1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season was the twenty-third season of operation of the Nordiques and the last season that the team played in Quebec. The Nordiques finished first in the Eastern Conference, but lost in the first round to the New York Rangers. After the season, the club was sold and relocated to Denver, Colorado.

1994–95 Quebec Nordiques
Northeast Division champions
Division1st Northeast
Conference1st Eastern
1994–95 record30–13–5
Home record19–1–4
Road record11–12–1
Goals for185
Goals against134
Team information
General managerPierre Lacroix
CoachMarc Crawford
CaptainJoe Sakic
Alternate captainsWendel Clark
Mike Ricci
ArenaColisée de Québec
Average attendance14,397 (93.4%) [1]
Minor league affiliate(s)Cornwall Aces (AHL)
Team leaders
GoalsOwen Nolan (30)
AssistsJoe Sakic (43)
PointsJoe Sakic (62)
Penalty minutesChris Simon (106)
Plus/minusCurtis Leschyshyn (+29)
WinsStephane Fiset (17)
Goals against averageJocelyn Thibault (2.34)

Regular season

The Nordiques exploded out of the gate, winning five-straight games and 12 of their first 13. Although they were an average team on the road, going just 11–12–1, the Nordiques had the best home record in the league: 19–1–4. Quebec's only defeat at home came on February 27 in a 7–5 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins. Captain Joe Sakic finished fourth in the league in points (62), Owen Nolan tied for third in the league in goals (30) and finished first in the league in game-winning goals (8), while Peter Forsberg led all rookies in points (50). Forsberg went on to win the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's top rookie of the 1994–95 season. The team finished first in scoring in the league with 185 goals and was one of only two Eastern Conference teams to score at least one goal in all of their 48 regular-season games (the Buffalo Sabres were the other team). Quebec went on to finish first in the Eastern Conference with 65 points. The Nordiques tied the Flyers for most hat-tricks scored during the regular season, with six. Owen Nolan had three, while Wendel Clark, Uwe Krupp and Scott Young each had one.

Season standings
Northeast Division
No. CR GP W L T GF GA Pts
11Quebec Nordiques483013518513465
23Pittsburgh Penguins482916318115861
34Boston Bruins482718315012757
47Buffalo Sabres482219713011951
510Hartford Whalers481924512714143
611Montreal Canadiens481823712514843
714Ottawa Senators48934511717423

[2]

Schedule and results
No. R Date Score Opponent Record Attendance
1WJanuary 21, 19953–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)1–0–017,380
2WJanuary 24, 19955–1Washington Capitals (1994–95)2–0–014,277
3WJanuary 27, 19957–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)3–0–016,232
4WJanuary 28, 19952–0New York Rangers (1994–95)4–0–014,382
5WJanuary 31, 19955–2Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)5–0–014,141
6LFebruary 2, 19954–5@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)5–1–012,096
7WFebruary 4, 19952–0New Jersey Devils (1994–95)6–1–013,220
8WFebruary 5, 19953–1Hartford Whalers (1994–95)7–1–013,207
9WFebruary 8, 19953–2@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)8–1–08,032
10WFebruary 9, 19954–3@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)9–1–014,448
11WFebruary 11, 19955–2Ottawa Senators (1994–95)10–1–014,231
12WFebruary 14, 19953–2@ New York Islanders (1994–95)11–1–010,225
13WFebruary 16, 19954–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)12–1–017,065
14LFebruary 18, 19952–4@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)12–2–013,410
15WFebruary 19, 19954–1@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)13–2–014,703
16LFebruary 21, 19954–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)13–3–017,181
17TFebruary 23, 19956–6 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1994–95)13–3–113,301
18TFebruary 25, 19951–1 OTBoston Bruins (1994–95)13–3–214,389
19LFebruary 27, 19955–7Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)13–4–215,399
20WMarch 1, 19958–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)14–4–213,131
21TMarch 4, 19951–1 OTBuffalo Sabres (1994–95)14–4–313,517
22WMarch 6, 19956–3New Jersey Devils (1994–95)15–4–313,178
23WMarch 7, 19955–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)16–4–317,181
24LMarch 9, 19951–2@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)16–5–38,886
25WMarch 11, 19952–1New York Islanders (1994–95)17–5–314,525
26WMarch 16, 19953–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)18–5–315,399
27LMarch 18, 19954–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)18–6–317,959
28WMarch 20, 19955–4 OTFlorida Panthers (1994–95)19–6–313,013
29WMarch 22, 19956–2Boston Bruins (1994–95)20–6–314,096
30WMarch 25, 19952–1New York Rangers (1994–95)21–6–315,399
31WMarch 26, 199511–4@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)22–6–310,171
32LMarch 28, 19953–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)22–7–314,899
33WMarch 30, 19955–4@ New York Rangers (1994–95)23–7–318,200
34LMarch 31, 19954–6@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)23–8–313,629
35WApril 2, 19957–5Ottawa Senators (1994–95)24–8–314,335
36LApril 5, 19955–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)24–9–317,469
37WApril 6, 19953–2Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)25–9–315,399
38TApril 8, 19952–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)25–9–410,575
39WApril 12, 19954–0@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)26–9–414,448
40WApril 14, 19955–2Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)27–9–415,399
41WApril 16, 19954–2Washington Capitals (1994–95)28–9–415,325
42LApril 18, 19952–5@ New York Islanders (1994–95)28–10–413,758
43LApril 20, 19952–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)28–11–417,705
44LApril 22, 19952–4@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)28–12–414,703
45TApril 26, 19951–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1994–95)28–12–515,399
46WApril 29, 19954–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)29–12–515,399
47LApril 30, 19952–4@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)29–13–516,129
48WMay 3, 19954–1Hartford Whalers (1994–95)30–13–515,399

