Poor Pierre-Karl Péladeau must today suffer a monumental blow.
Pierre LeBrun, respected journalist in the world of hockey, has just confirmed what many already suspected in 2017: Péladeau never really wanted the Nordiques to return to Quebec.
Not only does LeBrun confirm it, but he drives the point home with a clear statement:
“Quebec had their chance when they were part of the same expansion process in Vegas in 2017. It was so disappointing.”
“I dreamed of the return of the Nordiques, but the reality is that when Quebec was not able to go for it during this process, Gary Bettman sent the message: this was your last chance.”
@commissionathletique Unfortunately, the expansion process in which Las Vegas was awarded a team, but not Quebec, seems to have been the last chance to see the Nordiques return…???? Don’t miss the new episode of Radar with Pierre LeBrun! #hockey #lnh #nordiques #quebec #expansion #centrevideotron #nordiquesdequébec #goldenknights ♬ original sound – Athletic Commission
These sharp words resonate as a definitive condemnation of the dream of Quebecers to see their beloved team again.
LeBrun is merciless with words and, through this sentence, exposes what everyone already knew behind the scenes, including voices like Jeff Fillion, who announced everything before anyone else.
It was not Pierre-Karl Péladeau who was behind the initiative to bring back the Nordiques, but Julie Snyder.
The idea that Péladeau, one of the most powerful men in Quebec, never really had this project in his heart is no longer a rumor.
LeBrun reveals without saying it that, as soon as Péladeau realized the astronomical cost of bringing an NHL team back to Quebec, he simply withdrew.
Bettman, in this entire saga, was only a scapegoat, taking the role of the villain to cover the strategic withdrawal of Péladeau.
But the real heart of this story is Julie Snyder, who would have been the true hockey enthusiast, the one who really dreamed of seeing the Nordiques reborn.
Julie, always fascinated by Quebecers’ passion for hockey, would have nourished this project from the depths of her heart.
What is even more striking is that all this occurred while the Péladeau-Snyder couple was heading towards a shattering separation.
According to Jeff Fillion, it was during their divorce that this story came to light, revealed by none other than the former mayor of Quebec, Régis Labeaume.
Julie wanted Quebecor, led at the time by Péladeau, to take charge of the return of the Nordiques. But after the divorce, everything fell apart.
Snyder, removed from Quebecor, saw her project fall through. And even if Péladeau continues to claim that he is still interested in the return of a team to Quebec, no one has a handle on his back: his gaze is now turned towards other horizons, notably Freedom Mobile, his latest “English toy”, which has become a real money printing machine.
Péladeau always wanted to make money. And he was afraid that with the Nordiques, he was going to lose.
LeBrun’s comment also echoes a well-known political reality in Quebec: Pierre-Karl Péladeau never really supported this project.
For him it was not a question of bringing back the Nordiques out of passion, but rather to please his ex-wife, Julie Snyder.
This revelation, whether direct or implied, definitively shatters the image that Péladeau had tried to project to the public.
He was never the providential man who would save hockey in Quebec, but rather a secondary player in a story of divorce, ambition and public relations.
And what about Gary Bettman’s position in this story? The NHL commissioner, often demonized in Quebec for having ignored calls from the government and hockey fans, ultimately emerged cleared.
Bettman only played his role, that of protecting the economic interests of the league, while covering Péladeau’s growing disinterest in the project.
The latter, seeing the costs rise, let Bettman take the blame, leading people to believe that it was the NHL that did not want the Nordiques to return.
A calculated maneuver, certainly, but which today, thanks to LeBrun’s words, is exposed.
While Péladeau continues to juggle his various businesses, his involvement in the return of the Nordiques is now relegated to nothing.
The dreams of thousands of Quebecers were betrayed by a man more interested in his business than in hockey. Meanwhile, Julie Snyder, still passionate about the project, must bite her lips as she sees this dream evaporate.
The most ironic thing in this story is that Julie Snyder, the one who truly believed in the return of the Nordiques, could today, after years of conflicts and bitter separations, be the only one who can relaunch this project.
An alliance between her and Péladeau could have offered a glimmer of hope to the Nordiques supporters. But the two parties would have had to definitively bury their differences, which, at present, seems as improbable as the return of an NHL team to Quebec.
Thus, Pierre-Karl Péladeau, once perceived as the potential savior of hockey in Quebec, sees his image crumbling day by day.
The complicit silence of Bettman, the rumors revealed by Fillion and the scathing declarations of LeBrun complete the demystification of a situation which was, in the end, only a vast game of illusions.
Today, Péladeau focuses on his business, while the Nordiques dream has evaporated into smoke…forever.
Sad end for a project which, obviously, never really found its champion.
Quebec City is heartbroken forever.
