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Joyeux Anniversaire

October 3, 2022, 5:01 PM ET [2 Comments]
Paul Stewart
Blogger •Former NHL Referee • RSSArchiveCONTACT
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After taking a little break from writing over the summer, I am excited to resume blog here at HockeyBuzz. It was mighty easy to come with the first topic of the fall. I was in Quebec City this past weekend for the 50th anniversary celebration of Quebec Nordiques franchise in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League. As a Nordiques alum, I was invited to attend the reunion.

To say the least, I had a blast! Seeing so many old friends and friendly rivals -- many of whom I hadn't seen or spoken to in quite a few years -- was wonderful. Catching up with each other, reminiscing over old times, laughing often and fondly recalling those who couldn't be with us is special time. I wouldn't have missed it for anything.

I love Quebec City. It's the city where my NHL dream came true and a fine city in its own right.



When the NHL merged with the World Hockey Association, one of the terms of the agreement arranged by the WHA Players Association was that all players under WHA contract had to be taken by NHL teams in the ensuing dispersal draft. Legend has it that I was the last player taken.

Whether that's true or not, who cares? All that matters is that Quebec -- one of the teams coming over to the NHL in the merger, along with the Whalers, Jets and Oilers -- took me and I ended up joining the Nordiques in the NHL.

In June of 1979, I was staying with my then-wife at her summer house in New Jersey. I got a phone call from my former Cincinnati Stingers coach, Jacques Demers. Jacques, who had moved on from the Stingers to coach the Nordiques, asked management to give me a shot with the Nordiques.

"Cat, you're back with me," Demers said.

Training camp was quite the ordeal. The Nords were owned at the time by Carling O'Keefe -- the beer company -- and my first day as a Nord in training camp actually ended with being forced to share an O'Keefe's beer as a peacemaking gesture with Wally Weir in general manager Maurice Filion's office after Weier and I had a vicious fight and he kneed my in the face.

Relative to the times and the era, my contract with the Nordiques was a good one. The team agreed to pay me in American dollars, which stretched my money much further in Canada in those days. The exchange rate at that time was about $1.40 Canadian for each U.S. dollar. The simple act of pulling out a wallet with U.S. dollars in it could get you the VIP treatment in stores, restaurants and bars. I even got a signing bonus and my meal money and other expense coverages from the team were also in American dollars. To top it all off, it was a one-way contract, meaning that I got paid the same amount whether I was in the NHL or sent to the minor leagues.



I ended up going back to Cincinnati -- the Stingers franchise had moved to the minor league Central Hockey League when the WHA folded -- to start the season. I barely played. In early November, the team took a road trip and I was told to stay back because I would not be dressing in any of the games.

Playing so infrequently in Cincy did have a certain benefit. I channeled my frustrations into working out like a madman. I took extra skating. I lifted weights. I trained in aikido. I sparred at a Cincinnati boxing job (including with famed light welterweight Aaron Pryor). It kept me sane, or at least as sane as I get.

As it turned out, working out so heavily ended up pushing me over the top when the Nordiques needed an enforcer. I was called up to the NHL team.

I made my NHL debut for the Nordiques on Nov. 22, 1979. We were in Boston, and I got the Dorchester Hat Trick (three fights and a game misconduct).

 photo paul-stewart-fights-terry-o-reilly_zpsda61b87e.jpg
Fighting Terry O'Reilly in my NHL debut with the Nordiques.

Demers and assistant coach Andre Boudrias were wonderful to me during my time with the Nordiques. Boudrias worked hard with me on my skating, which benefited me later on when I became an official.

Just as important, I really enjoyed Quebec City. I spoke very little French at the time -- it would later improve with help from Romeo Leblanc and other friends -- but it was a great city. As I noted earlier, they loved their hockey and were driven to see their team compete against the Habs in particular.

I was refereeing in the NHL when the Nordiques moved to Denver in 1995 and went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1995-96 -- ironically enough, with former longtime Canadiens goalie Patrick Roy as their new goaltender -- in their first year as the Colorado Avalanche. That had to have been a bitter pill to the people in Quebec to lose their team and then see it blossom from an up-and-comer into a champion.

In the years that have followed, Winnipeg lost its NHL team to Phoenix and, years later, got one back when Atlanta folded. The Nordiques are still waiting, even as the NHL has expanded to 32 teams and the Arizona Coyotes are a team without a true arena or, outside of a small group of diehards, a true fanbase.

If the NHL ever returns to Quebec City, I will be thrilled to see it. Even if it never happens, the city and its hockey community will always hold a special place in my heart.

*********

A 2018 inductee into the U.S. Hockey Hall of Fame, Paul Stewart holds the distinction of being the first U.S.-born citizen to make it to the NHL as both a player and referee.  On March 15, 2003, he became the first American-born referee to officiate in 1,000 NHL games. Visit Paul's official websites, YaWannaGo.com and Officiating by Stewart.
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