The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in
Quebec French
Quebec French (french: français québécois ), also known as Québécois French, is the predominant variety of the French language spoken in Canada. It is the dominant language of the province of Quebec, used in everyday communication, in educa ...
, in
Canadian English
Canadian English (CanE, CE, en-CA) encompasses the varieties of English native to Canada. According to the 2016 census, English was the first language of 19.4 million Canadians or 58.1% of the total population; the remainder spoke French ( ...
; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...
team based in
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
. The Nordiques played in the
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
(1972–1979) and the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...
(1979–1995). The franchise was relocated to
Denver, Colorado
Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...
in May
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...
and renamed the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
. They played their home games at the
Colisée de Québec
Colisée de Québec (later known as Colisée Pepsi) is a defunct multi-purpose arena located in Quebec City, Quebec. It was the home of the Quebec Nordiques from 1972 to 1995, during their time in the World Hockey Association and National Hockey ...
from 1972 to 1995.
The Nordiques were the only
major professional sports team based in Quebec City in the modern era, and one of two ever; the other, the
Quebec Bulldogs
The Quebec Bulldogs (french: Bulldogs de Québec) were a men's senior-level ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The team was officially known as the Quebec Hockey Club (french: Club de hockey de Québec), and later as the Quebec Athletic Club ...
, played in the
National Hockey Association
The National Hockey Association (NHA), officially the National Hockey Association of Canada Limited, was a professional ice hockey organization with teams in Ontario and Quebec, Canada. It is the direct predecessor of today's National Hockey Lea ...
(NHA) from 1910 to 1917 and one season in the NHL in 1919–20.
History
Beginnings in the WHA
The Quebec Nordiques formed as one of the original
World Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...
teams in
1972
Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...
. The franchise was originally awarded to a group in
San Francisco
San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...
and named the San Francisco Sharks. However, the San Francisco group's funding collapsed prior to the start of the first season. Rather than play an unbalanced schedule with 11 teams, the WHA hastily awarded the Sharks' assets the organization to a consortium of Quebec City-based businessmen who owned the highly-profitable
Quebec Remparts
There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts (french: Remparts de Québec) that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). The first edition played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has pla ...
junior team. They bought the team after the
American Hockey League
The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary Minor league#Ice hockey, developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 AHL se ...
team, the
Quebec Aces
The Quebec Aces, also known in French as Les As de Québec, were an amateur and later a professional men's ice hockey team from Quebec City, Quebec.
History
The Aces were founded in 1928 by Anglo-Canadian Pulp and Paper Mills, the name Aces stan ...
, moved south to
Richmond, Virginia
(Thus do we reach the stars)
, image_map =
, mapsize = 250 px
, map_caption = Location within Virginia
, pushpin_map = Virginia#USA
, pushpin_label = Richmond
, pushpin_m ...
.
The team was renamed the Quebec Nordiques because they were one of the northernmost teams in professional sports in North America. Quebec City is located at
46 degrees north latitude
In geography, latitude is a coordinate that specifies the north– south position of a point on the surface of the Earth or another celestial body. Latitude is given as an angle that ranges from –90° at the south pole to 90° at the north pol ...
; Nordiques translated from French to English means "Northerners" or "Northmen." The only WHA teams located farther north were the
Alberta Oilers
Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Territ ...
(who changed their name to the
Edmonton Oilers
The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...
after one season),
Calgary Cowboys
The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975–1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, t ...
,
Vancouver Blazers
The Vancouver Blazers were a professional ice hockey team that played in the World Hockey Association from 1973 to 1975. The Blazers played at the Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, sharing the facility with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hocke ...
, and
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
.
The Nordiques' first head coach was the legendary
Maurice "Rocket" Richard
Joseph Henri Maurice "Rocket" Richard (; ; August 4, 1921 – May 27, 2000) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens. He was the first player in NHL hist ...
but he only lasted two games – a 2–0 loss to the
Cleveland Crusaders
The Cleveland Crusaders were a professional ice hockey team from Cleveland. They played in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1976. Their home ice was the Cleveland Arena from 1972 to 1974, and the Richfield Coliseum from 1974 to 1976.
T ...
and a 6–0 win against the Alberta Oilers. Richard decided coaching was not his forte and stepped down.
The Nordiques' first star was two-way defenceman
J. C. Tremblay
Joseph Henri Jean-Claude Tremblay (January 22, 1939 – December 7, 1994) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman for the NHL Montreal Canadiens and the WHA Quebec Nordiques, notable for play-making and defensive skills.
Playing career
After an a ...
