The NHL will be back in Quebec City as the Ottawa Senators plan to play the Montreal Canadiens and New Jersey Devils during the pre-season.

Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer announced they will play two pre-season games in Quebec City in September.

The Senators plan to spend four days in Quebec's capital and face the New Jersey Devils on Sept. 28 and the Montreal Canadiens on Sept. 30 at Videotron Centre.

This is the second year NHL teams scheduled pre-season games in Quebec City, which hasn't had an NHL franchise since the Nordiques relocated to Colorado in 1995.

The Los Angeles Kings held two exhibition matches and part of their training camp in Quebec City last September while their home rink underwent renovations. They took on the Boston Bruins and Florida Panthers, drawing 17,334 fans for the Bruins-Kings matchup.

Videotron Centre, which seats more than 18,000 fans, also hosted a PWHL game between the Montreal Victoire and Ottawa Charge on Jan. 19 and brought in 18,259 attendees. The rink is the home of the QMJHL's Quebec Remparts, which leads the league in average attendance at 9,446 fans.

Like the Kings, the Senators plan to hold public practices and take part in community initiatives during their visit. 

“In addition to playing two games in front of passionate fans, this short trip will allow our players to spend a few days in a beautiful city as they put the finishing touches on their preparations for a new season,” Andlauer said in the team's news release.

In a press conference on Monday at the Videotron Centre, Andlauer also said the vision is to also eventually play some regular-season games in Quebec City, noting the team's played in Sweden before in the NHL Global Series. He added that's on the NHL to decide.

Last year, Quebec's provincial government agreed to spend between $5 million and $7 million to subsidize the Kings' pre-season games, which drew criticism from politicians, unions and community group members who felt the money could be better used elsewhere. Postmedia's Bruce Garrioch reported no Quebec government funding is involved in the Senators' visit.

The pre-season is an opportunity for NHL teams to play games in different cities and towns that don't have a hockey squad in The Show. Last September, Ottawa played the Pittsburgh Penguins in Sudbury as part of Kraft Hockeyville festivities in nearby Elliot Lake, Ont. In 2023, they played in Halifax and Sydney, N.S.

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