Shortly after NHL commissioner Gary Bettman officially announced expansion to Las Vegas in 2017-18 on Wednesday, he confirmed the league deferred expanding to Quebec City.
Bettman didn't fully shut the door on expanding to La Belle Province in the future, but said geographic imbalance, among other factors, determined the decision.
"Although the League sees Quebec City as a prime opportunity for future expansion, the Board of Governors concluded that the NHL's lack of geographic balance, the belief that it would be best not to assimilate multiple teams into the League at this time, as well as the recent and significance devaluation of the Canadian dollar made it prudent to defer Quebecor's application."
Chairman of the Board of Governors, Jeremy Jacobs, said Quebec City is still a strong candidate for future expansion.
Pierre Dion, who spearheaded the move to Quebec as President and CEO of Quebecor, was adamant about working to bring a second team back to the Province.
"The strong relationship we've built with the NHL over the last few years is very important to us," Dion said, according to Dan Rosen of NHL.com. "Bringing the Nordiques back to Quebec City remains a priority for Quebecor. We will keep talking."