, who led the WHA in assists in the league's first season and would be named a league All-Star for his first four years in Quebec. The next season
Serge Bernier
Serge Joseph Bernier (born April 29, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey Winger (ice hockey), right winger who played seven seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Philadelphia Flyers, Los Angeles Kings and Quebec Nordi ...
and
Rejean Houle joined the Nordiques. In 1974–75 season, they finally made the playoffs with the help of the high-scoring
Marc Tardif
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif (born June 12, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is ...
; the year also saw the debut of
Real Cloutier
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010)
...
, who would be one of the WHA's stars. They beat the
Phoenix Roadrunners and the
Minnesota Fighting Saints
The Minnesota Fighting Saints was the name of two professional ice hockey teams based in Saint Paul, Minnesota, that played in the World Hockey Association. The first team was one of the WHA's original twelve franchises, playing from 1972 to 19 ...
to reach the finals, where they were swept in four games by the
Gordie Howe
Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...
-led
Houston Aeros.
The next season saw the squad become a high-flying offensive juggernaut, becoming the only team in major professional history to have five players break 100 points (Tardif, Cloutier,
Chris Bordeleau
Christian Gerrard "Chris" Bordeleau (born September 23, 1947) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League between 1969 and 1972, and the World Hockey Association between 1972 and 1979.
Playing c ...
, Bernier and Houle), a mark which still stands as of 2022. The season ended in disappointment as the Nordiques lost to the
Calgary Cowboys
The Calgary Cowboys were an ice hockey team that played two seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1975–1977. The Cowboys played at the Stampede Corral in Calgary. The franchise was founded in 1972 as the Miami Screaming Eagles, t ...
in the first round of the playoffs, after losing
Marc Tardif
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif (born June 12, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is ...
to injury after a controversial hit by the Cowboys'
Rick Jodzio
Richard Joseph Jodzio (born June 3, 1954 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Colorado Rockies and the Cleveland Barons; he also played in the Worl ...
.
Despite injuries to Tardif and an aging Tremblay, the Nordiques finally captured the
Avco World Trophy
The Avco World Trophy, also known as the Avco Cup, is the playoff championship trophy of the defunct World Hockey Association (1972– 1979). The trophy's naming rights were sold to the former Avco Corporation (a name originally derived from "Avi ...
in 1976–77 as they took out the
New England Whalers
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
and the
Indianapolis Racers
The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are o ...
in five games before beating the
Winnipeg Jets
The Winnipeg Jets are a professional ice hockey team based in Winnipeg. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and is owned by True North Sports & Entertainment, pl ...
in seven, behind Bernier's record 36 points in 17 playoff games. They represented Canada at the Izvestia Hockey Tournament in
Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
, finishing last with an 0–3–1 record.
By 1978, the WHA was in crisis, and
Marcel Aubut
Marcel Aubut, (born January 5, 1948) is a Canadian lawyer, former president of the Canadian Olympic Committee and former president and Chief Executive Officer of the Quebec Nordiques of the National Hockey League (NHL). He was a board member of ma ...
, by then the team's president under ownership of the Carling-O'Keefe Brewery, began checking on interest in the NHL. The Nordiques were unable to defend their title and fell in the playoffs to the
New England Whalers
New is an adjective referring to something recently made, discovered, or created.
New or NEW may refer to:
Music
* New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz
Albums and EPs
* ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013
* ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, ...
. The
1978–79 season would be the final one for the WHA and for J. C. Tremblay, who retired at the end of the season and had his #3 jersey retired.
1980s
As part of the
NHL–WHA merger
The 1979 NHL expansion was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA) that resulted in the WHA and its six surviving franchises folding in return for the owners ...
, the WHA insisted on including all of its surviving Canadian teams, including the Nordiques, among the teams taken into the NHL at the end of the 1978–79 season. As a result, the Nordiques entered the NHL along with the Whalers, Oilers, and Jets. The Nordiques would be placed in the Adams Division of the Wales Conference.
Forced to let all but three players go in a
dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team ceases to exist or is merged with another team. Like most other sports drafts, most dispersal drafts are conducted in North America.
...
, the Nordiques sank to the bottom of the standings. They finished the
1979–80 NHL season
The 1979–80 NHL season was the 63rd season of the National Hockey League. This season saw the addition of four teams from the disbanded World Hockey Association as expansion franchises. The Edmonton Oilers, Winnipeg Jets, New England Whalers (l ...
with the second-worst record in the league despite the play of promising rookie left winger
Michel Goulet
Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. H ...
