Battle of Quebec (ice hockey)
Encyclopedia
The Battle of Quebec is the nickname for a former National Hockey League
(NHL) rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens
and Quebec Nordiques
. The rivalry lasted from the 1979–80 to 1994–95 seasons. The teams played against each other five times in the NHL playoffs, and the Canadiens won three of the series. One meeting, in 1984, resulted in the Good Friday Massacre
, a game in which multiple brawls happened. The Battle of Quebec extended to politics, in which the Canadiens and Nordiques became symbols for rival parties, and beer distribution, as the teams were both owned by competing breweries.
teams to join the NHL as part of the leagues' merger
. The Canadiens originally were one of five teams to vote down the merger. However, the Canadiens' owner, Molson Brewery
, feared that Canadian cities with WHA teams in the deal would boycott the brand, and the team supported the merger in a subsequent vote. At first the teams were placed in different divisions; Montreal was in the Norris Division
, while Quebec was given a spot in the Adams Division
.
wrote that "The victory marked the end of a decades-old Quebec belief that Montreal was unbeatable." The rivalry was fairly even in its first few years; from the 1979–80 to 1981–82 regular seasons, the Canadiens were 6–5–5 in the series, and had just one win away from the Montreal Forum
.
The NHL realigned before the 1981–82 season, and the Canadiens were placed in the Adams Division with the Nordiques. In the 1982 playoffs, the teams met in the postseason for the first time. After a Game 1 loss, the Nordiques won the next two games, putting them in position to win the best-of-five series. Montreal won the fourth game 6–2; the contest featured a combined 251 penalty minutes, including 159 from one first-period altercation. The Montreal Forum was the site of Game 5, where the Canadiens scored twice in the third period to force a 2–2 tie and a series-deciding overtime
period. The game, and series, came to a quick end 22 seconds into the extra period when Quebec's Dale Hunter
scored on an odd-man rush to give the Nordiques the victory.
took place in Montreal on April 20, 1984. The Canadiens rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to win 5–3 and clinch the series, but the game is best known for having multiple brawls in the last two periods. The fighting started as the second period was ending, after an incident between the Nordiques' Hunter and the Canadiens' Guy Carbonneau
, who was "pinned to the ice" by Hunter. More than 10 minutes of brawling followed, and the teams were given 222 penalty minutes for the second period. Ten players were thrown out of the game between both brawls, but several were not immediately told of their ejections after the first one, as the officials had not finished recording all of the penalties during the intermission. A 10-minute-long bench-clearing brawl occurred after the announcement of the ejections, and the total number of penalty minutes in the game exceeded 250.
In eight games between the teams during the 1984–85 season, the Canadiens lost only once, posting six victories. The 1985 playoffs saw the Canadiens and Nordiques face each other in the postseason for the third time in four years. The Nordiques won the first and third games in overtime and jumped out to a 3–2 lead after winning Game 5 in Montreal, 5–1. The Canadiens responded with a 5–2 win in Quebec City in the sixth game, sending the series to a decisive Game 7 back in Montreal. After regulation play ended with the score tied 2–2, the game entered overtime. Peter Stastny
scored for the Nordiques at 2:22 of the extra period, giving the Nordiques the game and the series.
The teams did not play in the 1986 playoffs, as the Nordiques lost to the Hartford Whalers
in the first round, while the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup
. In 1987, however, Montreal and Quebec had their fourth playoff matchup. The Nordiques won the first two games in the Montreal Forum, before the Canadiens evened the series with a pair of wins in Quebec City. Game 4 was decided in overtime, and featured a pregame fight. Montreal won Game 5 at home, though not without controversy. With the score tied 2–2 late in the third period, Alain Côté scored what appeared to be the go-ahead goal for the Nordiques, only to see it waved off due to offsetting penalties on both teams. Ryan Walter
netted the game-winner for the Canadiens 14 seconds later. Quebec coach Michel Bergeron
called his team's loss "a crime", saying "No one wants to let us win." One attorney in Quebec City offered to help the Nordiques challenge the final result of the game, which the team decided against. The Nordiques won Game 6 at home, but the Canadiens won the deciding seventh game 5–3, scoring all of their goals in the second period.
.
