Battle of Quebec (EHM:EA)

[duff88]

Karmanos sells Hurricanes to Quebecor
June 10th 2015 - Only days after Vladimir Taresenko led the St. Louis Blues to their first Stanley Cup in team history against the Washington Capitals, the NHL has announced that Peter Karmanos has completed the sale of the Carolina Hurricanes to a group lep by Quebecor media. The franchise will be relocated to the newly constructed Videotron Centre in Quebec City for the upcoming 2015-16 season. The Quebec Nordiques will be back in the NHL as part of the Metropolitan Division.

With the announcement, Quebecor CEO Pierre Dion named former Remparts president Claudre Rousseau as the president of the revived Nordiques. Former Nordiques pest Dale Hunter will take control of hockey operations as General Manager.

"We will give the people of Quebec the kind of hard working team they appreciate. We will not be afraid to go local." said Hunter on how he plans on building the team.

Speculation is already running that many of the team's stars will be traded before free agency opens in July. The Staal brothers, Cam Ward, Alexander Semin, Nathan Gerbe and John-Michael Liles are not expected to start the next season with Quebec. In result of the move, a majority of the Hurricanes' staff has already been let go. GM Ron Francis, Head Coach Bill Peters as well as all assistant coaches including Rod Brind'Amour have been let go. Among the scouting staff, only Joe Nieuwendyk, Robert Kron, Steve Ludzik, Tony MacDonald and Greg Stefan have been retained. Nieuwendyk will act as Director of Player Personnel, in charge of the draft.

"We want to get the franchise going here in Quebec City on the right footing, and it will start quickly with the NHL Entry Draft in barely a couple of days." said Nieuwendyk.

[duff88]

McDavid goes first in action packed NHL Entry Draft
June 20th 2015 - Without much surprise, young offensive phenom Connor McDavid was drafted first overall by the Edmonton Oilers in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft. The young Canadian was followed by American forward Jack Eichel to the Buffalo Sabres, American defenseman Noah Hanifin to the Phoenix Coyotes and McDavid's teammate Dylan Strome to the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Toronto was also one of the most active teams on the draft floor. Days after trading Dion Phaneuf to the Columbus Blue Jackets for promising young goaltender Anton Forsberg and the rights to hulky defenseman Ryan Collins, the Maple Leafs completed another blockbuster trade with the Blue Jackets :

To Columbus : RW Phil Kessel
To Toronto : C Artem Anisimov, C Boone Jenner, LW Alexander Wennberg

The NHL Entry Draft was the first opportunity for the new Quebec Nordiques franchise to show their colors, and it did make an impression. The team will be sporting a jersey with the same vintage design of the old Nordiques. Sherbrooke defenseman Jérémy Roy was the first to showcase the jersey after he was picked 14th overall by the Nordiques.

1 - 14 - RD Jérémy Roy - 6'0/187lbs - Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL) - Richelieu, Quebec, Canada - 18 years old
2 - 44 - C Anthony Richard - 6'0/198lbs - Val d'Or Foreurs (QMJHL) - Val d'Or, Quebec, Canada - 18 years old
3 - 74 - G Maxim Sidorov - 6'0/191lbs - Lokomotiv Yaroslavl (KHL) - Yaroslavl, Russia - 19 years old
4 - 104 - RW Jeremiah Addison - 6'0/189lbs - Ottawa 67's (OHL) - Toronto, Ontario, Canada - 18 years old
5 - 134 - C Cameron Askew - 6'1/202lbs - Moncton Wildcats (QMJHL) - South Boston, Massachusetts, USA - 18 years old
6 - 164 - LD Beau Rusk - 6'5/213lbs - Rimouski Oceanics (QMJHL) - Beaconsfield, Quebec, Canada - 19 years old
7 - 194 - RW Nick Betz - 6'4/220lbs - Erie Otters (OHL) - Mount Clemens, Michigan, USA - 19 years old

[duff88]

Staal brothers to New Jersey

June 26th 2015 - The rebuild of the Quebec Nordiques has started, as the team announced two trades in the days following the NHL Entry Draft. First, the team traded diminutive forward Nathan Gerbe, who scored 24 goals and 57 points last year with the Hurricanes, to the Dallas Stars for two hard working forwards and a prospect :

To Dallas : LW Nathan Gerbe, LD John-Michael Liles
To Quebec : LW Antoine Roussel, RW Colton Sceviour and rights to LD John Nyberg

But most importantly, the team has traded the Staal brothers together to the New Jersey Devils. Speculation had been going wild in the last few weeks regarding the destination of the brothers, and if they were going to be traded together or not. The rumor had been that New Jersey was a front runner along with Toronto, Colorado and Winnipeg, but the return is significantly lower than what had been speculated :

To New Jersey : C Eric Staal, C Jordan Staal
To Quebec : C Adam Henrique, C Jacob Josefson, RD Adam Larsson

"We get younger, we get hard workers, and most importantly we get players with very high potential. Larsson has showed at the end of last season that he can be the dominant defenseman he was promised to be when he came into the league. He is only 22 years old." said GM Dale Hunter.

[duff88]

Guy Boucher to head coaching staff

June 30th 2015 - Guy Boucher has been named Head Coach of the Quebec Nordiques. The 43-years-old is a former coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning and was once considered one of the most promising up-and-coming coaches in the NHL.

Joël Bouchard, Alain Côté, Mario Durocher and Maxime Ouellet will complete the coaching staff. Steve Bélanger and Serge Haché will take act as physios.

The team has also completed its scouting staff by adding Scott Lachance, Simon Olivier, Scott Skrudland and Matti Väisänen.

[duff88]

Nordiques get rid of Ward and Semin, fail to acquire Radulov

July 5th 2015 - Free agency frenzy has started, and Nordiques GM Dale Hunter has announced that the team has failed to come to terms with NHL unrestricted free agent Alexander Radulov, who was one of the prime target for the team. Radulov, who played his junior career with the Quebec Remparts and who went on to have moderate NHL success with Nashville, has been playing in the russian KHL for the last three years and will play out the remaining year of his contract with CSKA. He hasn't ruled out the idea of joining the Nordiques and the NHL in 2016-17.