. An early highlight to the otherwise dreary season came when
Real Cloutier
Real may refer to:
Currencies
* Brazilian real (R$)
* Central American Republic real
* Mexican real
* Portuguese real
* Spanish real
* Spanish colonial real
Music Albums
* ''Real'' (L'Arc-en-Ciel album) (2000)
* ''Real'' (Bright album) (2010)
...
became the second NHL player, following
Alex Smart
Alexander Smart (May 29, 1918 – April 18, 2005) was a Canadian ice hockey forward. He played one season for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League and spent the majority of his career in the Quebec Senior Hockey League.
Playing ...
, ever to score a
hat trick
A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...
in his first NHL game.
In August
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
the Nordiques announced that they signed newly defected brothers
Peter
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a sur ...
and
Anton Stastny
Anton may refer to: People
*Anton (given name), including a list of people with the given name
*Anton (surname)
Places
*Anton Municipality, Bulgaria
**Anton, Sofia Province, a village
*Antón District, Panama
**Antón, a town and capital of th ...
, members of the
Czechoslovak national team, since they drafted Anton in the 1979 amateur draft. Their brother,
Marian
Marian may refer to:
People
* Mari people, a Finno-Ugric ethnic group in Russia
* Marian (given name), a list of people with the given name
* Marian (surname), a list of people so named
Places
* Marian, Iran (disambiguation)
* Marian, Queenslan ...
, would follow and also sign with Quebec in the summer of 1981. The following season, led by Peter Stastny's 109-point
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...
-winning performance, the Nordiques made the NHL playoffs for the first time, but fell in the best-of-five opening round in five games to the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
.
Led by Goulet and Peter Stastny, the Nordiques made the playoffs seven years in a row. However, due to the playoff structure during most of the 1980s, the Nordiques faced the near-certainty of having to get past either the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
or
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...
–or both–to make it to the conference finals. In
1981–82, despite notching only 82 points in the regular season, they defeated the Canadiens and Bruins, both in winner-take-all games on the road. Their
Cinderella
"Cinderella",; french: link=no, Cendrillon; german: link=no, Aschenputtel) or "The Little Glass Slipper", is a folk tale with thousands of variants throughout the world.Dundes, Alan. Cinderella, a Casebook. Madison, Wis: University of Wisconsi ...
run ended when they were swept by the defending champion
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
in the conference finals.
The
intraprovincial rivalry with the Canadiens intensified during the
1983–84 NHL season
The 1983–84 NHL season was the 67th season of the National Hockey League. The Edmonton Oilers de-throned the four-time defending Stanley Cup champion New York Islanders four games to one in the Cup finals.
League business
Not since World War ...
culminating in the infamous
Good Friday Massacre
In ice hockey, the Good Friday Massacre (French: )
was a second-round playoff match-up during the 1984 Stanley Cup playoffs. The game occurred on Good Friday, April 20, 1984 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between the Quebec Nordiques and the Mo ...
–or "Vendredi Saint," as it is called in francophone Canada–during the 1984 playoffs. The Canadiens scored five unanswered goals in the third period of Game 6 at the
Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum (french: Le Forum de Montréal) is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by ''Sporting News'', it was an indoor arena which served as the h ...
to eliminate the Nordiques. The goals all came after Peter Stastny and
Dale Hunter
Dale Robert Hunter (born July 31, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and the former head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League and current co-owner, president, and head coach of the London Knights o ...
were ejected in the brawl.
In 1984–85, Montreal and Quebec battled for the Adams Division championship. The Nordiques finished with 91 points, at the time their highest point total as an NHL team. However, the Canadiens won the division by three points—solidified by a 7–1 Canadiens thrashing of the Nordiques at The Forum in the final week of the regular season. This was still enough, however, for the Nordiques to garner home-ice advantage for the first time ever as an NHL team. After being pushed to five games by the
Buffalo Sabres
The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...
, they would exact revenge on the Canadiens in the Adams finals by ousting them in seven games. Peter Stastny clinched the series with an overtime goal in the seventh game at the Forum. They then took the powerful
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
, who had the league's best record, to six games.
![Nordiques réchauffement 1987-1987](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/63/Nordiques_r%C3%A9chauffement_1987-1987.jpg)
They won their first NHL division title in
1985–86 (and as it turned out, one of their two in Quebec, the other in the 1994–95 season), but a defensive collapse in the playoffs allowed the
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...
to sweep the Nordiques in three games.
The next season the Nordiques met the Whalers in the playoffs for the second straight season, this time the Nords would get their revenge beating Hartford in six games. The next round saw more of the Nordiques–Canadiens rivalry as the playoff series went to seven games, with the Canadiens coming out on top, after that the Nords would not return to the playoffs again until
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
. In that same season, when Quebec hosted Rendez-Vous '87, an alteration of the All-Star Game to include the Soviet national team, a costumed mascot,
Badaboum—a fuzzy, roly-poly blue creature—began entertaining fans at the Colisée with his bizarre dance routines. Badaboum was created just for Rendez-Vous, but generated such a following that the Nordiques made him a permanent fixture at home games.
