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Regular season games in Quebec: it would be “too complicated,” according to Gary Bettman
Félix Forget
Regular season games in Quebec: it would be “too complicated,” according to Gary Bettman
Credit: On January 27, Michael Andlauer caused quite a stir in the NHL. The owner of the Senators, who had just announced that his team would play preseason games in Quebec next fall, added another layer to the conversation. Basically, he opened the door to playing regular season games in Quebec… and that, really didn’t make […]
On January 27, Michael Andlauer caused quite a stir in the NHL. The owner of the Senators, who had just announced that his team would play preseason games in Quebec next fall, added another layer to the conversation.

Basically, he opened the door to playing regular season games in Quebec… and that, really didn’t make the NHL happy.

Ultimately, Andlauer had to retract his statement. One might wonder if the pressure came from the NHL or from people in Ottawa who are afraid of seeing the team move (or both), but clearly, someone somewhere didn’t want it to happen.

And tonight, as part of the start of the 4 Nations Confrontation, Gary Bettman gave a brief interview to TVA Sports… and he addressed the topic of regular season games in Quebec.

Except he didn’t exactly open the door to the idea:

[Playing games in Quebec] is not that simple. – Gary Bettman

Bettman didn’t really want to explain why it’s so complicated, but he noted that Andlauer, in saying that, probably got a little too worked up.

And that’s when Élizabeth Rancourt had the good idea to mention the regular season games that take place in Europe… which don’t seem “too complicated.” His response?

It’s not the same thing. – Gary Bettman

No, he didn’t specify the reason.

On the substance, Bettman is right to say that it’s not the same thing. After all, one of the two scenarios involves disrupting the schedule of certain teams during the season by making them play across the Atlantic… while the other option wouldn’t be very different from playing games in Montreal for visiting teams.

I’ll let you guess which of the two avenues is the simplest in the commissioner’s eyes. The answer may surprise you.


In brief

– 4 Nations: Jon Cooper motivated his players by talking about… P.K. Subban.

– A first defeat in the AHL for Cayden Primeau this season. It had been almost a month since the Rocket lost.

– Pat Brisson discussed a few hot topics in the NHL on the air with 98,5 Sports. [98.5 Sports]

– Very cool!

– Great signing for the Padres.

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