Meanwhile, the team has traded away goaltender Cam Ward to the Ottawa Senators and right winger Alexander Semin to the Phoenix Coyotes. In return for these players, the team has added a 3rd rounder and two 4th rounders. The team as also acquired local prospect winger Émile Poirier from the Calgary Flames for young forwards Victor Rask and Andrej Nestrasil.

The shopping period hasn't been a success for Quebec in the free agent market. Thus far, te team has added goaltender Matt Hackett, defensemen Bruno Gervais and Matt Bartkowski as well as forward Daneil Winnik.

Other notable UFA signings
Anaheim - RD Adam McQuaid
Arizona - C Brad Richards
Arizona - C Torrey Mitchell
Calgary - C Mike Fisher
Calgary - RW Joel Ward
Colorado - RD Mike Green
Edmonton - LD Jordan Leopold
Edmonton - G Thomas Greiss
Florida - RW Zach Boychuk
Nashville - RW Justin Williams
New Jersey - LD Tim Gleason
New Jersey - RW Erik Condra
New York I - LD Carlo Colaiacovo
San Jose - LD Barret Jackman
St. Louis - G Devan Dubnyk
St. Louis - C Derek Roy
Tampa Bay - RW Michael Ryder
Toronto - RW Drew Stafford
Toronto - LD Paul Martin
Toronto - LW Blake Comeau
Toronto - C Antoine Vermette

Other notable trades
To Columbus : RW Milan Michalek
To Ottawa : G Oscar Danks and 3rd rounder

To New Jersey : LD Marc Methot and 3rd rounder
To Ottawa : LD Jon Merrill

To Arizona : LD Alec Martinez
To Los Angeles : RD Dysin Mayo and 4th rounder

To Philadelphia : RW David Pastrnak
To Boston : RW Michael Raffl, 3rd rounder, 4th rounder

To Colorado : LW Kevin Fiala
To Nashville : C Nick Magyar and 2nd rounder

To New Jersey : LD Mirco Müller
To San Jose : C John Quenneville and 3rd rounder

To New Jersey : RW Wayne Simomnds
To Philadelphia : LD Andy Greene

To Buffalo : C Nicklas Jensen
To Vancouver : LW Johan Larsson and two 3rd rounders

To Philadelphia : RW Joel Armia
To Winnipeg : G Anthony Stolarz, 2nd rounder and 4th rounder

To Los Angeles : RW Dmitrij Jaskin
To St. Louis : G Jean-François Bérubé and G Patrik Bartosak

To Winnipeg : RW Mike Cammalleri, 3rd rounder
To New Jersey : RD Jacob Trouba

To New Jersey : RW Rickard Rakell
To Anaheim : C Travis Zajac

To Buffalo : C Tyler Bozak
To Toronto : C Eric Cornell and LD Brycen Martin

Still on the UFA market
LW Tomas Fleischmann
LW Brenden Morrow
LW Olli Jokinen
C Jarret Stoll
C Marcel Goc
C Mike Santorelli
C Shawn Matthias
RW Steve Bernier
RW Jaromir Jagr
LD Christian Ehrhoff
RD Lubomir Visnovsky
RD Zbynek Michalek
G Jonas Gustavsson
G Ray Emery
G Michael Neuvirth

[duff88]

Nordiques sign Zbynek Michalek, roster is set for season

August 3rd 2015 - The Nordiques have signed defenseman Zbynek Michalek for the next three years on a 3,1M$ p/y contract. Michalek will add stability to a young offensive-minded defensive core. The team has also signed one year contracts with forwards Matt Halischuk and Kyle Brodziak.

The Quebec Nordiques have now annouced that their team is pretty much set for the upcoming season. They will suit a young team of hard workers, but expectations need to remain low as there is little star power. Here is a complete overview of the 2015-16 Quebec Nordiques :

Goaltender
#31 Anton Khudobin - 5'11/200lbs - 29 years old - Kazakhstan - Starter
He is expected to be in over his head with a young team in front of him, and he is not a franchise goaltender by any means. The Nordiques will hope he can steal a few games on his own with his acrobatic style.
#35 Drew MacIntyre - 6'0/183lbs - 32 years old - PEI, Canada - NHL backup
He has only one win in his NHL career, but he did win the Baz Bastien award for best AHL goalie and the Les Cunningham Plaque for AHL MVP last year, so he comes into the season as the favourite to backup Khudobin.
#30 Matt Hackett - 6'2/178lbs - 25 years old - Ontario, Canada - AHL Starter
At his age, he will need to show that he can be a NHL goaltender. He has been very good thus far in the AHL, but he has yet to make a lasting impact in the NHL.
#1 Daniel Altshuller - 6'3/200lbs - 21 years old - Ontario, Canada - ECHL Starter

Defense
#27 Justin Faulk - 5'11/200lbs - 23 years old - Minnesota, USA - Top pairing defenseman
He had 4 goals and 43 points last year, playing all games for the Hurricanes. He can log in more than 25 minutes a night, and will be expected to anchor the defence in Quebec. Joe Nieuwendyk has compared him to Ryan McDonagh.
#7 Ryan Murphy - 5'11/202lbs - 22 years old - Ontario, Canada - PP Quarterback
Murphy had his breakout season last year with 6 goals and 39 points in 68 games after being called up from Charlotte in the AHL. He will be the PP Quarterback this year and will be a feature on the top two pairings.
#4 Zbynek Michalek - 6'2/209lbs - 32 years old - Czech Republic - Second pairing defenseman
Just added to the team to play some hard minutes in a shut-down role on the top two pairings, Michalek will be used in a mainly defensive role.
#65 Ron Hainsey - 6'3/209lbs - 34 years old - Connecticut, USA - Second pairing defenseman
Had a solid 27 points last year, he will be one of the leaders of this young team.
#5 Adam Larsson - 6'3/209lbs - 22 years old - Sweden - Third pairing defenseman
A developping year for the young defenseman who will need to keep improving.
#38 Jack Hillen - 5'11/200lbs - 29 years old - Minnesota, USA - 6th/7th defenseman
Mobile defensive defenseman, if he does a good first pass and keeps his game simple, he will be a starter.
#43 Matt Bartkowski - 6'1/202lbs - 27 years old - Pennsylvania, USA - 6th/7th defenseman
Will be expected to provide one of the lone physical presence on the blue line, but will not be a part of the starting lineup for all games.
#47 Michal Jordàn - 6'1/176lbs - 25 years old - Czech Republic - 6th/7th defenseman
Could be used for his good mobility and his ability to help the powerplay, but he starts the year behind a lot of names in the depth chart.
#2 Bruno Gervais - 6'1/200lbs - 31 years old - Longueuil, Quebec, Canada - AHL callup
Veteran presence in the AHL that could be used as an emergency callup