However, the rivalry never died. In 2002, the Avalanche held an exhibition game against the Canadiens in Quebec City. When Joe Sakic
, a former Nordique, entered the arena with the Nordique blue, the fans gave him a thundering ovation. He said that "you're not going to find a better hockey city. It was really moving. There are no words." In 2010, La série Montréal-Québec
, a TVA television series featuring games between amateur teams from the two cities, premiered.
. Montreal
is the province's largest city, while Quebec City
is its capital. One Nordiques employee said of the disparity between the size of the two cities, "Quebec City has always had a relationship of frustration with Montreal. This rivalry is the first time that Montreal and Quebec City can compete head to head in one event." According to the Canadian Press
, the Battle of Quebec also matched teams with opposite backgrounds. The Canadiens were a traditionally strong team, while the Nordiques were relatively new to the NHL during their playoff series in the mid-1980s. Stastny said of the rivalry, "It's like two camps, each representing something, you're not just playing for your team, you're playing for your half-a-million supporters and they're playing for their one or two million supporters."
The teams took on political symbolism during the rivalry. The Canadiens were seen by some as reflective of those in favor of keeping the province as part of Canada, while the Nordiques were seen as a symbol of Quebec independence. One early-1980s survey by the La Presse newspaper found that, outside of east Montreal, support for the Canadiens and Nordiques tended to mirror where support existed for the Quebec Liberal Party and Parti Québécois
, respectively.
A concurrent rivalry took place between the teams' owners, which were both breweries. Molson had purchased ownership of the Canadiens before the NHL–WHA merger, and the Nordiques were controlled by Carling O'Keefe
. In May 1982, following the Canadiens' elimination from the NHL playoffs at the hands of the Nordiques the previous month, a 9.5 percent decline in Quebec's beer consumption was recorded. Montreal reporter Red Fisher credited Molson and Carling O'Keefe for expanding the rivalry, saying, "The breweries have carried the red flags in this."
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
(NHL) rivalry between the Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
and Quebec Nordiques
Quebec Nordiques
The Quebec Nordiques were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association and the National Hockey League...
. The rivalry lasted from the 1979–80 to 1994–95 seasons. The teams played against each other five times in the NHL playoffs, and the Canadiens won three of the series. One meeting, in 1984, resulted in the Good Friday Massacre
Good Friday Massacre
The Good Friday Massacre, ,was a second-round playoff match-up during the 1984 NHL Playoffs. The game occurred on Good Friday, April 20, 1984 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens. After a number of fights, a bench-clearing brawl broke out at the end...
, a game in which multiple brawls happened. The Battle of Quebec extended to politics, in which the Canadiens and Nordiques became symbols for rival parties, and beer distribution, as the teams were both owned by competing breweries.
Background
The Canadiens–Nordiques rivalry began in the 1979–80 season, when the Nordiques became one of four former World Hockey AssociationWorld Hockey Association
The World Hockey Association was a professional ice hockey league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major competition for the National Hockey League since the collapse of the Western Hockey League in 1926...
teams to join the NHL as part of the leagues' merger
NHL–WHA merger
The 1979 merger of the NHL and WHA was the culmination of several years of negotiations between the National Hockey League and the World Hockey Association that resulted in four WHA franchises joining the NHL as expansion franchises for the 1979–80 season...
. The Canadiens originally were one of five teams to vote down the merger. However, the Canadiens' owner, Molson Brewery
Molson
Molson-Coors Canada Inc. is the Canadian division of the world's fifth-largest brewing company, the Molson Coors Brewing Company. It is the second oldest company in Canada after the Hudson's Bay Company. Molson's first brewery was located on the St...
, feared that Canadian cities with WHA teams in the deal would boycott the brand, and the team supported the merger in a subsequent vote. At first the teams were placed in different divisions; Montreal was in the Norris Division
Norris Division
The NHL's Norris Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division moved to the Clarence Campbell Conference in 1981, with the Detroit Red Wings being the only member to remain from the previous season. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. The...
, while Quebec was given a spot in the Adams Division
Adams Division
The NHL's Adams Division was formed in 1974 as part of the Prince of Wales Conference. The division existed for 19 seasons until 1993. It was named in honor of Charles Francis Adams, the founder of the Boston Bruins...
.