Decline began the following season. The Nordiques finished last in their division – the first of five straight years of finishing at the bottom of the Adams Division – and missed the playoffs for the first time in eight years. The slide continued: in
1988–89 they had the league's worst record.
Michel Bergeron, who had coached the team from 1980 to 1987, returned for
1989–90. The season was also highlighted by the arrival of Hall of Famer
Guy Lafleur
Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...
, who turned down a lucrative offer from the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
and chose instead to finish his career in his home province. It soon became clear Lafleur's best years were far behind him. "The Flower" managed only 24 goals in 98 games with Quebec over two seasons. The season saw the Nordiques bottom out with a record of 12–61–7 (31 points)—easily the worst record in the league, and not even half the point total of the next-worst team, the
Vancouver Canucks
The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference, and play their home games at Rogers Arena. Bruce B ...
. It is still the worst record in Nordiques/Avalanche history (both NHL and WHA), and one of the worst for a non-expansion team since 1967. It was also the second of three straight seasons with the worst record in the league.
Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny were traded in 1990, winding up with the
Chicago Blackhawks
The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...
and
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
respectively. Despite the stellar play of young forward
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...
, the Nordiques struggled throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in the
1989 NHL Entry Draft
The 1989 NHL Entry Draft was the 27th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 17 at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota. The Detroit Red Wings' 1989 draft has been noted as exceptionally successful, with 5,955 total NHL games played by the pla ...
they drafted Swedish prospect
Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played ...
, making him the first European to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. The following
year
A year or annus is the orbital period of a planetary body, for example, the Earth, moving in its orbit around the Sun. Due to the Earth's axial tilt, the course of a year sees the passing of the seasons, marked by change in weather, the hou ...
Quebec chose first again, taking
Owen Nolan
Owen Liam Nolan (born 12 February 1972) is a Northern Irish-born, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. During his 18-year NHL career, he played for t ...
.
1990s
Lindros draft and trade
In
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
, the Nordiques once again had the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. They picked junior star
Eric Lindros
Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals pr ...
, even though he had let it be known well in advance that he would never play for Quebec. Among the reasons, Lindros cited distance, lack of marketing potential, and having to speak French. After the Nordiques selected him anyway, Lindros then refused to wear the team jersey on Draft Day and only held it for press photographs. Lindros, on advice of his mother Bonnie, refused to sign with the team and began a holdout that lasted over a year. The Nordiques president publicly announced that they would make Lindros the centrepiece of their franchise turnaround, and refused to trade Lindros, saying that he would not have a career in the NHL as long as he held out. Some of the Nordiques wanted to move on without Lindros, as
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...
commented "We only want players here who have the passion to play the game. I'm tired of hearing that name. He's not here and there are a lot of others in this locker room who really care about the game."
Meanwhile, the Nordiques finished with another dreadful season in
1991–92, missing the 70-point barrier for the fifth year in a row. For the first time since 1988, the Nordiques did not finish with the NHL's worst record, as they finished ahead of the expansion
San Jose Sharks
The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...
in the overall standings.
On June 30, 1992, after confusion over whether Quebec had traded Lindros' rights to the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Wells ...
or
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
was settled by an arbitrator, the Nordiques sent Lindros to the Flyers in exchange for forwards
Peter Forsberg
Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...
and
Mike Ricci, goaltender
Ron Hextall
Ronald Jeffrey Hextall (born May 3, 1964) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and executive. He is the current general manager#Sports teams, general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League (NHL). Hext ...
, defencemen
Steve Duchesne
Steve Duchesne (born June 30, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League with several teams from 1986 until 2002. He was a three-time NHL All-Star and was a member of the Stanley Cup ch ...
and
Kerry Huffman
Kerry Huffman (born January 3, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Quebec Nordiques and Ottawa Senators in the National Hockey League (NHL) and is currently a profession ...
, "future considerations" which eventually became enforcer
Chris Simon
Christopher J. Simon (born January 30, 1972) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger, who played 20 seasons of ice hockey: 15 seasons in the NHL and 5 seasons in the Kontinental Hockey League. He last played for Metallurg Novoku ...
, two first-round picks and US$15 million. One of the draft picks was used by the Nordiques to select goaltender
Jocelyn Thibault
Joseph Régis Jocelyn Thibault (born January 12, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blac ...
, the other was traded twice and ultimately used by the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL) ...
to select
Nolan Baumgartner
Nolan Baumgartner (born March 23, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. He was formerly an assistant coach with the Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Baumgartner was selected by the Washington Capita ...
.
