Jean Charest Confident NHL Will Be Back In Quebec City

This is an illustration of the proposed new NHL-sized arena in Quebec City announced in October. Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he is confident a NHL team will return to Quebec City after discussing the matter with Gary Bettman. Photograph by: Handout, Courtesy Group J'ai ma place

From The Montreal Gazette:

QUEBEC CITY — Quebec Premier Jean Charest said he is confident a NHL team will return to Quebec City after discussing the matter with Gary Bettman.

Charest told newspaper Le Journal de Quebec during a mission in Moscow, Russia, he found the NHL commissioner "sincere" when he spoke with him last Friday during a special hockey game for the Montreal Canadiens' centenary.

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My Comment: I am sure that Quebec will one day get a team .... once someone ponies up a few hundred million.

Monument Planned At Unmarked Grave Of Hockey's Founding Father

Prime Minister Stephen Harper, left, and Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay unveil a plaque commemorating the historic significance of James Creighton, the 'father' of organized ice hockey, in may, 2008. The sportsman credited with pioneering modern hockey will be honoured next month with a monument and a ceremonial tribute — possibly to be presided over by Harper — at the Ottawa ceremony where he is buried. Photograph by: Allen McInnis, Montreal Gazette

From The Calgary Herald:

The 19th-century sportsman credited with pioneering modern hockey will finally be honoured next month with a monument and a ceremonial tribute — possibly to be presided over by Prime Minister Stephen Harper — at the Ottawa cemetery where the national game's "founding father" lies buried in an unmarked grave, Canwest News Service has learned.

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ADQ Accuses Quebec Sports Minister Of Interference In Hockey Fight Issue

The Canadian Press:

QUEBEC — The Action democratique du Quebec is charging Sports Minister Michelle Courchesne with interference and wants her to stop pressuring the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to impose tougher sanctions on players who fight.

Sylvain Legare, the party's sports critic, says there is no consensus on the issue of fighting in hockey and he accused Courchesne on Monday of leading a solo crusade to address the topic.

A committee mandated by the league to study how to reduce violence called last month for stiffer penalties for brawling and other acts of "gratuitous violence."

It also recommended better support for players, coaches and officials and the introduction of an anti-violence campaign.

But there was no recommendation for an outright ban on fighting.

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Quebec Minister Accused Of Interference In Hockey Fight Issue

From Canoe -- Slam Sports:

QUEBEC - The Action democratique du Quebec is charging Sports Minister Michelle Courchesne with interference and wants her to stop pressuring the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to impose tougher sanctions on players who fight.

Sylvain Legare, the party's sports critic, says there is no consensus on the issue of fighting in hockey and he accused Courchesne on Monday of leading a solo crusade to address the topic.

A committee mandated by the league to study how to reduce violence called last month for stiffer penalties for brawling and other acts of "gratuitous violence."

It also recommended better support for players, coaches and officials and the introduction of an anti-violence campaign.

Read more ....