Jump to content

Quebec Nordiques: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Content deleted Content added
Canukki33 (talk | contribs)
Tag: nonsense characters
Line 46: Line 46:
The rivalry with the [[Montreal Canadiens]] intensified during the [[1983–84 NHL season]] culminating in the infamous "[[La bataille du Vendredi saint|Vendredi Saint]]" brawl, otherwise known as the [[Good Friday Massacre]], during the 1984 playoffs. The Habs scored five unanswered goals in the third period of Game 6 at the [[Montreal Forum]] to eliminate the Nordiques. The goals all came after Peter Stastny and [[Dale Hunter]] were ejected in the brawl.
The rivalry with the [[Montreal Canadiens]] intensified during the [[1983–84 NHL season]] culminating in the infamous "[[La bataille du Vendredi saint|Vendredi Saint]]" brawl, otherwise known as the [[Good Friday Massacre]], during the 1984 playoffs. The Habs scored five unanswered goals in the third period of Game 6 at the [[Montreal Forum]] to eliminate the Nordiques. The goals all came after Peter Stastny and [[Dale Hunter]] 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 Habs won the division by three points—solidified by a 7–1 Canadiens trashing of the Nordiques at The Forum in the final week of the regular season. The Nordiques would exact revenge in the Adams finals with a seven-game victory, which was clinched by Peter Stastny's overtime goal at the Forum. They then took the powerful [[Philadelphia Flyers]], who had the league's best record, to six games.
In 1984–85, Montreal and Quebec battled for the Aalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalaalalalalae final week of the regular season. The Nordiques would exact revenge in the Adams finals with a seven-game victory, which was clinched by Peter Stastny's overtime goal at the Forum. They then took the powerful [[Philadelphia Flyers]], who had the league's best record, to six games.


They won their first NHL division title in [[1985–86 NHL season|1985–86]] (and as it turned out, one of their two in Quebec, the other 1994-1995), but a defensive collapse in the playoffs allowed the [[Hartford Whalers]] to sweep the Nordiques in three games.
They won their first NHL division title in [[1985–86 NHL season|1985–86]] (and as it turned out, one of their two in Quebec, the other 1994-1995), but a defensive collapse in the playoffs allowed the [[Hartford Whalers]] to sweep the Nordiques in three games.
Line 54: Line 54:
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 NHL season|1988–89]] they had the league's worst record.
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 NHL season|1988–89]] they had the league's worst record.


[[Michel Bergeron (ice hockey)|Michel Bergeron]], who had coached the team from 1980 to 1987, returned for [[1989–90 NHL season|1989–90]]. The season was also highlighted by the arrival of Hall of Famer [[Guy Lafleur]], who turned down a lucrative offer from the [[Los Angeles Kings]] so he could 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, but the 38-year-old was still among the team's best players while receiving diminished ice time. The season saw the Nords hit rock bottom; they finished with a hideous record of 12–61–7 (31 points)--the second of three straight seasons with the worst record in the league, and still the worst record in franchise history.
[[Michel Bergeron (ice hockey)|Michel Bergeron]], who had coached the team from 1980 to 1987, returned for [[1989–90 NHL season|1989–90]]. The season was also highlighted by the arrival of Hall of Famer [[Guy Lafleur]], who turned down a lucrahooheehaa
d still the worst record in franchise history.


Both Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny were traded in 1990, winding up with the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] and [[New Jersey Devils]] respectively. Despite the stellar play of young forward [[Joe Sakic]], the Nordiques struggled throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in [[1989 NHL Entry Draft|that year's draft]] they drafted Swedish prospect [[Mats Sundin]], making him the first European to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. The following [[1990 NHL Entry Draft|year]] Quebec chose first again, taking [[Owen Nolan]].
Both Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny were traded in 1990, winding up with the [[Chicago Blackhawks]] and [[New Jersey Devils]] respectively. Despite the stellar play of young forward [[Joe Sakic]], the Nordiques struggled throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in [[1989 NHL Entry Draft|that year's draft]] they drafted Swedish prospect [[Mats Sundin]], making him the first European to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. The following [[1990 NHL Entry Draft|year]] Quebec chose first again, taking [[Owen Nolan]].

