Father Nordique

The NHL's Avalanche may be physically located in Denver, Colorado but spiritually the club's heart and soul is still to be found in...

Les Nordiques De Quebec

Sadly this past weekend saw the passing of a very influential and beloved figure in Quebec Hockey, Marius Fortier "The Father" of the Quebec Nordiques. He will be greatly missed by many a fan and player.

Jovial and always in good humour, his heart was broken in May 1995 with the sale of the Nordiques to Colorado.
"Damn money," he grumbled when asked what prompted the move.
He used the recent NHL lockout to pass along a last message to the decision-makers in the Quebec City region.
"Without a new Colisee, there will never again be NHL hockey here," he said.

Hopefully the decision-makers in the Quebec City region will remember his words and take appropriate action. I firmly believe that in this brave new hockey world brought about by a NHL Collective Bargaining Agreement designed to help small market teams succeed that a franchise in the historic hockey-crazed Province of Quebec could once again rise and prosper. Thus fulfilling the deeply held hopes and dreams of hockey fans everywhere.

In other Nordique/Avalanche news...

and then there was only one left. Man, I sure loved those uniforms. In my humble opinion they were some of the best ever seen in the NHL.