The Minister of Finance, Eric Girard, was obviously an attentive spectator at the preparatory game between the Los Angeles Kings and the Boston Bruins on Thursday, the first of two on show at the Videotron Center this week, and he greatly appreciated what ‘he saw.
In interview on the show JiCFriday, he praised the merits of Quebec, which also experienced a great evening of hockey thanks in particular to the more than 17,000 fans who attended the tribute paid to former Bruins captain Patrice Bergeron and the 4-1 victory for the Kings. According to him, all of the activities related to the arrival of the Californian training in town are already a success.
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“We talked a lot and it was about time the event took place so we could experience this celebration of hockey. I didn’t have all the details of what was going to happen, but I was really happy when I saw the public practice,” he told host Jean-Charles Lajoie.
“What I felt yesterday was a very positive energy. The people who were here wanted to be there. We have an amphitheater that was built to present National Hockey League games [LNH]», also mentioned Girard, emphasizing the “big caliber” of play offered by the two clubs on Thursday.
Multiple messages transmitted
Certainly, the minister spoke out on the possibility of seeing an NHL franchise land permanently in the Old Capital. The one who has already discussed the subject with Commissioner Gary Bettman has made no bones about it. In the immediate future, the circuit is not aiming for an expansion of the frameworks, as Bettman recently declared.
“I tell myself that we will not have an NHL team immediately. It will take a private owner with extremely strong backbones and it will probably cost more than $2 billion to obtain a hockey franchise. […] In the meantime, what we want are major league events, training camps, world championships, regular season games. The infrastructure is there, the history is there, the fans are there,” Girard assessed.
The latter also believes that beyond financial figures, reputation is essential to promote a market in search of a professional team. And in this regard, Quebec has nothing to be ashamed of its status.
“Europeans love Quebec, it’s no secret, but the real ambassadors for the city are all the Quebecers who are in the NHL. Current and former players, these people know that there is a tradition, a history. Also, Quebec has changed with its dynamism on the economy. Quebecers know it,” he said.
The Kings will complete their stay in La Belle Province by facing the Florida Panthers on Saturday at 7 p.m.
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