Revision as of 15:20, 25 May 2011

Quebec Nordiques
List of Quebec Nordiques seasons
Founded1972
HistoryQuebec Nordiques
1972–1995
Colorado Avalanche
1995–present
Home arenaColisee de Québec
CityQuebec City, Quebec
Team coloursBlue, white and red      
Avco World Trophy1977
Division championships1975, 1977, 1986, 1995

The Quebec Nordiques (Template:Lang-fr, pronounced [nɔʁdik] in Quebec French, /nɔrˈdiːks/ in Canadian English, meaning "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) and the National Hockey League (1979–1995). The franchise was relocated to Denver, Colorado, in 1995, and renamed the Colorado Avalanche.

Beginnings in the WHA

File:QuebecNordiques1972.png
Quebec Nordiques WHA logo.

The Quebec Nordiques formed as one of the original World Hockey Association teams in 1972. The franchise was originally awarded to a group in San Francisco, as the San Francisco Sharks. However, the San Francisco group's funding collapsed prior to the start of the first season, and the WHA hastily sold the organization to a group of six Quebec City-based businessmen who owned the highly profitable Quebec Remparts junior team. They were named the Nordiques because they were one of the northernmost teams in professional sports in North America. Quebec City is located at 46 degrees north latitude; the only WHA teams located further north were the Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Cowboys, Vancouver Blazers and Winnipeg Jets.

The Nordiques' first head coach was the legendary Maurice "Rocket" Richard but he lasted two games, a 3–2 loss to the Cleveland Crusaders, and a 3-0 win against the Alberta Oilers. The "Rocket" decided coaching wasn't his forte and stepped down.[1]

The Nordiques' first star was two-way defenceman J. C. Tremblay, 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 and Rejean Houle joined the Nordiques. In 1974–75, they finally made the playoffs with the help of the high-scoring Marc Tardif; the year also saw the debut of Real Cloutier, who would be one of the WHA's great stars. They beat the Phoenix Roadrunners and the Minnesota Fighting Saints to reach the finals, where they were swept in four games by the Gordie Howe-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, Bernier and Houle). The season ended in disappointment as the Nordiques lost to the Calgary Cowboys in the first round of the playoffs, after losing Marc Tardif to injury after a controversial hit by the Cowboys' Rick Jodzio.

Despite injuries to Tardif and an aging Tremblay, the Nordiques finally captured the Avco World Trophy in 1976–77 as they took out the New England Whalers and the Indianapolis Racers in five games before beating the Winnipeg Jets in seven, behind Bernier's record 36 points in 17 playoff games. They represented Canada at the Izvestia Hockey Tournament in Moscow, finishing last with an 0–3–1 record.

By 1978, the WHA was on shaky ground, and Aubut, by then the team's President under ownership of the Carling-O'Keefe Brewery, began putting out feelers to the NHL. The Nordiques were unable to defend their title and fell in the playoffs to the New England Whalers. 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 number #3 jersey retired.

1980s

As part of its merger with the NHL, 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.

Forced to let all but three players go in a dispersal draft, the Nordiques sank to the bottom of the standings. They finished the 1979–80 NHL season last in their division despite the play of promising rookie left winger Michel Goulet. An early highlight to the otherwise dreary season came when Real Cloutier became the second (following Alex Smart) NHL player ever to score a hat trick in his first NHL game.

In August 1980 the Nordiques announced that they signed newly defected brothers Peter and Anton Stastny, members of the Czechoslovak national team, since they drafted Anton in the 1979 amateur draft. Their brother, Marian, would follow and also sign with Quebec in the summer of 1981. The following season, led by Peter Stastny's 109-point Calder Trophy-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.

