Salt Lake City has a team in just three short months

Smith and his group had publicly expressed their interest in early January, and three months later, they had secured an NHL team. Meanwhile, Quebec City has been publicly expressing interest for years and years… but to no avail.

The Coyotes’ case was special in that it would have required a reorganization of the conferences, which would have complicated matters… but at the same time, is it really such a big obstacle?

Remember that in the last few days, Bettman had stated that the arrival of a team in Salt Lake City would “not at all” mean the end for the Quebec City market… but obviously, the market doesn’t seem to be at the top of Bettman’s list of priorities.

The commissioner doesn’t want a government-owned team, so one wonders if the reason Quebec didn’t get its team is that no one is willing to put $1 billion (U.S.) on the table to bring a team to the province’s capital.

We’ll see what happens over the next few years, but obviously, when Bettman has a deal in mind and a wealthy owner lifts his hand, anything can happen very quickly.

It’s up to you to judge whether this is good or bad for Quebec City.

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