Danny Biega, Rasmus Rissanen, Keegan Lowe, Trevor Carrick, Dennis Robertson, Brett Pesce

Left Wing
#53 Jeff Skinner - 5'10/200lbs - 23 years old - Ontario, Canada - First line sniper
It is hard to believe that the 23-years-old Skinner will be one of the veterans on this team, but after scoring 37 goals in his 5th NHL season, he is bound to be the go-to-guy on this low-star-power offense.
#21 Brock McGinn - 6'0/180lbs - 21 years old - Ontario, Canada - Second line winger
The youngst McGinn brother scored 52 points with Charlotte in the AHL last year, and with Joe Nieuwendyk comparing him to Rick Nash, he will be given all the chances to succeed in the NHL this year. If he doesn't make it in the top 9, don't expect him to start the year in the NHL.
#18 Antoine Roussel - 6'0/200lbs - 25 years old - France - Third line winger
The sparkplug proved that 2013-14 was no fluke by posting the same numbers again for Dallas, 14 goals and 15 assists, in one fewer game. He can fight, he can agitate, he is solid on defense.
#15 Daniel Winnik - 6'2/209lbs - 30 years old - Ontario, Canada - Fourth line winger
A good skater, hard worker, solid defensively and can play all forward positions.
#25 Chris Terry - 510/194lbs - 26 years old - Ontario, Canada - Depth player
Terry is the wildcard for the Nordiques. He is a good playmaking winger who scored 25 points last year; he can feature on the second line and do the job if McGinn isn't ready, but he's not the player who will lead you to the next step.

Brendan Woods, Carter Sandlak, Erik Karlsson

Center
#14 Adam Henrique - 6'0/194lbs - 25 years old - Ontario, Canada - First line center
Missed 34 games last year with a fractured arm followed by a fractured shin, and he had a difficult year with only 23 points. He will have added pressure from being a key part in the Staal brothers deal, but he is a determined competitor with the mental fortitude to make it.
#20 Riley Nash - 6'1/191lbs - 26 years old - Alberta, Canada - Second line center
He had a solid 14 goals and 31 points last year, finally starting to show what the Edmonton Oilers saw when they made him a first round pick in 2007.
#11 Jacob Josefson - 6'0/189lbs - 24 years old - Sweden - Third line center
The Devils had been waiting for him to breakout for years, and it never came. His 13 points last year were a career high, but Quebec believes in his two-way ability and his poise at the center position.
#28 Kyle Brodziak - 6'2/211lbs - 31 years old - Alberta, Canada - Fourth line center
A versatile checking forward, he is far removed from his 22-goals season with the Wild, but he can still provide depth and play solid minutes on a smaller role.
#55 Brody Sutter - 6'4/191lbs - 23 years old - Alberta, Canada - Depth player
A big gritty western kid who is bound to make it to the NHL after graduating from the ECHL and AHL. He did well in a short stint with Carolina last year with 3 points in 7 games.
#23 Brad Malone - 6'1/207lbs - 26 years old - USA - Depth player
An utility forward who can effectively suit in a support role on the bottom lines.

Phil Di Giuseppe, Greg Nemisz

Right Wing
#12 Elias Lindholm - 6'1/205lbs - 20 years old - Sweden - 1st line winger
Showed last year why he was a 5th overall pick with a breakout season, scoring 24 goals and 58 points in 64 games. Joe Nieuwendyk raved about him, saying how he reminded him of his former teammate Jere Lehtinen or fellow swedish winger Loui Eriksson.
#13 Émile Poirier - 6'1/194lbs - 20 years old - Laval, Québec, Canada - 2nd line winger
It remains to be seen if Poirier can slot in out of camp in his first professionnal season, but with comparisons to Jiri Hudler and very high projections, Guy Boucher might be forced to let him into the lineup.
#22 Colton Sceviour - 6'0/194lbs - 26 years old - Alberta, Canada - 3rd line winger
An all-around winger who can fill any role required, had a good season last year with 21 points for Dallas.
#29 Matt Halischuk - 5'11/187lbs - 27 years old - Ontario, Canada - 4th line winger
#17 Patrick Brown - 6'1/207lbs - 23 years old - New York, USA - Depth forward
Could force his way higher into the lnieup if Poirier or Sceviour do not produce, as he proved he is above the AHL level last year with 55 points in 63 games. He has yet to play an NHL game in his young career.

Justin Shugg, Nick Betz

Top Prospects
1. LD Haydn Fleury - 6'3/198lbs - 19 years old - Saskatchewan, Canada - Red Deer Rebels (WHL)
2. RD Jérémy Roy - 6'0/187lbs - 18 years old - Richelieu, Quebec, Canada - Sherbrooke Phoenix (QMJHL)
3. RW Émile Poirier - 6'1/194lbs - 20 years old - Laval, Quebec, Canada - Quebec Nordiques (NHL)
4. LW Brock McGinn - 6'0/180lbs - 21 years old - Ontario, Canada - Quebec Nordiques (NHL)
5. RD Danny Biega - 6'0/205lbs - 23 years old - Montreal, Quebec, Canada - Charlotte Checkers (AHL)

[duff88]

Nordiques acquire Foligno, ready for season opener

October 2nd 2015 - The Quebec Nordiques ended pre-season with a 1-1-2 record, and made a big move to improve their first line by acquiring Nick Foligno from the Columbus Blue Jackets. The gritty 27-years-old scored 21 goals and 48 points last year, but his 5,5M$ p/y contract for the next 5 years was too much for the Columbus Blue Jackets with the recent acquisition of Phil Kessel, Dion Phaneuf and Milan Michalek amounting to 19M$ p/y.

