Seasons in Quebec City, from 1972 to 1995, without a championship.
The rivalry
The Nordiques played in a province that already had the most successful club in the sport, in Montreal, three hours down the road. The two cities did not like each other and the fixture became the defining one in the province. On one night in 1984 the two teams left the ice at the end of the second period, kept fighting in the corridor, and came back out to fight again.
How the squad was built
Quebec were bad for years and drafted well because of it. In 1992 they traded Eric Lindros, who had refused to play for them, to Philadelphia for a package that brought Peter Forsberg, five other players, two first-round picks and fifteen million dollars.
It is generally regarded as the most one-sided trade in the history of the sport. Joe Sakic was already there.
1995
The Canadian dollar was weak, the arena was small and old, and the club was losing money. The owners asked the province for help and were refused. In May 1995 the franchise was sold to a group in Denver for seventy five million dollars.
The following June
The Colorado Avalanche beat Florida four nil in the final. The winning goal in the last match came in the third period of extra time.
Sakic was named the most valuable player of the play-offs.
Since
Quebec City built a new arena, which opened in 2015 and has no team in it.