After the trade, Lindros said that his refusal to play for the Nordiques had nothing to do with the language question, and more to do with what he saw as a "lack of winning spirit" in the Nordiques organization. However, in 2016, Lindros said that he simply did not want to play for a team owned by Aubut.
The deal transformed the Nordiques from league doormats to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender almost overnight. Forsberg won the
Calder Memorial Trophy
The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving as ...
in 1995, his first season with the Nordiques, and would be one of the cornerstones of the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise for almost a decade with his playmaking and physical presence (albeit being out with injury for periods of time like Lindros), winning the Hart and Art Ross trophies in 2003. Ricci would give six useful seasons to the franchise before being traded. Hextall was moved after a single season to the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
, and in return the Nordiques got
Mark Fitzpatrick
Mark Fitzpatrick (born November 13, 1968) is a Canadians, Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He moved to Kitimat, British Columbia, where he started minor hockey, when he was ten years old. He won the Memorial Cup twice as a mem ...
(who would go on to be left unprotected in the
1993 NHL Expansion Draft
The 1993 NHL Expansion Draft was an expansion draft held by the National Hockey League (NHL) to fill the rosters of the league's two expansion teams for the 1993–94 season, the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. The draft took pl ...
in which he was claimed by the
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...
) and a first round pick, which the Nordiques used to select
Adam Deadmarsh
Adam Richard Deadmarsh (born May 10, 1975) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey player who played in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings. Deadmarsh was later a video coordinator and ...
, who would be a key member of the Avalanche Cup-winning teams. Thibault would be traded for Montreal goalie
Patrick Roy
Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...
, after the franchise moved to Denver.
1992–1994
During the
1992–93 NHL season
The 1992–93 NHL season was the 76th regular season of the National Hockey League. Each player wore a patch on their jersey throughout the season to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Stanley Cup. The league expanded to 24 teams with the a ...
, these new players, along with Sakic – now a bona fide NHL All-Star – and the rapidly developing Sundin and Nolan, led Quebec to the biggest single-season turnaround in NHL history. They leaped from 52 points in the previous season to 104—in the process, going from the second-worst record in the league to the fourth-best (behind only Pittsburgh, Boston and Chicago), as well as notching the franchise's first 100-point season as an NHL team. They made the playoffs for the first time in six seasons, and also garnered home-ice advantage in the first round for only the third time ever as an NHL team. However, they fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens in the first round, winning the first two games but then losing the next four due to inspired goaltending from Montreal's
Patrick Roy
Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...
. Sakic and Sundin both scored over 100 points each, and head coach
Pierre Pagé
Pierre Pagé, () also spelled Pierre Page (born April 30, 1948), is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and executive. He currently coaches EHC Red Bull München. He is also a former head coach in the National Hockey League (NHL).
Coaching ...
was a finalist for the
Jack Adams Award
The Jack Adams Award is awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) coach "adjudged to have contributed the most to his team's success." The league's Coach of the Year award has been presented 47 times to 39 coaches. The winner is selecte ...
.
In 1993, the NHL renamed their conferences and divisions to better reflect geography; the Nordiques would be situated in the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference for their last two seasons of play in Quebec. The Nordiques missed the playoffs in 1993–94 as they struggled with injuries. After that season, Sundin was traded to the
Toronto Maple Leafs
The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...
in return for
Wendel Clark
Wendel L. Clark (born October 25, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. His professional career lasted from 1985 until 2000, during which time he played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Quebec Nordiques, New York Islanders, Tampa ...
. This trade was controversial for both teams, as Sundin was one of the Nordiques' rising talents, while Clark was the Leafs captain and fan favourite. While Clark performed respectably, he then became embroiled in a contract dispute after the season ended and was sent to the
New York Islanders
The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...
.
Final season and move to Denver
For the
1994–95 season,
Marc Crawford
Marc Joseph John Crawford (born February 13, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He most recently was the assistant coach for the Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League (NHL). Crawford won the Stanley Cu ...
was hired as the new head coach, and Forsberg was deemed ready to finally join the team, but first there was the problem of a
lockout
Lockout may refer to:
* Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage
**Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914
* Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues
**MLB lockout, lock ...
. In the shortened season of 48 games, the Nordiques finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. However, the team faltered in the postseason and was eliminated in the first round by the defending
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
champion
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...
in six games.
The playoff loss proved to be the Nordiques' swan song as the team's financial troubles increasingly took centre stage, even in the face of renewed fan support over the previous three years. The league's Canadian teams found it difficult to compete in a new age of rising player salaries and a weakening Canadian dollar.
