The Quebec Nordiques and Hartford Whalers are facing off in 2025 – or so it will look like it.

The Colorado Avalanche unveiled their Nordiques specialty jerseys, which will be worn seven times this season.

"As the Avalanche celebrates their 30th anniversary, they honor their Quebec roots that have made an indelible impact on the franchise," ColoradoAvalanche.com's Coby Maier wrote on Tuesday.

Thursday's matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes will feature the Nordiques uniforms in action for the first time this season. Carolina will also wear its white, green and blue Hartford Whalers jerseys as the visitors. On Jan. 3, both teams will wear the vintage uniforms again in Carolina.

The matchup revives the branding of two NHL franchises that battled in the same division for 15 years and now exist in far-away cities.

The Nordiques and Whalers first existed in the WHA, with the New England Whalers winning the Avco Cup as playoff champions in 1972-73 and Quebec winning in 1976-77. The WHA merged with the NHL ahead of the 1979-80 season – the NHL absorbed the Nordiques, Whalers, Winnipeg Jets and Edmonton Oilers, while the Cincinnati Stingers and Houston Aeros folded.

Quebec and Hartford battled in the NHL's Adams Division for 13 seasons and Northeast Division for two years afterward. Both teams met in the Stanley Cup playoffs twice, with each squad winning a series.

The Nordiques' top talent included brothers Peter and Anton Stastny, Michel Goulet and Joe Sakic. The Whalers featured Ron Francis, Pat Verbeek, Kevin Dineen and Ray Ferraro.

In May 1995, Charlie Lyons and the Comsat company purchased the Nordiques and relocated them to Denver, renaming them the Colorado Avalanche. They won the Stanley Cup in their first season as the Avs.

The Whalers, which entrepreneur Peter Karmanos purchased in 1994, relocated to North Carolina ahead of the 1997-98 campaign, playing in Greensboro until their new arena opened in Raleigh in 1999.

Despite being in new cities, both franchises have revived the Nordiques and Whalers branding on separate occasions.

In 2021, the Avalanche used the Nordiques' igloo logo and fleur-de-lis in Colorado's burgundy color for the NHL's reverse retro jersey campaign. This time, they're wearing the original blue, red and white color palette the Quebec squad wore to symbolize the importance of the province's French-Canadian roots.

The Hurricanes, meanwhile, have worn specialty Whalers jerseys on occasion since 2018. This season, they're wearing a white version for three games, including on Thursday, on Jan. 3 when the Avs visit in their Nordiques unis as well, and on Jan. 29 against the Utah Mammoth.

Colorado will also wear the Nordiques uniform against the Montreal Canadiens on Nov. 29, Toronto Maple Leafs on Jan. 12, Pittsburgh Penguins on March 16, Vancouver Canucks on April 1 and Vegas Golden Knights on April 11.

For action-packed issues, access to the entire magazine archive and a free issue, subscribe to The Hockey News at THN.com/free. Get the latest news and trending stories by subscribing to our newsletter here. And share your thoughts by commenting below the article on THN.com or creating your own post in our community forum.