Led by Goulet and Peter Stastny, the Nordiques made the playoffs eight years in a row. In 1981–82, despite notching only 82 points in the regular season, they defeated the Montreal Canadiens and then the Boston Bruins, both in winner-take-all games on the road. Their Cinderella run ended when they were swept by the New York Islanders in the conference finals.

The rivalry with the Montreal Canadiens intensified during the 1983–84 NHL season culminating in the infamous "Vendredi Saint" brawl, otherwise known as the Good Friday Massacre, during the 1984 playoffs. The Habs scored five unanswered goals in the third period of Game 6 at the Montreal Forum to eliminate the Nordiques. The goals all came after Peter Stastny and Dale Hunter were ejected in the brawl.

In 1984–85, Montreal and Quebec battled for the Aalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalalaalalalalae final week of the regular season. The Nordiques would exact revenge in the Adams finals with a seven-game victory, which was clinched by Peter Stastny's overtime goal at the Forum. They then took the powerful Philadelphia Flyers, who had the league's best record, to six games.

They won their first NHL division title in 1985–86 (and as it turned out, one of their two in Quebec, the other 1994-1995), but a defensive collapse in the playoffs allowed the Hartford Whalers to sweep the Nordiques in three games.

The next season saw more of the Nords-Habs rivalry as the playoff series went to seven games, with the Canadiens coming out on top. 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 it 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, who turned down a lucrahooheehaa d still the worst record in franchise history.

Both Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny were traded in 1990, winding up with the Chicago Blackhawks and New Jersey Devils respectively. Despite the stellar play of young forward Joe Sakic, the Nordiques struggled throughout the late 1980s and early 1990s. However, in that year's draft they drafted Swedish prospect Mats Sundin, making him the first European to be selected first overall in the NHL draft. The following year Quebec chose first again, taking Owen Nolan.

1990s

Lindros draft and trade

In 1991, the Nordiques once again had the first overall pick in the NHL Entry Draft. They picked junior star Eric Lindros, even though he had let it be known well in advance that he would never play in 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 centerpiece 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. Meanwhile, the Nordiques finished with another dreadful season in 1991–92, missing the 70-point barrier for the fifth year in a row.

Because of Lindros' popularity and marketability, the Nordiques soon came under significant pressure from the NHL to trade him, as it would otherwise damage the image of the league.[citation needed] Finally on June 30, 1992, after confusion over whether Quebec had traded Lindros' rights to the Philadelphia Flyers or New York Rangers was settled by an arbitrator, the Nordiques sent Lindros to the Flyers in exchange for forwards Peter Forsberg and Mike Ricci, goaltender Ron Hextall, defencemen Steve Duchesne and Kerry Huffman, "future considerations" which eventually became enforcer Chris Simon, two first-round picks and US$15 million. One of the draft picks was used by the Nordiques to select goaltender Jocelyn Thibault, the other was traded twice and ultimately used by the Washington Capitals to select Nolan Baumgartner. While Lindros had been initially hyped as the most valuable junior player in North America, being nicknamed "The Next One" as a nod to Wayne Gretzky's moniker "The Great One", the deal has since been considered by many columnists as the most significant NHL transaction of the decade, as well as one of the most lopsided trades in NHL history.

The deal transformed the Nordiques from league doormats to a legitimate Stanley Cup contender almost overnight. Forsberg won the Calder Memorial Trophy 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, and in return the Nordiques got Mark Fitzpatrick (who would go on to be left unprotected in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft in which he was claimed by the Florida Panthers) and a first round pick, which the Nordiques used to select Adam Deadmarsh, who would be a key member of the Avalanche Cup-winning teams. Thibault would be traded for Montreal goalie Patrick Roy, after the franchise moved to Denver.

During this time, injuries limited Lindros' effectiveness in 1992-93 and the Flyers missed the 1993 and 1994 playoffs. While Lindros won the Hart Memorial Trophy as MVP in 1995 and remained one of the league's elite players for the next five years, the Flyers only made the Stanley Cup finals in 1997 (being swept by the Detroit Red Wings), and his skills diminished after further injuries and a dispute with Flyers General Manager Bobby Clarke.

