Quebec Nordiques Franchise History


	Quebec Nordiques

The name Nordiques stands for people of the north, representing the fact that the Nordiques (then part of the WHA) were one of the northernmost team in the league.
The Nordiques were brought in as one of the original WHA franchises in 1972, luring J.C. Tremblay away from the Montreal Canadiens and signing Maurice "The Rocket" Richard to coach the team.
After the Nordiques first game Richard decided coaching was not for him, and he stepped down.
For the 1979/80 season, the Nordiques and 3 other WHA teams joined the NHL.
In 1980/81, rookie Peter Statsny would win the Calder Trophy scoring 109 points.
1985/86 Peter Stastny and Michel Goulet would both have 100+ point seasons leading the Nordiques to their first Division title since joining the NHL with a record of 43-31-6.
The season of 1988/89 Guy Lafleur (out of retirement and already a hall-of-famer) becomes a member of the Nordiques.
In 1991/92 first round draft pick Eric Lindros refuses to play for the Nordiques. With Lindros sitting out, the Nordiques went on to finish last for the 5th straight season. The following season, Quebec traded Lindros to the Philadelphia Flyers for Peter Forsberg, Steve Duchesne, Kerry Huffman, Mike Ricci, Chris Simon, Ron Hextall, Jocelyn Thibault, a first-round pick in 1994, and cash.
The 1992/93 season proved to be a good one as Joe Sakic and Mats Sundin topped 100 points while the Nordiques completed the best single season improvement in NHL history.
1994/95 saw the Nordiques trade Mat Sundin to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Wendel Clark and Sylvain Lefebvre in an attempt to add veteran experience and toughness to the young team. Unfortunately, that season the NHL went on a 4 month lockout, when the season proceeded the Nordiques were ready as they posted a finished with a 30-13-5 record, the best in the Eastern Conference. Unfortunately, the team wasnt doing as well financially and that season was to the their last, the following season the team moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche.

Best Season:
1992/93 (47-27-10, 104 pts)
Worst Season:
1989/90 (12-61-7, 31 pts)

Retired Numbers
8 Marc Tardiff LW	1974/75-1982/83
3 J.C. Tremblay -Defenseman	1972/73-1978/79
16 Michel Goulet LW	1979/80-1989/90

Vezina Trophy Winners:0

League Championships:0

The team logos on this site are property of their respective organizations and are used strictly for demonstration purposes.

Le Colissee de Quebec

Arena History
Le Colisee de Quebec	1972/73-1994/95

Guy Lafleur with Nordiques

Guy Lafleur with Quebec Nordiques