Nordiques: Gary Bettman has already told Stephen Harper he’ll never bring them back

Gary Bettman is a commissioner who is much appreciated by NHL owners. After all, his league is growing economically, which is attractive to owners.

But if you ask hockey fans in Quebec City what they think of Bettman, it’s possible that their reading of the situation is more akin to how he was portrayed in ” Bon Cop, Bad Cop ” back in the day.

After all, he’s the one who moved the Nordiques to Colorado, and he’s the one who’d rather see the Coyotes stay in Arizona for… a reason that escapes many people.

TV potential is all well and good, but…

What you need to know is that the feeling among Nordiques fans (that Bettman wants nothing to do with bringing back the Nordiques) is real.

Why is this? Because that’s what political analyst Dimitri Soudas said on Radio-Canada’ s Les matins d’ici radio program, hosted by Mélanye Boissonnault.

Dimitri Soudas is the former Director General of the Conservative Party of Canada. He was there when Stephen Harper was Prime Minister.

What he says is that Mr. Harper, who is also a great hockey fan, often chatted with Gary Bettman. And Gary Bettman once said this to the Prime Minister of Canada:

As long as I’m NHL commissioner, there won’t be a team in Quebec City. – Gary Bettman to Stephen Harper

These words were reported yesterday on the sidelines of the Kings’ announcement in Quebec City.

Mr. Soudas added that Jean Charest and Régis Labeaume, who were Premier of Quebec and Mayor of Quebec City at the time, knew that the NHL commissioner felt the same way.

But they still used $400 million of taxpayers’ money to try to get Bettman to change his mind when he saw how serious the politicians were. The Commissioner’s change of heart obviously didn’t happen, as we know.

No means no,” added Soudas.

Is that why the CAQ put millions of dollars (in these belt-tightening times) into the Los Angeles Kings project: to furnish the Centre Vidéotron a bit?

Was it to get a real meeting with Gary Bettman in Quebec City?

Kings in Qc for $5-7M public@francoislegault doesn’t back down

“There are those who play petty politics (…) We hope Mr. Bettman will come visit us during these games (…) It’s time the NHL agreed to give a franchise (to Quebec City) “#polqc #polcan pic.twitter.com/0dgQvmYvRI

– Sébastien Bovet (@SebBovetSRC) November 17, 2023

It’s important to remember that the CAQ’s decision hasn’t exactly offered the party any sympathy capital. If there are millions of dollars available right now, why give them to the Kings at the expense of teachers?

But there’s more to it than that.

Dimitri Soudas said he thinks (more than thinks, in fact) that CAQ Finance Minister Éric Girard just lost a lot by giving that money to the Kings. Why? Because he would have loved to run for federal office with the Conservatives to manage Canada’s finances one day.

That said, he added that giving that money to a Los Angeles hockey club isn’t exactly Pierre Poilievre’s management style. It’s obviously different from François Legault, who says it’s important to put money into recreation.

François Legault justified his decision to subsidize two Los Angeles Kings games by saying that it is important to invest in leisure activities. https://t.co/WRxmZWebze

– TSN 690 Montreal (@TSN690) November 17, 2023

Breaking news

– Great news.

The cat’s out of the bag, as they say. I have the privilege of participating in the launch of @PWHL_NewYork as Director of Recruiting and Advanced Statistics.

I consider myself very fortunate to be living this ultra-rewarding experience with a great team. https://t.co/xB7f3knxee

– Christophe Perreault (@ChristPerreault) November 17, 2023

– Logical.

The Giants, meanwhile, also have a big selling point to lure Matt Chapman to town. https://t.co/Wk3oP2OrM7

– Passion MLB (@passion_mlb) November 17, 2023

– One to watch.

The @OlympiquesGAT have the most beautiful pieces to display in the showcase. Tristan Luneau is a particular target #1. https://t.co/p6TuS2aH6Z