Wikipedia

1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season

The 1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season was the 24th 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 affiliateCornwall 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

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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

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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]

Eastern Conference[3]
R Div GP W L T GF GA Pts
1Quebec NordiquesNE483013518513465
2Philadelphia FlyersAT482816415013260
3Pittsburgh PenguinsNE482916318115861
4Boston BruinsNE482718315012757
5New Jersey DevilsAT482218813612152
6Washington CapitalsAT482218813612052
7Buffalo SabresNE482219713011951
8New York RangersAT482223313913447
9Florida PanthersAT482022611512746
10Hartford WhalersNE481924512714143
11Montreal CanadiensNE481823712514843
12Tampa Bay LightningAT481728312014437
13New York IslandersAT481528512615835
14Ottawa SenatorsNE48934511717423

Divisions: AT – Atlantic, NE – Northeast

bold – Qualified for playoffs

Playoffs

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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

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Regular season

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1994–95 regular season[4]
January: 5–0–0 (home: 3–0–0; road: 2–0–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
1January 21, 19953–1@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)1–0–017,380W
2January 24, 19955–1Washington Capitals (1994–95)2–0–014,277W
3January 27, 19957–3@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)3–0–016,232W
4January 28, 19952–0New York Rangers (1994–95)4–0–014,382W
5January 31, 19955–2Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)5–0–014,141W
February: 8–4–2 (home: 3–1–2; road: 5–3–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
6February 2, 19954–5@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)5–1–012,096L
7February 4, 19952–0New Jersey Devils (1994–95)6–1–013,220W
8February 5, 19953–1Hartford Whalers (1994–95)7–1–013,207W
9February 8, 19953–2@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)8–1–08,032W
10February 9, 19954–3@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)9–1–014,448W
11February 11, 19955–2Ottawa Senators (1994–95)10–1–014,231W
12February 14, 19953–2@ New York Islanders (1994–95)11–1–010,225W
13February 16, 19954–2@ Philadelphia Flyers (1994–95)12–1–017,065W
14February 18, 19952–4@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)12–2–013,410L
15February 19, 19954–1@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)13–2–014,703W
16February 21, 19954–5@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)13–3–017,181L
17February 23, 19956–6 OTPhiladelphia Flyers (1994–95)13–3–113,301T
18February 25, 19951–1 OTBoston Bruins (1994–95)13–3–214,389T
19February 27, 19955–7Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)13–4–215,399L
March: 10–4–1 (home: 7–0–1; road: 3–4–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
20March 1, 19958–2Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)14–4–213,131W
21March 4, 19951–1 OTBuffalo Sabres (1994–95)14–4–313,517T
22March 6, 19956–3New Jersey Devils (1994–95)15–4–313,178W
23March 7, 19955–4@ Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)16–4–317,181W
24March 9, 19951–2@ Hartford Whalers (1994–95)16–5–38,886L
25March 11, 19952–1New York Islanders (1994–95)17–5–314,525W
26March 16, 19953–2Pittsburgh Penguins (1994–95)18–5–315,399W
27March 18, 19954–5@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)18–6–317,959L
28March 20, 19955–4 OTFlorida Panthers (1994–95)19–6–313,013W
29March 22, 19956–2Boston Bruins (1994–95)20–6–314,096W
30March 25, 19952–1New York Rangers (1994–95)21–6–315,399W
31March 26, 199511–4@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)22–6–310,171W
32March 28, 19953–5@ Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)22–7–314,899L
33March 30, 19955–4@ New York Rangers (1994–95)23–7–318,200W
34March 31, 19954–6@ Washington Capitals (1994–95)23–8–313,629L
April: 6–5–2 (home: 5–0–1; road: 1–5–1)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
35April 2, 19957–5Ottawa Senators (1994–95)24–8–314,335W
36April 5, 19955–6@ Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)24–9–317,469L
37April 6, 19953–2Montreal Canadiens (1994–95)25–9–315,399W
38April 8, 19952–2 OT@ Ottawa Senators (1994–95)25–9–410,575T
39April 12, 19954–0@ Boston Bruins (1994–95)26–9–414,448W
40April 14, 19955–2Buffalo Sabres (1994–95)27–9–415,399W
41April 16, 19954–2Washington Capitals (1994–95)28–9–415,325W
42April 18, 19952–5@ New York Islanders (1994–95)28–10–413,758L
43April 20, 19952–5@ Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)28–11–417,705L
44April 22, 19952–4@ Florida Panthers (1994–95)28–12–414,703L
45April 26, 19951–1 OTMontreal Canadiens (1994–95)28–12–515,399T
46April 29, 19954–1Tampa Bay Lightning (1994–95)29–12–515,399W
47April 30, 19952–4@ New Jersey Devils (1994–95)29–13–516,129L
May: 1–0–0 (home: 1–0–0; road: 0–0–0)
GameDateScoreOpponentRecordAttendanceRecap
48May 3, 19954–1Hartford Whalers (1994–95)30–13–515,399W