1979–80 to 1981–82
The teams played their first game against each other in Montreal on October 13, 1979, and the Canadiens won 3–1. The Nordiques hosted the rivalry for the first time on October 29, and upset the Canadiens 5–4; the Ottawa CitizenOttawa Citizen
The Ottawa Citizen is an English-language daily newspaper owned by Postmedia Network in Ottawa, Canada. According to the Canadian Newspaper Association, the paper had a 2008 weekly circulation of 900,197.- History :...
wrote that "The victory marked the end of a decades-old Quebec belief that Montreal was unbeatable." The rivalry was fairly even in its first few years; from the 1979–80 to 1981–82 regular seasons, the Canadiens were 6–5–5 in the series, and had just one win away from the Montreal Forum
Montreal Forum
The Montreal Forum was an indoor arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996...
.
The NHL realigned before the 1981–82 season, and the Canadiens were placed in the Adams Division with the Nordiques. In the 1982 playoffs, the teams met in the postseason for the first time. After a Game 1 loss, the Nordiques won the next two games, putting them in position to win the best-of-five series. Montreal won the fourth game 6–2; the contest featured a combined 251 penalty minutes, including 159 from one first-period altercation. The Montreal Forum was the site of Game 5, where the Canadiens scored twice in the third period to force a 2–2 tie and a series-deciding overtime
Overtime (sports)
Overtime or extra time is an additional period of play specified under the rules of a sport to bring a game to a decision and avoid declaring the match a tie or draw. In most sports, this extra period is only played if the game is required to have a clear winner, as in single-elimination...
period. The game, and series, came to a quick end 22 seconds into the extra period when Quebec's Dale Hunter
Dale Hunter
Dale Robert Hunter is a former professional ice hockey player and current head coach of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League.-NHL career:...
scored on an odd-man rush to give the Nordiques the victory.
1984 playoffs: Good Friday Massacre
Two years later, the teams met again in the playoffs; by this time the rivalry had been given the Battle of Quebec nickname. The teams split the first four games of the best-of-seven series before Montreal won Game 5 in Quebec City, 4–0. Game 6Good Friday Massacre
The Good Friday Massacre, ,was a second-round playoff match-up during the 1984 NHL Playoffs. The game occurred on Good Friday, April 20, 1984 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, between the Quebec Nordiques and the Montreal Canadiens. After a number of fights, a bench-clearing brawl broke out at the end...
took place in Montreal on April 20, 1984. The Canadiens rallied from a two-goal deficit in the third period to win 5–3 and clinch the series, but the game is best known for having multiple brawls in the last two periods. The fighting started as the second period was ending, after an incident between the Nordiques' Hunter and the Canadiens' Guy Carbonneau
Guy Carbonneau
Guy Carbonneau is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He is also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League 's Chicoutimi Saguenéens. He has two daughters Anne-Marie and Kristina, with wife Line Carbonneau. Anne-Marie married his former...
, who was "pinned to the ice" by Hunter. More than 10 minutes of brawling followed, and the teams were given 222 penalty minutes for the second period. Ten players were thrown out of the game between both brawls, but several were not immediately told of their ejections after the first one, as the officials had not finished recording all of the penalties during the intermission. A 10-minute-long bench-clearing brawl occurred after the announcement of the ejections, and the total number of penalty minutes in the game exceeded 250.
1984–85 to 1986–87
Peter Stastny
Peter Šťastný , also known colloquially as "Peter the Great" and "Stosh", is a retired Slovak professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1995. During his time with the Quebec Nordiques, Stastny became a Canadian citizen. Since 2004, he has also served as a...
scored for the Nordiques at 2:22 of the extra period, giving the Nordiques the game and the series.
The teams did not play in the 1986 playoffs, as the Nordiques lost to the Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
in the first round, while the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
. In 1987, however, Montreal and Quebec had their fourth playoff matchup. The Nordiques won the first two games in the Montreal Forum, before the Canadiens evened the series with a pair of wins in Quebec City. Game 4 was decided in overtime, and featured a pregame fight. Montreal won Game 5 at home, though not without controversy. With the score tied 2–2 late in the third period, Alain Côté scored what appeared to be the go-ahead goal for the Nordiques, only to see it waved off due to offsetting penalties on both teams. Ryan Walter
Ryan Walter
Ryan William Walter is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League...
netted the game-winner for the Canadiens 14 seconds later. Quebec coach Michel Bergeron
Michel Bergeron (hockey coach)
Michel Bergeron is a former National Hockey League head coach.Bergeron coached the Quebec Nordiques from 1980 to 1987 before being traded to the New York Rangers for a first round draft pick and $75 000, a first in the NHL history...
called his team's loss "a crime", saying "No one wants to let us win." One attorney in Quebec City offered to help the Nordiques challenge the final result of the game, which the team decided against. The Nordiques won Game 6 at home, but the Canadiens won the deciding seventh game 5–3, scoring all of their goals in the second period.
