Finance Minister Eric Girard, who had a “very good meeting” with National Hockey League (NHL) commissioner Gary Bettman last Thursday, considers that the return of the Nordiques is “definitely possible”, from less “long-term”.
• To read also: Return of the Nordiques: second meeting between Bettman and Girard
“In the long term, it is definitely possible, because Quebec has changed,” summed up Minister Girard, who was back in the National Assembly on Tuesday for the last right of the parliamentary session, three months from the campaign. electoral.
Since the departure of the Nordiques in 1995, “Quebec has changed in terms of its economic strength, in terms of the size of businesses”, he continued, stressing that he had made the same speech during his previous meeting with Mr. Bettman, that virtual one, last January.
Quebec “more dynamic”
“When you look today at the TSX60, the index of the largest market capitalizations in Canada, there are several large Quebec companies. Quebec City is (also) much more dynamic, diversified than when the Nordiques left,” observed the Minister of Finance.
All in all, his meeting – this time face-to-face – with Gary Bettman in the big apple turned out to be “extremely positive”, rejoiced Mr. Girard. “It was a courtesy visit,” he repeated.
Mr. Girard thought it important to take advantage of his tour of investors from major American banks in New York to meet with Mr. Daly.
An “untimely” leak
Their discussions had so far been “extremely preliminary”. Then came the “leak (…) a little inappropriate” of information, first reported by La Presse, concerning the possibility that the Ottawa Senators will play five games at the Videotron Center next season, in Quebec.
That possibility made headlines in March, just days after the death of Senators owner Eugene Melnyk. “It was not a good time for this leak, said Mr. Girard, without elaborating further. (…) It was a moment for which there had to be respect for the Senators. »
Asked about the very precarious situation in which the Arizona Coyotes organization finds itself, “I do not intend to discuss any particular situation,” dropped Mr. Girard, who received the mandate to work on the Nordiques file last summer, from the hands of François Legault.