Quebec City was by far the smallest market in the NHL; it was also the second-smallest major-league city in North America, behind only
Green Bay, Wisconsin
Green Bay is a city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The county seat of Brown County, it is at the head of Green Bay (known locally as "the bay of Green Bay"), a sub-basin of Lake Michigan, at the mouth of the Fox River. It is above sea lev ...
; home of the
National Football League
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...
's
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...
. However, the Packers had long drawn support from the nearby major market of
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee is ...
, a luxury the Nordiques did not have.
The Nordiques also faced a unique disadvantage due to Quebec City's status as a virtually monolingual francophone city. There were no privately-owned anglophone radio stations and only one privately-owned anglophone television station. The only anglophone newspaper was a weekly. The near-total lack of English-language media limited the Nordiques' marketability even in their best years, and made many non-French-speaking players wary of playing for them.
While Aubut never lost money on the Nordiques, he feared unsustainable losses without a bailout from Quebec's provincial government. However, Premier
Jacques Parizeau
Jacques Parizeau (; August 9, 1930June 1, 2015) was a Canadian politician and Québécois economist who was a noted Quebec sovereigntist and the 26th premier of Quebec from September 26, 1994, to January 29, 1996.
Early life and career
Pariz ...
turned the request down, as few in Quebec were willing to be seen as subsidizing a hockey club that paid multimillion-dollar salaries. Finally in May 1995, shortly after the Nordiques were eliminated from the playoffs, Aubut announced the acceptance an offer from COMSAT Entertainment Group, owner of the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...
's
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Western Conference Northwest Division. The team was founded as the D ...
to move the team to Denver, where it was renamed the
Colorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...
.
Maintaining their momentum from their successful last season as the Nordiques, the Avalanche won the
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...
in their first season after the move, added another in
2001
The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...
, and recently in
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
. They would also win their division every year in their first eight years in Denver for a total of nine consecutive division titles, the second-most in the expansion era.
The last active NHL player who played for the Nordiques was
Adam Foote
Adam Foote (born July 10, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, the current Assistant Coach of the Vancouver Canucks of National Hockey League, and the former head coach of the Kelowna Rockets of the Western Hockey League ...
who announced his retirement after the 2010–11 season. The last active player in any league was
Martin Rucinsky Martin may refer to:
Places
* Martin City (disambiguation)
* Martin County (disambiguation)
* Martin Township (disambiguation)
Antarctica
* Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land
* Port Martin, Adelie Land
* Point Martin, South Orkney Islands
Austral ...
, who announced his retirement after the 2014–15 season while playing in the
Czech Extraliga
The Czech Extraliga ( cs, Extraliga ledního hokeje, ELH) is the highest-level ice hockey league in the Czech Republic. It was created by the 1993 split of the Czechoslovak First Ice Hockey League following the breakup of Czechoslovakia. The leag ...
.
Uniforms
Throughout their history, the Nordiques were famous for their iconic powder blue and white uniforms. But for their first WHA season, the Nordiques' uniforms featured splashes of red on the shoulders, waist and numbers. From 1973 to 1975, the blue on the Nordiques uniforms briefly reverted to a dark royal blue shade. Contrasting nameplates were used in 1973–74, then the
fleur-de-lis
The fleur-de-lis, also spelled fleur-de-lys (plural ''fleurs-de-lis'' or ''fleurs-de-lys''), is a lily (in French, and mean 'flower' and 'lily' respectively) that is used as a decorative design or symbol.
The fleur-de-lis has been used in the ...
symbol was added to the shoulders the following season which was modeled after the
flag of Quebec
The flag of Quebec, called the (), represents the Canadian province of Quebec. It consists of a white cross on a blue background, with four white fleurs-de-lis.
It was the first provincial flag officially adopted in Canada and was originally sh ...
.
Prior to the 1975–76 season, the Nordiques unveiled what was now their standard look, returning to a powder blue base and adding three fleur-de-lis symbols on the waist. Red was only used on the logo. For the first season, the Nordiques wore red pants, but switched to powder blue pants afterwards. This look would be carried over upon joining the NHL in 1979, and other than some minor trim changes on the logo and numbers, remained basically the same until the relocation.
The Colorado Avalanche unveiled the "Reverse Retro" design based on the Nordiques uniforms on November 16, 2020, honoring the legacy of the franchise.
Uniform change
Aubut intended to change the team's entire look had he won enough financing to keep the Nordiques in Quebec for the 1995–96 season. The Nordiques would have abandoned the blue, white, and red palette they had worn throughout their history in favour of a teal, black, and navy scheme. The team would also have abandoned the "igloo holding a hockey stick" logo they had used for their entire existence in favour of a fierce looking
Siberian husky, with "NORDIQUES" in grey block letters below it and the "I" in the team's name fashioned to look like an icicle. These designs were published in local papers before the team ultimately decided to move. Due to the team missing an NHL deadline, the logo and uniforms would not have taken effect until the 1996–97 season.