1993 playoffs and Nordiques' relocation
In the 1993 playoffs, the Canadiens and Nordiques met in the opening round. The Nordiques took a 2–0 lead in the series, but Montreal won four straight games after that to capture the series. Three of the six games went to overtime; the Canadiens won two of those, including Game 5 in Quebec City, which game them the lead in the series before a clinching 6–2 victory in Game 6. The rivalry came to an end following the 1994–95 season, when the Nordiques relocated to Denver, Colorado, and became the Colorado AvalancheColorado Avalanche
The Colorado Avalanche are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver, Colorado, United States. They are members of the Northwest Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League . The Avalanche have won the Stanley Cup twice, in 1995–96 and 2000–01. The franchise...
.
However, the rivalry never died. In 2002, the Avalanche held an exhibition game against the Canadiens in Quebec City. When Joe Sakic
Joe Sakic
Joseph Steven "Joe" Sakic is a former Canadian professional ice hockey player and current hockey executive. He played his entire National Hockey League career with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche franchise. In his 20-year tenure, Sakic won the Stanley Cup twice, captured numerous NHL...
, a former Nordique, entered the arena with the Nordique blue, the fans gave him a thundering ovation. He said that "you're not going to find a better hockey city. It was really moving. There are no words." In 2010, La série Montréal-Québec
La série Montréal-Québec
La série Montréal-Québec is a Québécois reality TV show broadcast by TVA since January 24, 2010. The show, promoted as a "rivalry TV show", pits two hockey teams, one representing Montreal and the other Quebec City.- Concept :...
, a TVA television series featuring games between amateur teams from the two cities, premiered.
Causes
Both of the teams in the rivalry were based in the province of QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
. Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
is the province's largest city, while Quebec City
Quebec City
Quebec , also Québec, Quebec City or Québec City is the capital of the Canadian province of Quebec and is located within the Capitale-Nationale region. It is the second most populous city in Quebec after Montreal, which is about to the southwest...
is its capital. One Nordiques employee said of the disparity between the size of the two cities, "Quebec City has always had a relationship of frustration with Montreal. This rivalry is the first time that Montreal and Quebec City can compete head to head in one event." According to the Canadian Press
Canadian Press
Canadian Press Enterprises Inc. is the entity which "will take over the operations of the Canadian Press" according to a November 26, 2010 article in the Toronto Star...
, the Battle of Quebec also matched teams with opposite backgrounds. The Canadiens were a traditionally strong team, while the Nordiques were relatively new to the NHL during their playoff series in the mid-1980s. Stastny said of the rivalry, "It's like two camps, each representing something, you're not just playing for your team, you're playing for your half-a-million supporters and they're playing for their one or two million supporters."
The teams took on political symbolism during the rivalry. The Canadiens were seen by some as reflective of those in favor of keeping the province as part of Canada, while the Nordiques were seen as a symbol of Quebec independence. One early-1980s survey by the La Presse newspaper found that, outside of east Montreal, support for the Canadiens and Nordiques tended to mirror where support existed for the Quebec Liberal Party and Parti Québécois
Parti Québécois
The Parti Québécois is a centre-left political party that advocates national sovereignty for the province of Quebec and secession from Canada. The Party traditionally has support from the labour movement. Unlike many other social-democratic parties, its ties with the labour movement are informal...
, respectively.
A concurrent rivalry took place between the teams' owners, which were both breweries. Molson had purchased ownership of the Canadiens before the NHL–WHA merger, and the Nordiques were controlled by Carling O'Keefe
Carling O'Keefe
Carling O'Keefe originated from Canadian Breweries Limited which was the first brewing conglomerate in Canada and is now owned by Molson Coors Brewing Company.-Carling 1840-1930:...
. In May 1982, following the Canadiens' elimination from the NHL playoffs at the hands of the Nordiques the previous month, a 9.5 percent decline in Quebec's beer consumption was recorded. Montreal reporter Red Fisher credited Molson and Carling O'Keefe for expanding the rivalry, saying, "The breweries have carried the red flags in this."