Playoffs

The Nordiques faced the New York Rangers in the first round of the 1995 NHL Playoffs. On paper, the Nordiques were the clear favorite, since they had a much better record and had won the season series against the Rangers. However, New York's players had more playoff experience, since most of them had been members of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion team. This fact, combined with the Nordiques players' playoff inexperience and inability to maintain their effective power play, proved to be the ultimate factors in the series, as New York defeated Quebec 4 games to 2. Although each team had allowed only 134 goals during the regular season (tied for 9th in the league), it was an offensive series, as 44 goals were scored (25 by New York, 19 by Quebec) over the 6 games.

Quebec vs. NY Rangers
DateAwayHome
May 6NY Rangers 45 Quebec
May 8NY Rangers 83 Quebec
May 10Quebec 34 NY Rangers
May 12Quebec 23 NY RangersOT
May 14NY Rangers 24 Quebec
May 16Quebec 24 NY Rangers
NY Rangers wins series 4–2

Relocation to Colorado
Had the Nordiques stayed in Quebec instead of heading for Denver, this would have been the franchise's new logo starting in 1995–96.

In the 1994–95 shortened season of 48 games, the Nordiques played well and finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference. The team faltered in the postseason and was eliminated in the first round by the defending Stanley Cup champion New York Rangers.

The playoff loss proved to be Quebec's swan song in the NHL as the team's financial troubles increasingly took center stage, even in the face of renewed fan support over the previous three years. Quebec City was by far the smallest market in the NHL, and the second-smallest market in North America to host a big-league team (behind only Green Bay, Wisconsin). The league's Canadian teams (with the exception of Montreal, Toronto, and to a lesser extent, Vancouver) found it difficult to compete in a new age of rising player salaries. This made many of the players concerned about their marketability, especially since the Nords always played in the long shadow of the Canadiens. In addition, most players were skittish about playing in what was virtually a unilingual Francophone city. Then as now, there were no privately owned English-language radio stations in the city, and only one privately owned English-language television station. The only English-language newspaper is a weekly. Unlike in Montreal, public address announcements were given only in French.

Aubut unsuccessfully petitioned for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government. In May 1995, shortly after the Nordiques were eliminated from the playoffs, Aubut was forced to sell the team to a group of investors in Denver, Colorado. The franchise was moved to Denver where it was renamed the Colorado Avalanche. The Avalanche won the Stanley Cup in their first season after the move, and added another in 2001.

The Nordiques had planned to change their logo, colours, and uniforms for the 1995–96 season, and the new design had already appeared in the Canadian press.