To Quebec : RW Nick Foligno
To Columbus : LW Chris Terry and the rights to LD Jaccob Slavin

Head coach Guy Boucher announced that the team will not be using a captain this year, and that five players will alternate wearing the A : Ron Hainsey, Adam Henrique, Zbynek Michalek, Justin Faulk and Elias Lindholm. The Nordiques will open the season with four road games, starting on October 8th in New Jersey.

#53 Jeff Skinner - #14 Adam Henrique [A] - #71 Nick Foligno
#21 Brock McGinn - #11 Jacob Josefson - #12 Elias Lindholm
#18 Antoine Roussel - #20 Riley Nash - #22 Colton Sceviour
#15 Daniel Winnik - #28 Kyle Brodziak - #29 Matt Halischuk

#27 Justin Faulk - #5 Adam Larsson
#4 Zbynek Michalek [A] - #7 Ryan Murphy
#65 Ron Hainsey [A] - #47 Michal Jordàn

#31 Anton Khudobin
#30 Matt Hackett

HEALTHY SCRATCH : #23 Brad Malone, #43 Matt Bartkowski, #38 Jack Hillen

[duff88]

2015-16 Season Preview

Hockey News Prediction
1. Boston Bruins - MVP : C Patrice Bergeron
2. St. Louis Blues - MVP : RD Alex Pietrangelo, KEY ARRIVAL : G Devan Dubnyk
3. Montreal Canadiens - MVP : G Carey Price
4. Pittsburgh Penguins - MVP : C Sidney Crosby
5. Anaheim Ducks - MVP : C Ryan Getzlaf
-
15. Quebec Nordiques - MVP : LW Jeff Skinner, KEY ARRIVAL : C Adam Henrique
-
29. Buffalo Sabres - MVP : LW Evander Kane, KEY ARRIVAL : C Jack Eichel
30. Toronto Maple Leafs - MVP : G Jonathan Bernier, KEY ARRIVAL : LD Paul Martin

Top 5 Goalies
1. #31 Carey Price (Montreal)
2. #35 Pekka Rinne (Nashville)
3. #40 Tuukka Rask (Boston)
4. #30 Ben Bishop (Tampa Bay)
5. #30 Henrik Lundqvist (New York R)

Top 5 Defenseman
1. #6 Shea Weber (Nashville)
2. #8 Drew Doughty (Los Angeles)
3. #27 Alex Pietrangelo (St. Louis)
4. #23 Oliver Ekman-Larsson (Arizona)
5. #65 Erik Karlsson (Ottawa)

Top 5 Left Wingers
1. #14 Jamie Benn (Dallas)
2. #40 Henrik Zetterberg (Detroit)
3. #10 Patrick Sharp (Chicago)
4. #4 Taylor Hall (Edmonton)
5. #17 Jaden Schwartz (St. Louis)

Top 5 Centers
1. #87 Sidney Crosby (Pittsburgh)
2. #91 Steven Stamkos (Tampa Bay)
3. #19 Jonathan Toews (Chicago)
4. #91 John Tavares (New York I)
5. #15 Ryan Getzlaf (Anaheim)

Top 5 Right Wingers
1. #8 Alexander Ovechkin (Washington)
2. #88 Patrick Kane (Chicago)
3. #93 Jakub Voracek (Philadelphia)
4. #10 Corey Perry (Anaheim)
5. #81 Phil Kessel (Columbus)

Top 5 Prospects
1. #97 C Connor McDavid (Edmonton)
2. #88 G Andrei Vasilevsky (Tampa Bay)
3. #44 C Jack Eichel (Buffalo)
4. #29 C Leon Draisatl (Edmonton)
5. #23 C Sam Reinhart (Buffalo)

Preliminary 2016 NHL Entry Draft Top 5
1. C Auston Matthews - 6'1/198lbs - Arizona, USA - USNTDP (USHL)
2. RW Jesse Puljujärvi - 6'3/200lbs - Finland - Kärpät (FIN)
3. RD Kale Clague - 6'0/194lbs - Alberta, Canada - Brandon Wheat Kings (WHL)
4. LD Jakob Chychrun - 6'3/198lbs - Canada - Sarnia Sting (OHL)
5. LW Max Jones - 6'2/194lbs - New York, USA - USNTDP (USHL)

[duff88]

Quebec wins opening game

October 7th 2015 - The Quebec Nordiques couldn't have hoped for a better opening game to their new franchise history. A french player acquired through the summer, Antoine Roussel, scored the first goal barely a minute and thirty-eight seconds into the game. With the crowd still roaring with excitement from the start of the game, Roussel stole the puck away from Devils' defenseman Éric Gélinas, his former junior teammate in Chicoutimi, before immediately shooting it past Cory Schneider's glove.

It was then a story of goaltender Anton Khudobin frustrating Devils' forwards, including Jordan Staal who had four shots in the loss. Khudobin was the first star of the game with 25 saves on 26 shots.

Game 1 Summary

[Wolfpack]

You cause mixed feelings for me. I want to root against you for taking away the Hurricanes, but at the same time I can't really root against the players that are still on the team since they played here.

Did you realign the divisions so that Quebec can play in the same division with Montreal or are they stuck in the Metro still? (Mulling a bit with the scenario here, you could swap Quebec and Columbus with the Florida teams and come out with reasonable divisions that preserve all the major rivalries)

And why couldn't you have moved Arizona or Florida instead? :P

[britrock88]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

You cause mixed feelings for me. I want to root against you for taking away the Hurricanes, but at the same time I can't really root against the players that are still on the team since they played here.