Season-by-season record
Notable players
Team captains
''Includes WHA captains''
*
Jean-Guy Gendron
Joseph Eudore Jean-Guy "Smitty" Gendron (August 30, 1934 – June 30, 2022) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 863 games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New York Rangers, Boston Bruins, Montreal Canadiens ...
, 1972–1974
*
Michel Parizeau
Michel Gérard Parizeau (born April 9, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger and head coach who played two seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.
Parizeau also played ...
, 1974–1976
*
Marc Tardif
Joseph Gérard Marquis Tardif (born June 12, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger who played in both the National Hockey League (NHL) and the World Hockey Association (WHA), principally for the Quebec Nordiques, and is ...
, 1976–1981
*
Robbie Ftorek
Robert Brian Ftorek (born January 2, 1952) is an American professional ice hockey coach and former player. He was enshrined as member of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.
Playing career
Ftorek played in the 1962, 1963 and 1964 Queb ...
, 1981
*
Andre Dupont, 1981–1982
*
Mario Marois
Mario Marois (born December 15, 1957) is a Canadian former ice hockey defenceman.
Biography
As a youth, Marois played in the 1968, 1969 and 1970 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from L'Ancienne-Lorette, ...
, 1983–1985
*
Peter Stastny
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, 1985–1990
*
Steven Finn
Steven Thomas Finn (born 4 April 1989) is an English cricketer. He is a right-arm fast bowler, who also bats right-handed. At the age of 16, he became Middlesex County Cricket Club's youngest-ever debutant in first-class cricket. He made his E ...
and
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...
1990–1991
(co-captains)
*
Mike Hough
Michael Lloyd Hough (born February 6, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played thirteen seasons in the National Hockey League from 1986 until 1999.
Biography
Hough was born in Montreal, Quebec. As a youth, he played ...
1991–1992
*
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...
1992–1995
Hall of Famers
*
Peter Forsberg
Peter Mattias Forsberg (; born 20 July 1973) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and former assistant general manager of Modo Hockey. Nicknamed "Peter the Great" and "Foppa", Forsberg was known for his on-ice vision and physical pl ...
, C, 1995, inducted in 2014
*
Michel Goulet
Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. H ...
, LW, 1979–1990, inducted in 1998
*
Guy Lafleur
Guy Damien Lafleur (September 20, 1951 – April 22, 2022), nicknamed "the Flower" and "Le Démon Blond", was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was the first player in National Hockey League (NHL) history to score 50 goals in six c ...
, RW, 1989–1991, inducted in 1988
*
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...
, C, 1988–1995, inducted in 2012
*
Peter Stastny
Peter may refer to:
People
* List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name
* Peter (given name)
** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church
* Peter (surname), a su ...
, C, 1980–1990, inducted in 1998
*
Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played ...
, C, 1990–1994, inducted in 2012
Retired numbers
After the move to Denver, the Avalanche returned all four of these numbers to circulation.
First round draft picks
''Note: This list does not include selections from the
WHA.''
*
1979
Events
January
* January 1
** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...
:
Michel Goulet
Michel Bernard Goulet (born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played for the Birmingham Bulls in the World Hockey Association and the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks in the National Hockey League. H ...
(20th overall)
*
1980
Events January
* January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission.
* January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC.
* January 9 – ...
: none
*
1981
Events January
* January 1
** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union.
** Palau becomes a self-governing territory.
* January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...
:
Randy Moller
Randall W. Moller (born August 23, 1963) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted in the first round, eleventh overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1981 National Hockey League (NHL) entry draft. The majority of his ca ...
(11th overall)
*
1982
Events January
* January 1 – In Malaysia and Singapore, clocks are adjusted to the same time zone, UTC+8 (GMT+8.00).
* January 13 – Air Florida Flight 90 crashes shortly after takeoff into the 14th Street bridges, 14th Street Bridge in ...
:
David Shaw (13th overall)
*
1983
The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call.
Events January
* January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...
: none
*
1984
Events
January
* January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888.
* January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...
:
Trevor Stienburg
Trevor Malcolm Stienburg (pronounced like "Steinberg"; nickname "Stieny" or "Mango", or “Big Mangzy”) (born May 13, 1966) is a former professional ice hockey right winger. He was drafted in the first round, 15th overall, by the Quebec Nordique ...
(15th overall)
*
1985
The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** The Internet's Domain Name System is created.
** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...
:
David Latta (15th overall)
*
1986
The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations.