1992-1994

During the 1992–93 NHL season, 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, 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, but fell to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Canadiens in the first round, winning the first two games but then losing the next four. Sakic and Sundin both scored over 100 points each, and head coach Pierre Page was a finalist for the Jack Adams Award.

The Nordiques missed the playoffs in 1993–94 as they struggled with injuries. After that season, Sundin was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in return for Wendel Clark. This trade was controversial for both teams, as Sundin was one of the Nordiques' rising talents, while Clark was the Leafs captain and fan favorite. While Clark performed respectably, he then became embroiled in a contract dispute after the season ended and was sent to the New York Islanders.

Move to Denver

For the 1994–95 season, Marc Crawford 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. In the shortened season of 48 games, the Nordiques played well and 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 champion New York Rangers.

The playoff loss proved to be the Nordiques' swan song in the NHL 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 (with the exception of Montreal, Toronto, and to a lesser extent, Vancouver) found it difficult to compete in a new age of rising player salaries. The financial difficulties were even more pronounced by a weakening Canadian dollar, since the Canadian teams' revenues are earned in Canadian dollars, but player salaries are paid in US dollars. The Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, Calgary Flames, and Winnipeg Jets were all in danger of being forced to move while the expansion Ottawa Senators changed owners before they even played a game.

Arguably, the Nordiques felt the difficulties created by the new environment more than the league's other Canadian teams. Quebec City was the smallest market in the NHL, and ranked only behind Green Bay, Wisconsin, home to the National Football League's Packers, as one of the smallest major-league sports cities in North America. Additionally, Quebec City is a virtually monolingual francophone city. Unlike in Montreal and Ottawa (the other NHL cities with large francophone fan bases), nearly all public address announcements were only given in French. There were no privately-owned English-language radio stations, and only one privately-owned English language television station. Then as now, the only English-language newspaper was a weekly. These factors severely limited the Nordiques' marketability in the anglophone market even in their best years, and made many non-French players (most notably Lindros) wary of playing for them. While the Nordiques had a fairly loyal fan base, it was not enough for them to be viable in the new environment.

Aubut asked for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government, but the request was turned down, as few Quebec were willing to be seen as subsidizing a hockey club that paid multimillion-dollar salaries. In May 1995, shortly after the Nordiques were eliminated from the playoffs, Aubut explained that he had no other choice but to sell the team to a group of investors in Denver, Colorado. The franchise was moved to Denver where it was renamed the Colorado Avalanche. Maintaining their momentum from their successful last season as the Nordiques, the Avalanche would win the Stanley Cup in their first season after the move, and added another in 2001. (The year after the Nordiques moved to Denver, the Jets followed them to the United States as the Phoenix Coyotes; despite the uncertainty noted above these were the only Canadian hockey teams to relocate.)

The last active NHL player who played for the Nordiques is Adam Foote who, on April 8, 2011, announced his forthcoming retirement to follow the 2010–2011 season.[2] Foote played 16 years with the Nordiques/Avalanche franchise over two stints. Two former Nordiques, Owen Nolan and Chris Simon, still play hockey in European leagues. Milan Hejduk, Tim Thomas and Chris Drury were all drafted by the Nordiques but never played a regular season game in Quebec City. Hejduk still plays for the Avalanche today, Tim Thomas is the starting goaltender with the Boston Bruins, while Drury currently serves as team captain for the New York Rangers.

The Nordiques had planned to change their logo, colors, and uniforms for the 1995–96 season had they been able to stay in Quebec, and the new design, with what appears to be a wolf or husky logo, had already appeared in the press.

File:Nordiques proposed.jpg
The proposed jersey designs to go along with the proposed new logo for the franchise's 95/96 season.
If the Nordiques had stayed in Quebec instead of moving to Denver, this would have been the franchise's new logo for the 95/96 season.