Did you realign the divisions so that Quebec can play in the same division with Montreal or are they stuck in the Metro still? (Mulling a bit with the scenario here, you could swap Quebec and Columbus with the Florida teams and come out with reasonable divisions that preserve all the major rivalries)

And why couldn't you have moved Arizona or Florida instead? :P

It's hard, having a home-state team while also knowing that they are (deservedly so) a prime candidate for contraction/relocation/etc.

(My "ideal NHL" scenario sees Arizona, Florida, Nashville/Carolina, and Columbus folded while adding Seattle to the west and Quebec to the East for a 4x7 setup.)

[duff88]

Originally Posted by Wolfpack

You cause mixed feelings for me. I want to root against you for taking away the Hurricanes, but at the same time I can't really root against the players that are still on the team since they played here.

Did you realign the divisions so that Quebec can play in the same division with Montreal or are they stuck in the Metro still? (Mulling a bit with the scenario here, you could swap Quebec and Columbus with the Florida teams and come out with reasonable divisions that preserve all the major rivalries)

And why couldn't you have moved Arizona or Florida instead? :P

I totally understand what you mean, just like I could never see myself cheering for the Washington Nationales in baseball.

I chose the Hurricanes over Florida and Phoenix simply because I liked the idea of trading away the Staal brothers and building around Lindholm, Skinner, Faulk and Murphy.

I wish I could have figured out an easy way to switch the Blue Jackets and Nordiques' divisions, but I was scared of unstabilizing the game data. So we're stuck on the métro division. Hopefully luck allows us to build a rivalry with Montréal nonetheless.

I wish I could have used an expansion feature, but there's none yet.

[duff88]

Nordiques lose first game before returning home

October 14th 2015 - There were some concerns in Quebec City about opening the season with four away games, but the team could hardly have come out with a better start. Helped by stellar play by goaltender Anton Khudobin, the Nordiques shutout the Bruins 3-0 in their second game and beat the Panthers 2-1 in their third game, before losing to the Rangers in the last of the away-stand.

Mats Zuccarello scored his second goal of the night, his fifth of the season already, with less than 5 minutes to go after a penalty to Adam Henrique, to lead the Rangers to a 2-1 win. The hero of the game was Henrik Lundqvist, who helped completely shutdown the Nordiques' nine powerplay opportunities, stopping 38 out of 39 shots along the way.

Head coach Guy Boucher has already announced that Khudobin will be in nets for the home opener against the Arizona Coyotes.

Game 2 Summary
Game 3 Summary
Game 4 Summary

[duff88]

Arcobello ruins opening night in Quebec

October 16th 2015 - Nobody would have placed a bet on the unlikely scenario that played out at the home opener of the Quebec Nordiques in the new Centre Vidéotron. Facing the Arizona Coyotes, the Nordiques went into the third period with a one-goal lead before allowing three straight goals, on their way to a 6-4 loss.

Most surprising in the loss was the first star of the game, Mark Arcobello. The Coyotes' small American forward, who had been held pointless in the first four games of his team, recored a career-high five assists in the win.

After four stellar games, Anton Khudobin showed signs of weakness in the third period of the game, allowing three goals on seven shots including a weak five-hole wrister from the faceoff circle by Joe Vitale to win the game.

Matt Hackett will get the start against the Colorado Avalanche in the first of back-to-back games on friday.

Game 5 Summary

[duff88]

Momentum lost

November 1st 2015 - The new era of the Quebec Nordiques started well early in the season, but things got sour in the last weeks as the team has accumulated seven losses in their last eight games to finish the month of October only three points above last place in the Eastern Conference.

If there is a positive in this sequence though, it is that their only win in this difficult strech came against the Western Conference leading and Stanley Cup defending St. Louis Blues, as the Nordiques were led by a hat trick from Jeff Skinner in route to a 5-3 victory.

Zbynek Michalek missed the last game with an olecranon bursitis, and is expected to be back in the lineup in the first week of November. During the difficult stretch, head coach reunited his offensive forces on a first line led by Jeff Skinner, Adam Henrique and Elias Lindholm.

Anton Khudobin was the Labatt Bleue player of the month for October for Quebec. Leaguewide, Capitals' center Niklas Bäckström was the NHL Offensive Player of the Month with 4 goals and 12 assists in 11 games. Montreal goaltender Carey Price was the NHL Defensive Player of the Month with 7 wins and 2 shutouts in 8 games. David Pastrnàk of the Philadelphia Flyers was NHL Rookie of the Month with 5 goals and 3 assists in 9 games.

Game 6 Summary
Game 7 Summary
Game 8 Summary
Game 9 Summary
Game 10 Summary

************************************************************************************************
 National Hockey League - Sunday November 1st 2015
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================================================================================================
 2015-16 NHL Standings
================================================================================================

Eastern Conference

Pos     Team                     GP     W      L      O-SL   Pct     GF   GA   Pts  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st     **Lightning              13     9      3      1      0.731   53   31   19   
2nd     **Capitals               11     7      4      0      0.636   36   27   14   
3rd     *Canadiens               11     8      3      0      0.727   35   25   16   
4th     *Penguins                11     7      4      0      0.636   37   31   14   
5th     *Panthers                12     6      4      2      0.583   29   30   14   
6th     *Rangers                 10     6      3      1      0.650   30   21   13   
7th     Blue Jackets             10     6      3      1      0.650   34   27   13   
8th     Devils                   11     5      4      2      0.545   32   33   12   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9th     Maple Leafs              10     6      4      0      0.600   29   24   12   
10th    Senators                 13     5      6      2      0.462   39   46   12   
11th    Flyers                   9      5      4      0      0.556   27   25   10   
12th    Islanders                10     5      5      0      0.500   24   31   10   
13th    Sabres                   11     5      6      0      0.455   28   36   10   
14th    Nordiques                11     4      7      0      0.364   25   28   8    
15th    Red Wings                10     3      6      1      0.350   22   34   7    
16th    Bruins                   9      2      6      1      0.278   19   29   5    