Events January
* January 1
** Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles.
**Spain and Portugal ente ...
:
Ken McRae (18th overall)
*
1987
File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...
:
Bryan Fogarty
Bryan Charles Fogarty (June 11, 1969 – March 6, 2002) was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman who played for the Quebec Nordiques, Pittsburgh Penguins and Montreal Canadiens. A great star in the junior leagues and a high draft choice in the Natio ...
(ninth overall) and
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven Sakic (; born July 7, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played his entire 21-year National Hockey League (NHL) career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. Named captain ...
(15th overall)
*
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
:
Curtis Leschyshyn
Curtis Michael Leschyshyn ( ; born September 21, 1969) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Leschyshyn played 1,033 games in the National Hockey League. He is the only NHL player to have played for two relocated franchises, both b ...
(third overall) and
Daniel Dore
Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength"), ...
(fifth overall)
*
1989
File:1989 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Cypress Street Viaduct, Cypress structure collapses as a result of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, killing motorists below; The proposal document for the World Wide Web is submitted; The Exxo ...
:
Mats Sundin
Mats Johan Sundin (; born 13 February 1971) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL), retiring in 2009. Originally drafted first overall in 1989, Sundin played ...
(first overall)
*
1990
File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...
:
Owen Nolan
Owen Liam Nolan (born 12 February 1972) is a Northern Irish-born, Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted first overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft. During his 18-year NHL career, he played for t ...
(first overall)
*
1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
:
Eric Lindros
Eric Bryan Lindros (; born February 28, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. Lindros was born in London, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto. He played junior hockey in the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) for the Oshawa Generals pr ...
(first overall)
*
1992
File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...
:
Todd Warriner
Todd Eaton Warriner (born January 3, 1974) is a Canadian retired ice hockey forward. Over the course of his career, Warriner played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Tampa Bay Lightning, Phoenix Coyotes, Vancouver Canucks, Philadelphia Flyers, a ...
(fourth overall)
*
1993
File:1993 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The Oslo I Accord is signed in an attempt to resolve the Israeli–Palestinian conflict; The Russian White House is shelled during the 1993 Russian constitutional crisis; Czechoslovakia is peace ...
:
Jocelyn Thibault
Joseph Régis Jocelyn Thibault (born January 12, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blac ...
(10th overall) and
Adam Deadmarsh
Adam Richard Deadmarsh (born May 10, 1975) is a Canadian-born American former professional ice hockey player who played in the NHL with the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche and the Los Angeles Kings. Deadmarsh was later a video coordinator and ...
(14th overall)
*
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
:
Wade Belak
Wade William Belak (''né'' Aadland; July 3, 1976 – August 31, 2011) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward and defenceman. He was drafted 12th overall by the Quebec Nordiques in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He played for the Colorado Av ...
(12th overall) and
Jeff Kealty (22nd overall)
Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in Quebec Nordiques history, combining NHL and WHA totals.
''Legend: Pos = Position; GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game
Broadcasters
Radio
Television
The Nordiques games were televised locally by
CFAP 2 from
1988
File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...
to
1994
File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...
.
See also
*
Potential National Hockey League expansion
The National Hockey League (NHL) has undergone several rounds of expansion and other organizational changes during its history to reach its current thirty-two teams: twenty-five in the United States, and seven in Canada. The newest additions to th ...
, possible for
Quebec City
Quebec City ( or ; french: Ville de Québec), officially Québec (), is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Quebec. As of July 2021, the city had a population of 549,459, and the Communauté métrop ...
*
Centre Vidéotron
Vidéotron Centre ( French: ''Centre Vidéotron'') is an indoor arena in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The 18,259-seat arena replaced Colisée Pepsi as Quebec City's primary venue for indoor events. The arena is primarily used for ice hockey, se ...
, the replacement facility for the
Colisée Pepsi Colisée may refer to: Canada
* Colisée de Québec, also known as Colisée Pepsi, Quebec City
* Colisée Cardin, Sorel-Tracy
* Colisée Desjardins, Victoriaville
* Colisée Financière Sun Life, Rimouski
* Colisée Jean Béliveau, Longueuil
* Colis ...
(1949–2015)
References
External links
Quebec Nordiques on FunWhileItLasted.netQuebec Nordiques Preservation SocietyCBC ArchivesCBC Television on the dying days of the team from 1995.
''Just Another Job'' a
National Film Board of Canada
The National Film Board of Canada (NFB; french: Office national du film du Canada (ONF)) is Canada's public film and digital media producer and distributor. An agency of the Government of Canada, the NFB produces and distributes documentary f ...
documentary on the Nordique's first home game
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1972 establishments in Quebec
1995 disestablishments in Quebec