Bettman had some news to announce to Quebec City and the Nordiques minister, according to Michel Bergeron

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Jeff Drouin
May 21, 2022 (12:16)

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For a dozen years now, the issue of a possible return of the Nordiques to Quebec City has had many ups and downs.

But since the beginning of 2022, we can say that there is a certain openness on the part of the NHL in this file as the Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, met with Gary Bettman for a second time in less than six months.

Even if the meeting only lasted 45 minutes and was a courtesy meeting, it was enough for former Nordiques head coach Michel Bergeron to be happy about it.

During his appearance on the JiC show on TVA Sports, the Tiger was very optimistic about the future and as Max Truman of Danslescoulisses.com reports, Bergeron believes that the NHL commissioner had an announcement to make to Eric Girard.

"In my opinion, it was an important meeting. We're in the playoffs, why did Bettman ask him to come to New York to meet him? He had some news to tell him. I think it will be positive."

Well okay, we are in the speculation here, but the former coach of the Nordiques also had a clear message to throw to Geoff Molson regarding a potential return of the Nordiques.

"On the other hand, I think it's time for Geoff Molson to sit down with Gary Bettman and tell him to speed things up. If Molson comes out publicly and says he's for the Nordiques returning to Quebec City, people would say bravo."

If the Tiger was optimistic, the same cannot be said of the host of the podcast La Dose Jean-Philippe Bertrand.

"Like Thomas in the Bible, I will believe it when I see it"

He wants to be cautious as he mentions that it could once again be a strategy of the NHL to use Quebec City to put pressure on some markets that are snatching it up like the Arizona Coyotes and the Ottawa Senators.

In any case, hockey fans in Quebec City can be happy that the channels of communication remain open between the two parties and that eventually, there could be good news in this file that continues to be talked about.