Expansion: Quebec City is (by far) the most popular city among fans

Félix Forget
Expansion: Quebec City is (by far) the most popular city among fans
Credit: Minas Panagiotakis/Getty Images

For the past few months, there's been increasing talk of a possible NHL expansion. It feels like it's imminent, after all, and we're wondering which cities will get a new team.

Houston and Atlanta are often mentioned… but we know there are other contenders.

And, of course, Quebec City's name comes up frequently. It seems like that scenario is pretty unlikely, but that doesn't stop fans from dreaming about it.

A recent poll by The Athletic, conducted among 20,000 fans, clearly demonstrates this: when fans were asked which city they'd like to see get a team, Quebec City was the most popular answer.

And it wasn't even particularly close: Quebec City received 13,383 votes, far ahead of second-place Houston (6,914 votes). No other city received more than 4,500 votes.

But of course, we know there's a difference between what fans want and what the league wants. Given the current economic reality, where many Canadian teams are struggling, bringing a team to Quebec City is probably not what Gary Bettman has in mind.

Even though someone like Patrice Bergeron, who would have a strong interest in getting involved in the project to bring back the Nordiques, would really like to see it happen.

We'll see how the situation unfolds over the next few years, but we shouldn't expect an outcome that will particularly please the fans surveyed. The possibility of seeing a team return to Quebec City, as things stand, seems extremely slim.

Even though we all agree it's easy to understand why so many people would love to see that happen.


In a Nutshell

– Interesting.

– Nice!

– The Blue Jays are holding their breath.

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