By Frank Pingue
June 22 (Reuters) - Quebec City's dreams of landing a
National Hockey League team were crushed on Wednesday but the
company behind the bid vowed to keep working on bringing the
Nordiques back to Canada.
The NHL's Board of Governors decided to defer the Quebec
City bid, due largely to a fluctuating Canadian dollar and the
league's geographic imbalance, during a meeting where they
unanimously approved expanding to Las Vegas. ID:nL4N19E48Q
It was a massive blow to a city that has not had an NHL team
since their beloved Nordiques left for Denver and became the
Colorado Avalanche in 1995.
"Bringing the Nordiques back to Quebec City remains a
priority for Quebecor. As you all know, we love the game,"
Quebecor Inc QBRb.TO chief executive Pierre Dion told a news
conference in Las Vegas. "We will continue to work with
determination to achieve this goal."
NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman called the application by the
Canadian telecom and media conglomerate "first rate" as it
included a brand new arena along with strong ownership
credentials with an eagerness to own a team.
But ultimately, Bettman said the bid was deferred due to
elements over which bidding group had no control over.
"In considering both applications for expansion it was a
priority for the board to create conditions that would place an
incoming club, or clubs, in the best position to exceed on an
expedited basis," said Bettman, emphasizing the bid was not
rejected but deferred.
"Unfortunately the state and volatility of the Canadian
dollar undermined the achievement of that objective relative to
the Quebec City bid."
Another strike against the Quebec City was the NHL's
reluctance to adding another team to its Eastern Conference,
which currently has 16 teams, compared to the West, which will
have 15 teams when Las Vegas begins play in 2017.
"Quebec City is a tremendous hockey town and it is certainly
a strong candidate for future expansion but right now there
exists an imbalance in the league," said Boston Bruins owner
Jeremy Jacobs, who is head of the NHL's executive committee.
"We have more teams in the East than in the West. In order
to grow the sport of hockey in North America we had to correct
this imbalance."
Despite the setback, there will remain hope in Quebec City
that world's top hockey league could successfully move one of
its struggling franchises to the provincial capital if a current
team fails.
"People in Quebec City are still very passionate about the
Nordiques," said Dion. "Even though the team left more than 20
years ago the Nordiques remain very much a part of their daily
discussions and hopes."
(Editing by Steve Keating)