(Quebec) The Los Angeles Kings arrived in Quebec with outstretched hands for their Thursday night game against the Bruins, after months of controversy surrounding a subsidy from the Legault government.
Posted at 4:02 p.m.
Even before the start of the press conference at the Videotron Center, Wednesday noon, Luc Robitaille made a point of making an announcement that looked like a charm operation.
“One of our ideas when coming here was to donate 407 pieces of equipment, skates, helmets, gloves… everything you need to play, for less privileged children,” said the team president.
Then Mr. Robitaille invited a young hockey player, Félix, to come on stage. He was carrying a hockey bag filled with full equipment. Alongside him was Kings mascot Bailey, who made the trip with the team.
The Kings will also meet sick children at the Quebec University Hospital on Wednesday, then visit a food bank in the capital on Friday. Luc Robitaille assures that these activities have nothing to do with the heated debates sparked by the Quebec government’s decision to subsidize the California team’s two preseason matches up to $7 million.
“We played four or five years in Utah, then we also played for young people in that area,” he said. Before that, we played 15 years in Vegas, each time we had charity events. We know as an organization that it is important to give something, to leave something in the city where you come from. »
“It’s part of the business”
The Kings found themselves unwillingly at the heart of this controversy. Luc Robitaille tried to close this chapter on Wednesday, ensuring that it was commonplace for teams to receive compensation for playing away during preseason matches.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
Kings president Luc Robitaille and player Phillip Danault answered questions from journalists on Wednesday.
“Sometimes the government is involved. In Utah, the government was involved. In Vegas, we only dealt with the arena. It’s part of the business every year. »
“We have to establish our box office sales, what we are missing… It involves travel, hotels, and everything that revolves around it, like meals,” he says. I don’t have the figures with me, but it’s expensive. Don’t forget that the other teams get paid. It’s expensive to take a National League team. »
In a National League arena
The team’s arrival did not go unnoticed in Quebec. Press photographers even followed his arrival at Château Frontenac on Tuesday evening. It must be said that the presence of the team was linked, by the Legault government, to the issue of the return of the National Hockey League (NHL) to the capital.
The Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, said this himself last November, when the decision to subsidize the two pre-season matches created a stir. “If we bring in a National League team to play matches in the Videotron Center, there is a link with the potential return of the Nordiques,” the minister said at the time.
“We are not here to create tension, we are here for the hockey market, to show that we can have hockey in Quebec,” assistant captain Phillip Danault swore Wednesday.
Danault and Robitaille did not take issue with the tickets still being available. They even rejoiced in the crowds expected at both matches. “People are passionate. It’s such a beautiful religion, hockey,” said Danault, also happy to be able to enjoy the fall in Quebec.
PHOTO EDOUARD PLANTE-FRÉCHETTE, LA PRESS
A few curious people came Wednesday morning to see the Los Angeles Kings train at the Videotron Center in Quebec.
The captain, Anze Kopitar, had good words for the Videotron Center, which will celebrate its tenth anniversary in September 2025. “The building is what, nine or ten years old? So it’s very new, very fresh. I’m sure the Remparts love playing here,” Kopitar said. It’s NHL infrastructure, with everything you need. It’s very modern. We’re on the road, but we have a world-class arena. »
An NHL arena… In the stands, among those who came to watch the Kings practice, The Press didn’t find many people who still believe in the return of the big league to Quebec.
“We must remember that the Nordiques left because the government did not want to put money into it,” recalls Claude Drolet, 72 years old. I understand the government. And I understand the guy from Shawinigan or Sorel who didn’t want to pay the salaries of the Nordiques players with his taxes. And where are the salaries today, forget it, the NHL in Quebec! »
In the meantime, the people of Quebec will be treated to a good show on Thursday and Saturday. Head coach Jim Hiller has assured that his lineup for both games will be roughly the same as planned for the start of the season.
“For the Quebec public, in preseason matches, they want to see the big players,” admitted Luc Robitaille. We made sure our big players would play. »