Western Conference

Pos     Team                     GP     W      L      O-SL   Pct     GF   GA   Pts  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st     **Blues                  12     9      3      0      0.750   40   29   18   
2nd     **Sharks                 12     7      3      2      0.667   33   28   16   
3rd     *Avalanche               11     8      3      0      0.727   42   29   16   
4th     *Flames                  11     7      3      1      0.682   37   32   15   
5th     *Ducks                   11     6      3      2      0.636   31   33   14   
6th     *Stars                   10     6      3      1      0.650   32   28   13   
7th     Predators                10     6      3      1      0.650   25   23   13   
8th     Wild                     10     6      4      0      0.600   33   26   12   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9th     Kings                    11     5      6      0      0.455   31   32   10   
10th    Coyotes                  13     5      8      0      0.385   32   47   10   
11th    Oilers                   13     3      8      2      0.308   36   47   8    
12th    Canucks                  11     3      7      1      0.318   31   41   7    
13th    Blackhawks               12     3      9      0      0.250   29   41   6    
14th    Jets                     11     2      9      0      0.182   22   39   4    

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Goals
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Jonathan Drouin          Lightning                13     10     
2nd   Jonathan Huberdeau       Panthers                 12     9      
3rd   Evgeni Malkin            Penguins                 11     9      
4th   Jordan Eberle            Oilers                   13     9      
5th   Sidney Crosby            Penguins                 11     9      

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Assists
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     A      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Nicklas Backstrom        Capitals                 11     12     
2nd   David Perron             Penguins                 11     12     
3rd   Tyler Johnson            Lightning                13     10     
4th   Clarke MacArthur         Senators                 13     10     
5th   Jaden Schwartz           Blues                    12     10     

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Points
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Jonathan Drouin          Lightning                13     10-8-18         
2nd   Jonathan Huberdeau       Panthers                 12     9-7-16     
3rd   Steven Stamkos           Lightning                13     8-8-16     
4th   Nicklas Backstrom        Capitals                 11     4-12-16     
5th   Evgeni Malkin            Penguins                 11     9-6-15     
6th   Marcus Johansson         Capitals                 11     6-9-15     
7th   David Perron             Penguins                 11     3-12-15     
8th   Alexander Ovechkin       Capitals                 11     8-6-14    
9th   Taylor Hall              Oilers                   13     6-8-14     
10th  Sean Monahan             Flames                   11     5-9-14     

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Defenseman Points
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS      
----------------------------------------------------------------------   
1st   Ryan Murray              Blue Jackets             10     4-6-10     
2nd   Ryan McDonagh            Rangers                  10     4-6-10
3rd   Alex Pietrangelo         Blues                    12     2-8-10
4th   P.K. Subban              Canadiens                11     4-5-9
5th   Ryan Suter               Wild                     10     0-9-9

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Rookie Points
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS     
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Bo Horvat                Canucks                  11     4-7-11     
2nd   David Pastrnak           Flyers                   9      5-3-8
3rd   Riley Barber             Capitals                 11     5-2-7
4th   Connor McDavid           Oilers                   13     0-7-7
5th   Anthony Duclair          Kings                    11     3-3-6

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Goaltender SV% (Min 5 games)
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team             GP   W-L-T   GAA   SV%   SO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Carey Price              Canadiens        8    7-1-0   1.74  .944  2     
2nd   Henrik Lundqvist         Rangers          7    5-1-1   1.56  .941  2
3rd   Pekka Rinne              Predators        8    5-2-1   1.95  .936  0
4th   Jonathan Bernier         Maple Leafs      9    6-3-0   2.01  .928  0
5th   Jaroslav Halak           Islanders        9    5-3-0   2.23  .928  0     

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Quebec Nordiques Stats
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Adam Henrique            Nordiques                11     1-7-8      
2nd   Ryan Murphy              Nordiques                11     3-4-7      
3rd   Jeff Skinner             Nordiques                11     4-2-6      
4th   Elias Lindholm           Nordiques                11     2-4-6      
5th   Jacob Josefson           Nordiques                11     3-2-5      
6th   Nick Foligno             Nordiques                11     2-3-5      
7th   Brock McGinn             Nordiques                11     3-1-4      
8th   Colton Sceviour          Nordiques                11     3-0-3      
9th   Antoine Roussel          Nordiques                11     1-2-3      
10th  Ron Hainsey              Nordiques                11     1-2-3      
11th  Riley Nash               Nordiques                9      0-3-3      
12th  Justin Faulk             Nordiques                11     0-3-3      
13th  Michal Jordan            Nordiques                9      0-2-2      
14th  Adam Larsson             Nordiques                11     0-2-2      
15th  Matt Halischuk           Nordiques                11     0-2-2      
16th  Zbynek Michalek          Nordiques                10     1-0-1      
17th  Daniel Winnik            Nordiques                11     1-0-1      
18th  Matt Bartkowski          Nordiques                2      0-0-0      
19th  Jack Hillen              Nordiques                1      0-0-0      
20th  Brad Malone              Nordiques                2      0-0-0      
21st  Kyle Brodziak            Nordiques                11     0-0-0   

Pos   Player                   Team             GP   W-L-T   GAA   SV%   SO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Anton Khudobin           Nordiques        10   4-6-0   2.39  .911  1     
2nd   Matt Hackett             Nordiques        1    0-1-0   4.00  .810  0     

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Charlotte Checkers Stats
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Emile Poirier            Charlotte                8      6-3-9      
2nd   Phil Di Giuseppe         Charlotte                8      3-5-8      
3rd   Trevor Carrick           Charlotte                8      1-5-6      
4th   Erik Karlsson            Charlotte                8      3-2-5      
5th   Patrick Brown            Charlotte                8      2-3-5      
6th   Danny Biega              Charlotte                3      1-4-5      
7th   Nick Betz                Charlotte                8      2-2-4      
8th   Brody Sutter             Charlotte                8      2-2-4      
9th   Bruno Gervais            Charlotte                8      1-3-4      
10th  Brendan Woods            Charlotte                8      0-4-4      
11th  Greg Nemisz              Charlotte                8      2-1-3      
12th  Carter Sandlak           Charlotte                8      1-1-2      
13th  Keegan Lowe              Charlotte                8      0-2-2      
14th  Rasmus Rissanen          Charlotte                8      0-2-2          
16th  John Muse                Charlotte                1      0-0-0      
17th  Dennis Robertson         Charlotte                8      0-0-0      
18th  Justin Shugg             Charlotte                8      0-0-0      