Player statistics
Regular season
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Joe SakicC47194362307325
Peter ForsbergC471535501617303
Owen NolanRW4630194946211328
Scott YoungRW48182139149330
Mike RicciC48152136405901
Wendel ClarkLW/D3712183045-1500
Valeri KamenskyLW40102030223515
Bob BassenC471215273314011
Andrei KovalenkoRW4514102431-4103
Uwe KruppD44617232014301
Adam DeadmarshRW4898175616000
Curtis LeschyshynD44213152029000
Sylvain LefebvreD48211131713000
Claude LapointeLW/C294812415000
Chris SimonLW29391210614000
Martin RucinskyLW20369145000
Craig WolaninD403694012000
Adam FooteD350775217000
Paul MacDermidRW14314223001
Bill HuardLW7224132000
Alexei GusarovD141236-1001
Dwayne NorrisRW1312321001
Rene CorbetLW803323000
Steven FinnD40033641000
Stephane FisetG3203320000
Janne LaukkanenD1103343000
Aaron MillerD903362000
Jon KlemmD410123000
Dave KarpaD20000-1000
Garth SnowG200000000
Jocelyn ThibaultG1800000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L T GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Stephane Fiset18793217103872.782968881.910
Jocelyn Thibault898181222352.341423388.917
Garth Snow1192110115.5506352.825
Team:289648301351332.76314541321.909
Playoffs
Scoring
Player Pos GP G A Pts PIM +/- PPG SHG GWG
Scott YoungRW633623010
Bob BassenC524602000
Peter ForsbergC624642100
Joe SakicC64150-4111
Owen NolanRW623562000
Mike RicciC613484000
Wendel ClarkLW/D61236-6000
Chris SimonLW611219-1001
Craig WolaninD611245000
Uwe KruppD50222-2000
Sylvain LefebvreD602225000
Valeri KamenskyLW210100000
Janne LaukkanenD61012-2000
Rene CorbetLW201101000
Adam DeadmarshRW60110-3000
Steven FinnD40112-4000
Adam FooteD601114-3000
Andrei KovalenkoRW60112-3000
Curtis LeschyshynD30114-1000
Stephane FisetG400000000
Bill HuardLW10000-1000
Claude LapointeLW/C50008-1000
Paul MacDermidRW300020000
Garth SnowG100000000
Jocelyn ThibaultG300000000
Goaltending
Player MIN GP W L GA GAA SO SA SV SV%
Stephane Fiset209412164.59011599.861
Jocelyn Thibault14831283.2407668.895
Garth Snow910016.67032.667
Team:366624254.100194169.871

[3]

Note:
Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

Transactions

The Nordiques were involved in the following transactions during the 1994-95 season.

Trades
March 23, 1995 To Calgary Flames
Ed Ward		 To Quebec Nordiques
Francois Groleau
April 7, 1995 To Ottawa Senators
Mika Stromberg
4th round pick in 1995 (Kevin Boyd)		 To Quebec Nordiques
Bill Huard

Free agents
PlayerNew Team
Niklas AnderssonNew York Islanders
Len EsauCalgary Flames

Roster
1994-95 Quebec Nordiques
Goaltenders

Defensemen

Wingers

Centres

Awards and records

Draft picks

NHL draft
= NHL All-Star [4] = Hall of Famers
Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
112Wade Belak (RW) CanadaSaskatoon Blades (WHL)
122Jeff Kealty (D) United StatesCatholic Memorial High School (USHS-MA)
235Josef Marha (C) Czech RepublicDukla Jihlava (Czech Republic)
361Sebastien Bety (D) CanadaDrummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
372Chris Drury (C) United StatesFairfield College Preparatory School (USHS-CT)
487Milan Hejduk (RW) Czech RepublicHC Pardubice (Czech Republic)
5113Tony Tuzzolino (RW) United StatesMichigan State University (CCHA)
6139Nicholas Windsor (D) CanadaCornwall Colts (COJHL)
7165Calvin Elfring (D) CanadaPowell River Paper Kings (BCHL)
8191Jay Bertsch (RW) CanadaSpokane Chiefs (WHL)
9217Tim Thomas (G) United StatesUniversity of Vermont (Hockey East)
10243Chris Pittman (C) CanadaKitchener Rangers (OHL)
11285Steve Low (D) CanadaSherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
S9Reid Simonton (D) CanadaUnion College (ECAC Hockey)

[5]

References
  1. https://www.hockeydb.com/nhl-attendance/att_graph_season.php?lid=NHL1927&sid=1995
  2. Standings: NHL Public Relations Department (2008). Dave McCarthy; et al. (eds.). THE NATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE Official Guide & Record Book/2009. National Hockey League. p. 154. ISBN 978-1-894801-14-0.
  3. "1994-95 Quebec Nordiques Statistics - Hockey-Reference.com". hockey-reference.com. Retrieved July 10, 2009.
  4. Players are identified as an All-Star if they were selected for the All-Star game at any time in their career.
  5. http://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/draft/nhl1994e.html
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