Can Brian Mulroney bring Nordiques back to Quebec before it separates from Canada?

There is much ado these days about the Quebec election, specifically the high profile candidacy of media mogul Pierre Karl Peladeau. But what the rest of the country really wants to know, aside from whether this portends the end of Canada as we know it, is whether this will have any effect on the possibility of another Canadian NHL team.

Peladeau has, after all, been a key player in a campaign to return professional hockey to Quebec City. His former company, Quebecor Inc., has bought the naming rights of a new hockey arena and he has been presumed the future owner of a future Quebec hockey franchise.

Could his intention to focus on politics undermine that campaign? Moreso, could his declared intention to champion Quebec's separation from Canada?

Never fear, hockey fans. What politics takes from you, politics will give you back. It appears former Conservative prime minister Brian Mulroney is ready to step in and lead the campaign to return the NHL to Quebec City.

The Canadian Press reports that Mulroney has "emerged as a key player to bring the Quebec Nordiques back to the provincial capital."

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The details emerged as Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume reacted to Peladeau's that he would run in the provincial election as a sovereigntist Parti Quebecois candidate.

Peladeau, the former chief executive of the Quebecor media conglomerate, was identified as the prospective owner of a future NHL franchise in Quebec City by no less than the Wall Street Journal. His involvement, matched with the construction of a government-funded arena, made Quebec City appear “NHL ready.”

Peladeau announced this week that he had resigned from Quebecor's board of directors and placed his financial interest in the company in a blind trust. It just so happens that Mulroney is the vice-chair of Quebecor's board of directors. And it seems he is also ready to take Peladeau's place in dealing with the NHL as well.

"Commissioner Bettman and prime minister Mulroney have spoken directly for quite some time, without intermediaries," Labeaume told reporters. He added that Quebec sovereignty isn't likely to bother Bettman and that the NHL's return will be predicated on profits, not politics.

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After all, the Montreal Canadiens play in Quebec and there is no chance the NHL would turn its back on the historic franchise should Quebec become independent. The Canadiens were valued at $775 million last November, according to Forbes. That makes them the third most valuable team in the league.

Quebecor Inc. has purchased the naming an management rights to a new, $400 million arena planned to be built in Quebec City as part of a plan to make the city more attractive to a possible NHL franchise.

The Quebec Nordiques were relocated to Colorado in 1995, the same year the Winnipeg Jets moved to Phoenix. The NHL has since returned to Winnipeg, while Quebec City is occasionally considered among potential locations should a franchise relocate.

Assuming Mulroney really has picked up the mantle, a push for an NHL team should maintain most of any momentum it previously had. It’s still a long shot that the NHL will return to Quebec City. But with Peladeau entering politics, the chances that Quebec City will be the capital of its own country, if and when the NHL does return, just got a lot better.

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