QUEBEC CITY — Tucked away at the event level inside the Videotron Centre is 20,000 square feet of empty space.
It’s mostly used for storage, and sometimes catering. But the space, according to venue staff, has been set aside with the hope of someday turning it into a state-of-the-art locker room for the return of the Quebec Nordiques.
It’s been almost 30 years since the NHL left Quebec City. The Nordiques moved to Denver in May 1995, becoming the Colorado Avalanche. Various attempts to revive the franchise over the intervening decades have been unsuccessful.
“It was a tragedy,” said Jocelyn Thibault, who played in the Nordiques’ final two seasons. “When you lose a professional team, it leaves a big hole in a city. It put a hole in a lot of people’s hearts.”
On Sunday, regular-season pro hockey returned to Quebec City for the first time in decades.
The Professional Women’s Hockey League brought its “Takeover Tour” of neutral-site games across North America to the city, with the Montreal Victoire playing the Ottawa Charge in front of a sold-out crowd of more than 18,000 fans — the second-largest announced attendance of the season.
“It was just unbelievable to see that crowd in front of us,” said Montreal forward Catherine Dubois, who grew up in Quebec…