Pos   Player                   Team             GP   W-L-T   GAA   SV%   SO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Drew MacIntyre           Charlotte        8    5-3-0   2.29  .924  1    
2nd   John Muse                Charlotte        1    0-0-0   5.45  .842  0

[duff88]

Nordiques call up Poirier to face Flames

November 23rd 2015 - The Quebec Nordiques have called up promising young winger Émile Poirier from the AHL Charlotte Checkers in time for a regular season game against the Calgary Flames. Poirier will therefore be playing his first career NHL game this week, against the team that drafted him into the NHL in the first round of the 2013 Entry Draft, before trading him home to Quebec.

Poirier will suit up on the right side of the first line, where Elias Lindholm has been moved to center, with Jeff Skinner remaining on the left wing. Adam Henrique will patrol the second line with Nick Foligno and Brock McGinn on his wings, while Jacob Josefson will be flanked by Antoine Roussel and Colton Sceviour.

The Nordiques currently sit 14th in the Eastern Conference with a
8-12-1 record.

Game 12 Predators H NHL 3-1
Game 13 Predators A NHL 1-4
Game 14 Maple Leafs A NHL 1-2
Game 15 Senators A NHL 3-4
Game 16 Stars H NHL 2-1
Game 17 Rangers A NHL 2-5
Game 18 Blackhawks H NHL 3-1
Game 19 Blues A NHL 2-3
Game 20 Canucks A NHL 4-3
Game 21 Sharks A NHL 2-3

[duff88]

Young Poirier helps Nordiques take off with three straight wins

December 1st 2015 - The amount of energy a young rookie playing for his home team can change the face of a franchise. Émile Poirier has been bringing this kind of energy in his first three career NHL games, helping the Nordiques to three straight wins with solid performances every night, amassing three assists along the way.

With these three wins, the Nordiques are getting close to a .500 record, and have now upgraded their standing up to the 10th place in the Eastern Conference.

Adam Henrique was named the Labatt Bleue player of the month for Quebec in November. Henrique scored 5 goals and added 9 assists for 14 points in 13 games during that period. The 25-years-old centre has at least a point in each of his last 7 games. He has averaged 23:32TOI during that time.

Patrice Bergeron of the Boston Bruins was the NHL offensive player of the month with 6 goals and 12 assists in 13 games. Goaltender Pekka Rinne of the Nashville Predators won the award for defensive player with 8 wins in 12 games, including two shutouts. Defenseman Shea Theodore of the Anaheim Ducks scored 1 goal and added 7 assists in 8 games to earn rookie of the month honors.

The Nordiques will start the month of December in Brooklyn to face the Islanders, before travelling to Montreal for the long awaited first phase of the Battle of Quebec against the Canadiens.

Game 22 Flames A NHL 3-1
Game 23 Maple Leafs H NHL 3-1
Game 24 Capitals A NHL 3-1

************************************************************************************************
 National Hockey League - Tuesday December 1st 2015
************************************************************************************************

================================================================================================
 2015-16 NHL Standings
================================================================================================

Eastern Conference

Pos     Team                     GP     W      L      O-SL   Pct     GF   GA   Pts  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st     **Lightning              24     18     5      1      0.771   92   51   37   
2nd     **Blue Jackets           24     17     6      1      0.729   84   59   35   
3rd     *Rangers                 23     14     6      3      0.674   72   55   31   
4th     *Canadiens               23     13     7      3      0.630   64   54   29   
5th     *Flyers                  23     13     8      2      0.609   71   64   28   
6th     *Red Wings               23     11     9      3      0.543   68   67   25   
7th     Capitals                 24     13     10     1      0.563   70   64   27   
8th     Penguins                 24     12     9      3      0.563   76   71   27   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9th     Maple Leafs              24     11     12     1      0.479   62   66   23   
10th    Nordiques                24     11     12     1      0.479   57   58   23   
11th    Panthers                 25     10     12     3      0.460   60   76   23   
12th    Sabres                   26     11     14     1      0.442   64   82   23   
13th    Senators                 25     10     13     2      0.440   71   92   22   
14th    Bruins                   22     10     11     1      0.477   58   67   21   
15th    Devils                   23     9      11     3      0.457   64   76   21   
16th    Islanders                23     9      12     2      0.435   60   76   20   

Western Conference

Pos     Team                     GP     W      L      O-SL   Pct     GF   GA   Pts  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st     **Sharks                 25     18     5      2      0.760   78   55   38   
2nd     **Avalanche              24     16     7      1      0.688   78   60   33   
3rd     *Stars                   23     14     6      3      0.674   70   60   31   
4th     *Wild                    23     14     8      1      0.630   67   57   29   
5th     *Ducks                   24     13     9      2      0.583   71   70   28   
6th     *Flames                  24     13     9      2      0.583   71   65   28   
7th     Blues                    25     14     10     1      0.580   75   73   29   
8th     Canucks                  25     11     9      5      0.540   82   85   27   
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
9th     Predators                24     11     10     3      0.521   62   57   25   
10th    Kings                    25     10     13     2      0.440   62   71   22   
11th    Coyotes                  25     10     13     2      0.440   66   84   22   
12th    Blackhawks               25     10     15     0      0.400   64   71   20   
13th    Jets                     24     8      15     1      0.354   60   81   17   
14th    Oilers                   26     7      17     2      0.308   70   102  16   

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Goals
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Vladimir Tarasenko       Blues                    25     19     
2nd   Jonathan Drouin          Lightning                24     18
3rd   Patrick Kane             Blackhawks               25     17
4th   Evgeni Malkin            Penguins                 24     16
5th   Mats Zuccarello          Rangers                  23     16      