Season-by-season record

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals scored for, GA = Goals scored against, PIM = Penalty minutes

WHA era

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1972–73 78 33 40 5 71 276 313 1354 fifth in Eastern Did not qualify
1973–74 78 38 36 4 80 306 280 909 fifth in Eastern Did not qualify
1974–75 78 46 32 0 92 331 299 1132 first in Canadian Won Quarter-final (Phoenix)
Won Semifinal (Minnesota)
Lost Final (Houston)
1975–76 81 50 27 4 104 371 316 1654 second in Canadian Lost Quarter-final (Calgary)
1976–77 81 47 31 3 97 353 295 1485 first in Eastern Won Quarter-final (New England)
Won Semi-final (Indianapolis)
Won Final (Winnipeg)
1977–78 80 40 37 3 83 349 347 1185 fourth in WHA Won Quarter-final (Houston)
Lost Semi-final (New England)
1978–79 80 41 34 5 87 288 271 1399 second in WHA Lost Semi-final (Winnipeg)
WHA totals 556 295 237 24 614 2,274 2,121 9,118

NHL era

Season GP W L T Pts GF GA PIM Finish Playoffs
1979–80 80 25 44 11 61 248 313 1062 fifth, Adams Did not qualify
1980–81 80 30 32 18 78 314 318 1524 fourth, Adams Lost in Preliminary Round (Philadelphia)
1981–82 80 33 31 16 82 356 345 1757 fourth, Adams Won Adams Semi-final (Montreal),
Won Adams Final (Boston),
Lost Wales Conference Final (NY Islanders)
1982–83 80 34 34 12 80 343 336 1648 fourth, Adams Lost Adams Semi-final (Boston)
1983–84 80 42 28 10 94 360 278 1600 third, Adams Won Adams Semi-final (Buffalo),
Lost Adams Final (Montreal)
1984–85 80 41 30 9 91 323 275 1643 second, Adams Won Adams Semi-final (Buffalo)
Won Adams Final (Montreal)
Lost Wales Conference Final (Philadelphia)
1985–86 80 43 31 6 92 330 289 1847 first, Adams Lost Adams Semi-final (Hartford)
1986–87 80 31 39 10 72 267 276 1741 fourth, Adams Won Adams Semi-final (Hartford)
Lost Adams Final (Montreal)
1987–88 80 32 43 5 69 271 306 2042 fifth, Adams Did not qualify
1988–89 80 27 46 7 61 269 342 2004 fifth, Adams Did not qualify
1989–90 80 12 61 7 31 240 407 2104 fifth, Adams Did not qualify
1990–91 80 16 50 14 46 236 354 1741 fifth, Adams Did not qualify
1991–92 80 20 48 12 52 255 318 2044 fifth, Adams Did not qualify
1992–93 84 47 27 10 104 351 300 1846 second, Adams Lost Adams Semi-final (Montreal)
1993–94 84 34 42 8 76 277 292 1625 fifth, Northeast Did not qualify
1994–951 48 30 13 5 65 185 134 770 first, Northeast Lost Eastern Quarter-final (NY Rangers)
NHL totals 1,256 497 599 160 1,154 4,625 4,883 26,998
Grand total 1,812 792 836 184 1768 6,899 7,004 36,116
1Season was shortened due to the 1994–95 NHL lockout.

Notable players

Team captains

Includes WHA captains

Hall of Famers

Retired numbers

After the move to Denver, the Avalanche returned all four of these numbers to circulation. Peter's son Paul Stastny is currently wearing #26.

First round draft picks

Note: This list does not include selections from the WHA.

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

Player Pos GP G A Pts P/G
Peter Stastny C 737 380 668 1048 1.42
Michel Goulet LW 813 456 489 945 1.16
Real Cloutier RW 605 405 445 850 1.40
Marc Tardif LW 620 380 443 823 1.33
Anton Stastny LW 650 252 384 636 .98
Joe Sakic C 508 234 392 626 1.23
Serge Bernier RW 495 240 358 598 1.21
Dale Hunter C 523 140 318 458 .88
J.C. Tremblay D 454 66 358 424 .93
Mats Sundin C 324 135 199 334 1.03

See also

References