If you mention the Battle of Québec to an historian his mind immediately goes to the 1759 battle on the Plains of Abraham when the British subdued the French Canadians. However if you mention the same words to a hockey fan, chances are they are well aware that you are referring to one of the most heated rivalries in the NHL, the one between the Québec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens. While it was nowhere near as long as those with the Bruins or the Leafs since the Québec outfit was only part of the NHL from 1979 to 1995, it was incredibly intense.
For those 15 years, the Battle of Québec divided the province and even families. Straight from the arrival of the Nordiques in the NHL, they were identified as the nationalists’ team, a kind of representation on ice of the Parti Québécois, its blue colour and its separatists views. The fleur-de-lys and the blue and white of Québec’s provincial flag were heavily featured on their uniforms and many French speakers immediately saw them as ‘their team’. Meanwhile, the Canadiens fans were seen as the federalist faction who supported the Liberal Party and were strongly opposed to the idea of Quebec becoming its own country. At the Québec Coliseum, the national anthem was sang in French only and the announcements were also made in French only. Furthermore, the Nordiques made a conscious effort to draft and use players from Québec and gained support that way. You know how Ginette Reno sings the national anthem at the Bell Centre during the playoffs? Well, she originally sang it at the Québec Coliseum for the Nordiques. Even the ownership of the teams were adversaries. The Canadiens were owned by Molson (just like they are today) while the Nordiques were owned by O’Keefe and as Red Fisher said in an interview in 1982, if your team won, the beer sales would go up but if it lost to the rival brewery, the sales would go down. If you are a bit of an history buff, I think you’ll enjoy that CBC report from 1982
Listen here I personally found it pretty interesting and I loved the fact that you could hear hockey being played in the background and that you could tell that back then, wooden sticks were used.
The rivalry was also ferocious on the ice. While the Canadiens had a glorious history and had been used to having an all-star line-up, things went downhill in the 1980s and they weren’t necessarily the almighty outfit that they once were. For the first 3 seasons of the Nordiques in the NHL, the Habs had a 6-5-5 record against them and were therefore by no stretch of the imagination unbeatable. Prior to the 1981-1982 season, the NHL realigned and both teams were placed in the Adams division which meant that they were likely to meet each other in the playoffs and come April ‘82 that’s exactly what happened. In a best of 5 series, the Nordiques triumphed of the Canadiens. Québec lost the first match-up but won the next two and the Habs were on the brink of elimination. Montreal survived game 4 and took game 5 to overtime but in the end, the Nordiques’ own version of Brad Marchand, Dale Hunter, stuck the final nail in the Red, White and Blue coffin 22 seconds into overtime. This playoff series is remembered for its 4th game which included 251 minutes of penalties in a Canadiens’ rout of the Nordiques 6-2. This was definitely a preview of the 84’ series...
Speaking of which, the Habs would have their revenge 2 years later in a best of seven series which they won 4-2 but the series clinching game would forever be known as the Good Friday Massacre. Towards the end of the second period of play, a bench clearing brawl occurred when Dale Hunter pushed both Guy Carbonneau and Steve Penney. There would be plenty of action in that brawl, Mario Tremblay broke something else before attempting to break Patrick Roy, he broke Peter Stastny’s nose and both players were ejected but that wasn’t the worst incident... During the melee, Québec’s Louis Sleigher threw a punch at the Canadiens’ Jean Hamel knocking him out cold....he would remain unconscious for over 10 minutes and would have vision issues from then on. In fact, at training camp in the fall of 1984, Jean Hamel had to retire. After the second intermission, while the numerous penalties are being announced, another bench clearing brawl breaks and one bout pitted brother against brother when Montreal’s Mark Hunter took on Dale Hunter who was still with Québec then. In the end, the referee will give 252 minutes of penalties in this game. If like me you were pretty young when these events took place, you can take a walk down memory lane and check out the game in the Memorable Games in Canadiens’ History box set.
In 1986, both teams made the playoffs but the Nordiques were sent packing by the Hartford Whalers and the Canadiens didn’t have to play their bitter rivals on their way to Stanley Cup 23. However, in 1987, the Nordiques didn’t miss the rendez-vous and nor did controversy. In game 5 of the series, Alain Côté had a goal waved off because offsetting penalties were called on both teams. To this day, that goal is still the object of heated debate in many households in Québec. The Nordiques may be long gone but their fans haven’t forgotten. Michel “le tigre” Bergeron referred to the “no goal” call and the resulting loss as “a crime” and a Québec attorney even offered to contest the result through legal proceedings. Wisely, the Nordiques declined the offer. This chapter of the Battle of Québec ended in 7 games and left a bitter taste in the Nordiques’ mouth.
The teams met one last time in the playoffs in the Spring of 1993 and the Nordiques took an early 2-0 lead in the series. Confident after those two wins, Ron Hextall, the Québec goalie at the time said in an interview that the Nordiques had “Solved Patrick Roy”. If there was one thing that one couldn't do when taking on Patrick Roy, it was try to humiliate him. Hextall’s words were duly reported in the press and from then on, Québec did not win a single game. Montreal triumphed in 6 games on their way to Stanley Cup number 24 and set an unbeatable record: 10 consecutive overtime wins.
Unfortunately, 2 years later, the Quebec Nordiques were sold and moved to Denver and it was the end of an incredibly intense rivalry. The Canadiens were once again the sole team in the province of Québec and while some fans joined the Habs fans, the die-hard Nordiques fans refused to do so and either followed the Avalanche (and they still do as was obvious when a preseason game in Québec featured the Avs and the Habs) or suddenly became big fans of the Bruins, solely because that’s the most hated team by Montreal. While the rivalry had ended, it still stung in December ‘95 to see Saint-Patrick traded to the former Nordiques and go on to lead them to 2 Stanley Cups before he called it quits. Had the team stayed in Quebec, that trade would have been highly unlikely...Yes Savard reportedly considered trading Roy that offseason but he didn’t pull the trigger...One can only wonder what kind of riot would have broken out if he did.
While Quebecor still dreams of bringing the NHL back to Québec, the fact is that the next expansion will be in Seattle (which should be voted in on Tuesday) and that Québec’s best chance is probably a relocation but would Bettman allow it? He’s constantly tried to keep teams in non traditional hockey markets and isn’t a fan of the Canadian dollar...even though many teams benefit of the masses of money made by the Canadiens and Leafs through the profit sharing scheme. I spoke to Gary Bettman once in my life, back in 2007 when I lived in London, England and attended the Kings vs Ducks match-up, I realized that the commissionner was sat in the row directly in front of me... I couldn’t resist...I made my way to his row, stroke a conversation, asked him to autograph my program and then I looked him right in the eye and said: “So, when will the Nordiques be back in Québec city?” The look he gave me was priceless... He appeared to be thinking “How on earth am I being hassled about Québec in London?!?!”. I’ve never been a Nordiques fan, but I sure was a fan of this rivalry and I want it back...so much.
Montreal Canadiens Blogger • 
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