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1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season

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National Hockey League team season

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%)
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)
← 1993–941995–96 (Colorado) →

The 1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season was the 23rd 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.

Regular season

The Nordiques exploded out of the gate, winning five-straight games and 12 of their first 13. Although they were terrible 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
1 1 Quebec Nordiques 48 30 13 5 185 134 65
2 3 Pittsburgh Penguins 48 29 16 3 181 158 61
3 4 Boston Bruins 48 27 18 3 150 127 57
4 7 Buffalo Sabres 48 22 19 7 130 119 51
5 10 Hartford Whalers 48 19 24 5 127 141 43
6 11 Montreal Canadiens 48 18 23 7 125 148 43
7 14 Ottawa Senators 48 9 34 5 117 174 23

Eastern Conference
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1 Quebec Nordiques NE 48 30 13 5 185 134 65
2 Philadelphia Flyers AT 48 28 16 4 150 132 60
3 Pittsburgh Penguins NE 48 29 16 3 181 158 61
4 Boston Bruins NE 48 27 18 3 150 127 57
5 New Jersey Devils AT 48 22 18 8 136 121 52
6 Washington Capitals AT 48 22 18 8 136 120 52
7 Buffalo Sabres NE 48 22 19 7 130 119 51
8 New York Rangers AT 48 22 23 3 139 134 47
9 Florida Panthers AT 48 20 22 6 115 127 46
10 Hartford Whalers NE 48 19 24 5 127 141 43
11 Montreal Canadiens NE 48 18 23 7 125 148 43
12 Tampa Bay Lightning AT 48 17 28 3 120 144 37
13 New York Islanders AT 48 15 28 5 126 158 35
14 Ottawa Senators NE 48 9 34 5 117 174 23

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs


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 in six games. 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 six games.

Schedule and results

Regular season

1994–95 regular season
January: 5–0–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–0–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
1 W January 21, 1995 3–1 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 1–0–0 17,380 Recap
2 W January 24, 1995 5–1 Washington Capitals (1994–95) 2–0–0 14,277 Recap
3 W January 27, 1995 7–3 @ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 3–0–0 16,232 Recap
4 W January 28, 1995 2–0 New York Rangers (1994–95) 4–0–0 14,382 Recap
5 W January 31, 1995 5–2 Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 5–0–0 14,141 Recap
February: 8–4–2 (home: 3–1–2; road: 5–3–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
6 L February 2, 1995 4–5 @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 5–1–0 12,096 Recap
7 W February 4, 1995 2–0 New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 6–1–0 13,220 Recap
8 W February 5, 1995 3–1 Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 7–1–0 13,207 Recap
9 W February 8, 1995 3–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 8–1–0 8,032 Recap
10 W February 9, 1995 4–3 @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) 9–1–0 14,448 Recap
11 W February 11, 1995 5–2 Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 10–1–0 14,231 Recap
12 W February 14, 1995 3–2 @ New York Islanders (1994–95) 11–1–0 10,225 Recap
13 W February 16, 1995 4–2 @ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 12–1–0 17,065 Recap
14 L February 18, 1995 2–4 @ Washington Capitals (1994–95) 12–2–0 13,410 Recap
15 W February 19, 1995 4–1 @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) 13–2–0 14,703 Recap
16 L February 21, 1995 4–5 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 13–3–0 17,181 Recap
17 T February 23, 1995 6–6 OT Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95) 13–3–1 13,301 Recap
18 T February 25, 1995 1–1 OT Boston Bruins (1994–95) 13–3–2 14,389 Recap
19 L February 27, 1995 5–7 Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 13–4–2 15,399 Recap
March: 10–4–1 (home: 7–0–1; road: 3–4–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
20 W March 1, 1995 8–2 Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 14–4–2 13,131 Recap
21 T March 4, 1995 1–1 OT Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 14–4–3 13,517 Recap
22 W March 6, 1995 6–3 New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 15–4–3 13,178 Recap
23 W March 7, 1995 5–4 @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 16–4–3 17,181 Recap
24 L March 9, 1995 1–2 @ Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 16–5–3 8,886 Recap
25 W March 11, 1995 2–1 New York Islanders (1994–95) 17–5–3 14,525 Recap
26 W March 16, 1995 3–2 Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95) 18–5–3 15,399 Recap
27 L March 18, 1995 4–5 @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 18–6–3 17,959 Recap
28 W March 20, 1995 5–4 OT Florida Panthers (1994–95) 19–6–3 13,013 Recap
29 W March 22, 1995 6–2 Boston Bruins (1994–95) 20–6–3 14,096 Recap
30 W March 25, 1995 2–1 New York Rangers (1994–95) 21–6–3 15,399 Recap
31 W March 26, 1995 11–4 @ Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 22–6–3 10,171 Recap
32 L March 28, 1995 3–5 @ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 22–7–3 14,899 Recap
33 W March 30, 1995 5–4 @ New York Rangers (1994–95) 23–7–3 18,200 Recap
34 L March 31, 1995 4–6 @ Washington Capitals (1994–95) 23–8–3 13,629 Recap
April: 6–5–2 (home: 5–0–1; road: 1–5–1)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
35 W April 2, 1995 7–5 Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 24–8–3 14,335 Recap
36 L April 5, 1995 5–6 @ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 24–9–3 17,469 Recap
37 W April 6, 1995 3–2 Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 25–9–3 15,399 Recap
38 T April 8, 1995 2–2 OT @ Ottawa Senators (1994–95) 25–9–4 10,575 Recap
39 W April 12, 1995 4–0 @ Boston Bruins (1994–95) 26–9–4 14,448 Recap
40 W April 14, 1995 5–2 Buffalo Sabres (1994–95) 27–9–4 15,399 Recap
41 W April 16, 1995 4–2 Washington Capitals (1994–95) 28–9–4 15,325 Recap
42 L April 18, 1995 2–5 @ New York Islanders (1994–95) 28–10–4 13,758 Recap
43 L April 20, 1995 2–5 @ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 28–11–4 17,705 Recap
44 L April 22, 1995 2–4 @ Florida Panthers (1994–95) 28–12–4 14,703 Recap
45 T April 26, 1995 1–1 OT Montreal Canadiens (1994–95) 28–12–5 15,399 Recap
46 W April 29, 1995 4–1 Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95) 29–12–5 15,399 Recap
47 L April 30, 1995 2–4 @ New Jersey Devils (1994–95) 29–13–5 16,129 Recap
May: 1–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–0)
Game Result Date Score Opponent Record Attendance Recap
48 W May 3, 1995 4–1 Hartford Whalers (1994–95) 30–13–5 15,399 Recap
Legend:

  Win (2 points)   Loss (0 points)   Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

1995 Stanley Cup playoffs
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–2
Game Result Date Score Opponent Series Recap
1 W May 6, 1995 5–4 New York Rangers Nordiques lead 1–0 Recap
2 L May 8, 1995 3–8 New York Rangers Series tied 1–1 Recap
3 L May 10, 1995 3–4 @ New York Rangers Rangers lead 2–1 Recap
4 L May 12, 1995 2–3 OT @ New York Rangers Rangers lead 3–1 Recap
5 W May 14, 1995 4–2 New York Rangers Rangers lead 3–2 Recap
6 L May 16, 1995 2–4 @ New York Rangers Rangers win 4–2 Recap
Legend:

  Win   Loss

Player statistics

Scoring

  • Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
  • † = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Nordiques only.
  • ‡ = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Nordiques only.
No. Player Pos Regular season Playoffs
GP G A Pts +/- PIM GP G A Pts +/- PIM
19 Joe Sakic C 47 19 43 62 7 30 6 4 1 5 −4 0
21 Peter Forsberg C 47 15 35 50 17 16 6 2 4 6 2 4
11 Owen Nolan RW 46 30 19 49 21 46 6 2 3 5 2 6
48 Scott Young RW 48 18 21 39 9 14 6 3 3 6 3 2
9 Mike Ricci C 48 15 21 36 5 40 6 1 3 4 4 8
17 Wendel Clark LW 37 12 18 30 −1 45 6 1 2 3 −6 6
13 Valeri Kamensky LW 40 10 20 30 3 22 2 1 0 1 0 0
28 Bob Bassen C 47 12 15 27 14 33 5 2 4 6 2 0
51 Andrei Kovalenko RW 45 14 10 24 −4 31 6 0 1 1 −3 2
4 Uwe Krupp D 44 6 17 23 14 20 5 0 2 2 −2 2
18 Adam Deadmarsh RW 48 9 8 17 16 56 6 0 1 1 −3 0
7 Curtis Leschyshyn D 44 2 13 15 29 20 3 0 1 1 −1 4
2 Sylvain Lefebvre D 48 2 11 13 13 17 6 0 2 2 5 2
47 Claude Lapointe C 29 4 8 12 5 41 5 0 0 0 −1 8
12 Chris Simon LW 29 3 9 12 14 106 6 1 1 2 −1 19
25 Martin Rucinsky LW 20 3 6 9 5 14 — — — — — —
6 Craig Wolanin D 40 3 6 9 12 40 6 1 1 2 5 4
52 Adam Foote D 35 0 7 7 17 52 6 0 1 1 −3 14
23 Paul MacDermid RW 14 3 1 4 3 22 3 0 0 0 0 2
15 Bill Huard† LW 7 2 2 4 2 13 1 0 0 0 −1 0
5 Alexei Gusarov D 14 1 2 3 −1 6 — — — — — —
14 Dwayne Norris RW 13 1 2 3 1 2 — — — — — —
20 Rene Corbet LW 8 0 3 3 3 2 2 0 1 1 1 0
29 Steven Finn D 40 0 3 3 1 64 4 0 1 1 −4 2
35 Stephane Fiset G 32 0 3 3 2 4 0 0 0 0
22 Janne Laukkanen D 11 0 3 3 3 4 6 1 0 1 −2 2
31 Aaron Miller D 9 0 3 3 2 6 — — — — — —
24 Jon Klemm D 4 1 0 1 3 2 — — — — — —
59 Dave Karpa‡ D 2 0 0 0 −1 0 — — — — — —
1 Garth Snow G 2 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
41 Jocelyn Thibault G 18 0 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0

