Michel Bergeron has a SYNCOPE

– Michel Bergeron has a SYNCOPE…

– Talking to Gary Bettman…

– Wow..

– Bergy has to be careful.

– He’s going P-E-TER to the FRETTE.

While everyone is laughing at the Coyoyes, Quebec is waiting. Quebec awaits with its passionate hockey fans who fill a modern Videotron Center that can accommodate more than 18,000 spectators. We’re a long way from Arizona State University’s Mullett Arena.

We have the impression that there is at least one news per year that reminds us that Quebec does not have an NHL team and that all Quebecers are being fooled.

When we talk about organizations in difficulty, several cities that could potentially host a club, such as Houston, Kansas City, Atlanta (again!) or Salt Lake City, resurface.

But it is only in Canada that we speak of Quebec, otherwise this name is pronounced lip service, not too loudly. If no journalist asks questions to Bettman, he will never pronounce the name of the capital of La Belle Province.

However, behind the scenes, the commissioner must certainly use Quebec as a negotiating tool with the other cities so that they get organized quickly. Even when Quebec had its chance, it was not necessary to talk about it too much, for fear of offending Bettman. It was necessary to respect it and not to attract attention.

What does it give ? Pierre Karl Péladeau, Quebecor, the mayor at the time Régis Labeaume, the Government of Quebec all followed the instructions to the letter, building an amphitheater that meets the criteria of the circuit and depositing millions of dollars on the table just to present a application file. But Bettman’s choice was already made. He took our money and went to Las Vegas, then to Seattle.

Bettman has once run out of options when things went wrong with the Atlanta Thrashers. Winnipeg was ready and the Jets came back to life. The Commissioner will not want to repeat such a scenario. If the Coyotes are guaranteed to stay in Arizona in 2023-2024, it is because the next destination is not yet ready. Bettman prefers to wait a little longer rather than move the club to Quebec where there is already an arena, fans and an interesting market.

Let Bettman say so and confirm that he doesn’t want to know about the return of the Nordiques, stop fooling us, giving us false hope. It’s annoying, because we’ve been taken hostage.