Quebec government’s decision a year ago to spend between $5 million and $7 million for the Kings to come to Quebec City and host the matches.

“I’m not sure that it was a good use of taxpayers’ money,” Boutet said in French. “But this experience is perfect for my kid.”

Last night’s game – a 4-1 Kings win, the team’s fourth pre-season victory in a row – was the first NHL exhibition match played in Quebec City since 2018, when the Montreal Canadiens faced the Washington Capitals.

The Kings’ Quinton Byfield had a hattie, and several hats were thrown from a loud crowd that cheered both the Bruins and home-game Kings in equal measure.

“I feel good, I’m comfortable out there (and) I’m getting the bounces right now,” he said in a post-game scrum.

The Kings will host the defending Stanley Cup-champion Florida Panthers in their second and final game here on Saturday night.

The Kings will stay in Quebec’s provincial capital region until early next week when they travel to Buffalo for their first regular-season game against the Sabres on Thursday.

The Kings are playing their exhibition games and their first seven regular-season games on the road due to renovations at their Crypto.com home arena.

They play their first home game on Oct. 24 against the San Jose Sharks.

The Kings’ need to hit the road tied in nicely with Quebec City’s ongoing efforts to attract a new NHL franchise.

The city has been without a team since the Nordiques left for Colorado in 1995.

The city and the province addressed the need for a new NHL-calibre rink by publicly funding the construction of the Centre Videotron in 2015 to the tune of $400 million.

However, the rink’s only tenant remains the Quebec Remparts in the QMJHL.

Last year’s subsidy announcement to the Kings was made during a nasty wage-based contract dispute with the province’s nurses and teachers’ unions.

It earned Quebec premier Francois Legault’s CAQ government widespread criticism that continued yesterday.

Some 500 union and community group members – many of them wearing Kings jerseys - held a noon-hour march and demonstration in front of the Centre Videotron.

“We’re not against the Kings,” said protest organizer Veronique Laflamme in French. “We’re for more investments in social programs and infrastructure by this government.”

In a press conference at the National Assembly, interim Quebec Liberal leader Marc Tanguay held up a Kings sweater with No. 11 and Quebec Premier Francois Legault’s name on the back.

“The No. 11 is for the $11-billion deficit in the premier’s last budget,” Tanguay said. “A Kings sweater for the king of Quebec deficits.”

The man at the center of the political storm – Quebec finance minister Francois Girard – stoically told reporters before the game that “people who want to go will go;  those who don’t won’t.”

“The timing of the announcement last year was really bad,” said Raynald Bolduc, a lifelong Bruins fan from the nearby town of Beaupre who was at last night’s game with his wife and adult son. “But when I saw the Bruins were coming, I bought tickets right away.”

For Bolduc, a 58-year-old who coached minor and school teams for 30-plus years and still plays beer league hockey, much of the grousing over the Kings’ subsidy is from people who either don’t like hockey or who are trying to score political points.

“Governments spend money on activities like this all the time,” he said. “Look at the (Formula 1 race) and the Presidents Cup last week in Montreal.”

Bolduc also lauded the fact that Kings are doing many community events.

On Wednesday, roughly half of the players visited a sick kid’s hospital. On game day, the other half played ball hockey with local kids at a center for disadvantaged youth.

Similar events are planned for the coming days.

The Kings are also holding daily practices that are open to the public.

Before last night’s game, a tribute was also paid to Quebe City native and former Bruins superstar Patrice Bergeron, who retired after the 2022-23 season.

“The fact that the Kings’ players are going out into the community and playing with kids is amazing,” said Bolduc. “They’re giving them memories that will last a lifetime.”

For her part, Quebec City resident Sylvie Ste-Croix, who was at last night’s game with her father, son and daughter, said she grew up watching hockey with her dad.

“He was always a big fan of Bruins – after the Nordiques of course,” she said. “So I bought us tickets as a Father’s Day present.”

Ste-Croix said she was nonplussed by the government subsidy to the Kings.

“It didn’t bother me at all,” she said. “Governments need to invest in sports to get kids interested. Just look at the faces of the kids here. It’s worth every penny.”

Her 20-something daughter, Elena Landry, said she, too, was all for the Kings visit.

“It’s great for our city,” she said. “And it’s awesome to see these beautiful, sharp-dressed young men walking around the streets of Old Quebec.”

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