Goaltending

No. Player Regular season Playoffs
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
35 Stephane Fiset 32 17 10 3 968 87 2.78 .910 2 1879 4 1 2 115 16 4.60 .861 0 209
41 Jocelyn Thibault 18 12 2 2 423 35 2.34 .917 1 898 3 1 2 76 8 3.24 .895 0 148
1 Garth Snow 2 1 1 0 63 11 5.54 .825 0 119 1 0 0 3 1 6.78 .667 0 9

Awards and records

Awards

Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(annual) 		Calder Memorial Trophy Peter Forsberg
Jack Adams Award Marc Crawford
NHL All-Rookie Team Peter Forsberg (Forward)
League
(in-season) 		NHL Rookie of the Month Peter Forsberg (April)
Team O'Keefe Cup Joe Sakic

Milestones

Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Adam Deadmarsh January 21, 1995
Peter Forsberg
Janne Laukkanen January 24, 1995

Transactions

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

Trades

March 8, 1995 To Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Dave Karpa 		To Quebec Nordiques
Conditional draft pick in 1997
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

Player New Team
Niklas Andersson New York Islanders
Len Esau Calgary Flames

Draft picks

Quebec's draft picks at the 1994 NHL Entry Draft in Hartford, Connecticut.

Round Pick Player Nationality College/junior/club team
1 12 Wade Belak (RW)  Canada Saskatoon Blades (WHL)
1 22 Jeff Kealty (D)  United States Catholic Memorial High School (USHS-MA)
2 35 Josef Marha (C)  Czech Republic Dukla Jihlava (Czech Republic)
3 61 Sebastien Bety (D)  Canada Drummondville Voltigeurs (QMJHL)
3 72 Chris Drury (C)  United States Fairfield College Preparatory School (USHS-CT)
4 87 Milan Hejduk (RW)  Czech Republic HC Pardubice (Czech Republic)
5 113 Tony Tuzzolino (RW)  United States Michigan State University (CCHA)
6 139 Nicholas Windsor (D)  Canada Cornwall Colts (COJHL)
7 165 Calvin Elfring (D)  Canada Powell River Paper Kings (BCHL)
8 191 Jay Bertsch (RW)  Canada Spokane Chiefs (WHL)
9 217 Tim Thomas (G)  United States University of Vermont (Hockey East)
10 243 Chris Pittman (C)  Canada Kitchener Rangers (OHL)
11 285 Steve Low (D)  Canada Sherbrooke Faucons (QMJHL)
S 9 Reid Simonton (D)  Canada Union College (ECAC Hockey)

Relocation to Denver, Colorado

This section does not cite any sources. Please help improve this section by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (February 2024) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
Had the Nordiques stayed in Quebec City 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, and a third in 2022.

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.

References

  1. "National Hockey League 1994-95 Attendance Graph". hockeydb.com.
  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. "1994-1995 Conference Standings Standings - NHL.com - Standings". NHL.
  4. ^ "1994-95 Quebec Nordiques Schedule". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  5. "Calder Memorial Trophy". records.nhl.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  6. "Jack Adams Award". records.nhl.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  7. "Postseason All-Star Teams". records.nhl.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  8. "NHL Rookies of the Month". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 11, 2023.
  9. Quebec Nordiques 1993-1994 Yearbook, p. 100
  10. "1994-95 NHL Debuts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved October 5, 2024.
  11. Norwood, Robyn (March 9, 1995). "Ducks Trade for Youth, Kings' Reject". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
  12. "1994 NHL Entry Draft". hockeydb.com.
1994–95 NHL season
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See also
Quebec Nordiques seasons
1970s
1980s
1990s
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