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Assists
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     A      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   David Perron             Penguins                 24     19     
2nd   Ryan Suter               Wild                     23     19
3rd   Jaden Schwartz           Blues                    25     18
4th   Nicklas Bäckström        Capitals                 24     18
5th   Ryan Johansen            Blue Jackets             24     17     

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Points
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Evgeny Malkin            Penguins                 24     16-14-30         
2nd   Jonathan Drouin          Lightning                24     18-11-29
3rd   Joe Pavelski             Sharks                   25     14-14-28
4th   Steven Stamkos           Lightning                24     13-15-28
5th   Jaden Schwartz           Blues                    25     10-18-28
6th   Phil Kessel              Blue Jackets             24     13-14-27
7th   Taylor Hall              Oilers                   26     12-14-26
8th   Vladimir Tarasenko       Blues                    25     19-6-25
9th   Jonathan Huberdeau       Panthers                 25     12-13-25
10th  Jamie Benn               Stars                    23     11-14-25

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Defenseman Points
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS      
----------------------------------------------------------------------   
1st   Alex Pietrangelo         Blues                    25     5-16-21
2nd   Marc-Édouard Vlasic      Sharks                   25     7-14-21
3rd   Ryan Suter               Wild                     23     1-19-20
4th   Ryan Murray              Blue Jackets             24     8-10-18
5th   Kristopher Letang        Penguins                 24     3-15-18

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Rookie Points
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS     
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   David Pastrnak           Flyers                   23     7-6-13
2nd   Bo Horvat                Canucks                  24     5-8-13
3rd   Anthony Duclair          Kings                    24     7-5-12 
4th   Connor McDavid           Oilers                   25     2-10-12
5th   Max Domi                 Coyotes                  23     7-4-11

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Goaltender SV% (Min 10 games)
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team             GP   W-L-T   GAA   SV%   SO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Pekka Rinne              Predators        20   10-6-3  1.68  .944  1
2nd   Carey Price              Canadiens        18   11-4-3  1.82  .942  3
3rd   Ben Bishop               Lightning        14   10-3-1  1.97  .932  1     
4th   Henrik Lundqvist         Rangers          17   10-4-3  2.15  .925  2
5th   Michael Hutchinson       Jets             16   8-7-0   2.55  .924  0

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Quebec Nordiques Stats
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Adam Henrique            Nordiques                24     6-16-22     
2nd   Jeff Skinner             Nordiques                24     8-8-16     
3rd   Nick Foligno             Nordiques                24     9-6-15     
4th   Elias Lindholm           Nordiques                24     8-6-14     
5th   Ryan Murphy              Nordiques                24     3-9-12     
6th   Justin Faulk             Nordiques                24     1-11-12     
7th   Brock McGinn*            Nordiques                24     5-4-9      
8th   Antoine Roussel          Nordiques                24     2-5-7      
9th   Jacob Josefson           Nordiques                24     4-2-6      
10th  Ron Hainsey              Nordiques                24     2-4-6      
11th  Colton Sceviour          Nordiques                24     5-0-5      
12th  Matt Bartkowski          Nordiques                15     1-4-5      
13th  Adam Larsson             Nordiques                24     0-5-5      
14th  Riley Nash               Nordiques                16     0-4-4      
15th  Zbynek Michalek          Nordiques                17     2-1-3      
16th  Daniel Winnik            Nordiques                24     1-2-3      
17th  Emile Poirier*           Nordiques                3      0-3-3      
18th  Michal Jordan            Nordiques                19     0-2-2      
19th  Matt Halischuk           Nordiques                24     0-2-2      
20th  Matt Hackett             Nordiques                5      0-0-0      
21st  Anton Khudobin           Nordiques                19     0-0-0      
22nd  Brad Malone#             Nordiques                4      0-0-0      
23rd  Jack Hillen              Nordiques                4      0-0-0      
24th  Kyle Brodziak            Nordiques                18     0-0-0  

Pos   Player                   Team             GP   W-L-T   GAA   SV%   SO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Anton Khudobin           Nordiques        19   9-9-1   2.26  .917  1     
2nd   Matt Hackett             Nordiques        5    2-3-0   2.98  .891  0     

================================================================================================
 2015-16 Charlotte Checkers Stats
================================================================================================

Pos   Player                   Team                     GP     G-A-PTS      
----------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Emile Poirier#           Charlotte                16     10-6-16     
2nd   Erik Karlsson            Charlotte                19     6-9-15     
3rd   Brendan Woods            Charlotte                19     2-10-12     
4th   Danny Biega              Charlotte                14     4-7-11     
5th   Phil Di Giuseppe         Charlotte                13     4-6-10     
6th   Trevor Carrick           Charlotte                19     1-8-9      
7th   Patrick Brown            Charlotte                19     5-3-8      
8th   Nick Betz                Charlotte                19     4-3-7      
9th   Frederic Gamelin         Charlotte                8      3-4-7      
10th  Rasmus Rissanen          Charlotte                19     1-6-7      
11th  Luke Lockhart            Charlotte                8      3-3-6      
12th  Greg Nemisz              Charlotte                19     3-3-6      
13th  Brett Pesce              Charlotte                10     2-3-5      
14th  Bruno Gervais            Charlotte                10     1-4-5      
15th  Brad Malone              Charlotte                2      1-4-5      
16th  Dennis Robertson         Charlotte                18     2-2-4      
17th  Brody Sutter             Charlotte                19     2-2-4      
18th  Carter Sandlak           Charlotte                19     2-2-4      
19th  Justin Shugg             Charlotte                19     1-2-3      
20th  Keegan Lowe              Charlotte                19     0-2-2      
21st  Nick Esposto             Charlotte                7      0-1-1      
22nd  Drew MacIntyre           Charlotte                19     0-0-0      
23rd  John Muse                Charlotte                2      0-0-0      
24th  Carlos Amestoy           Charlotte                4      0-0-0     

Pos   Player                   Team             GP   W-L-T   GAA   SV%   SO
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
1st   Drew MacIntyre           Charlotte        19   12-7-0  2.58  .915  1    
2nd   John Muse                Charlotte        2    0-0-0   6.12  .792  0