Legend: W Win (2 points) L Loss (0 points) T Tie (1 point)

Playoffs

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1995 Stanley Cup playoffs[4]
Eastern Conference Quarterfinals vs. (8) New York Rangers – Rangers win 4–2
GameDateScoreOpponentSeriesRecap
1May 6, 19955–4New York RangersNordiques lead 1–0W
2May 8, 19953–8New York RangersSeries tied 1–1L
3May 10, 19953–4@ New York RangersRangers lead 2–1L
4May 12, 19952–3 OT@ New York RangersRangers lead 3–1L
5May 14, 19954–2New York RangersRangers lead 3–2W
6May 16, 19952–4@ New York RangersRangers win 4–2L

Legend: W Win L Loss

Player statistics

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Scoring

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  • 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
19Joe SakicC471943627306415−40
21Peter ForsbergC471535501716624624
11Owen NolanRW463019492146623526
48Scott YoungRW48182139914633632
9Mike RicciC48152136540613448
17Wendel ClarkLW37121830−1456123−66
13Valeri KamenskyLW40102030322210100
28Bob BassenC471215271433524620
51Andrei KovalenkoRW45141024−4316011−32
4Uwe KruppD446172314205022−22
18Adam DeadmarshRW48981716566011−30
7Curtis LeschyshynD442131529203011−14
2Sylvain LefebvreD48211131317602252
47Claude LapointeC2948125415000−18
12Chris SimonLW293912141066112−119
25Martin RucinskyLW20369514——————
6Craig WolaninD403691240611254
52Adam FooteD3507717526011−314
23Paul MacDermidRW14314322300002
15Bill Huard†LW72242131000−10
5Alexei GusarovD14123−16——————
14Dwayne NorrisRW1312312——————
20Rene CorbetLW803332201110
29Steven FinnD400331644011−42
35Stephane FisetG32033240000
22Janne LaukkanenD11033346101−22
31Aaron MillerD903326——————
24Jon KlemmD410132——————
59Dave Karpa‡D2000−10——————
1Garth SnowG2000010000
41Jocelyn ThibaultG18000030000

Goaltending

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No. Player Regular season Playoffs
GP W L T SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI GP W L SA GA GAA SV% SO TOI
35Stephane Fiset3217103968872.78.91021879412115164.60.8610209
41Jocelyn Thibault181222423352.34.91718983127683.24.8950148
1Garth Snow211063115.54.8250119100316.78.66709

Awards and records

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Awards

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Type Award/honour Recipient Ref
League
(annual)		 Calder Memorial Trophy Peter Forsberg [5]
Jack Adams Award Marc Crawford [6]
NHL All-Rookie Team Peter Forsberg (Forward) [7]
League
(in-season)		 NHL Rookie of the Month Peter Forsberg (April) [8]
Team O'Keefe Cup Joe Sakic [9]

Milestones

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Milestone Player Date Ref
First game Adam Deadmarsh January 21, 1995 [10]
Peter Forsberg
Janne Laukkanen January 24, 1995

Transactions

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

Trades

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March 8, 1995 To Anaheim Mighty Ducks
Dave Karpa		 To Quebec Nordiques
Conditional draft pick in 1997		 [11]
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

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Draft picks

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Quebec's draft picks at the 1994 NHL entry draft in Hartford, Connecticut.[12]

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)

Relocation to Denver, Colorado

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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. 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 without a salary cap. Aubut unsuccessfully petitioned for a bailout from Quebec's provincial government. In May 1995, shortly after the Nordiques were eliminated from the playoffs, Aubut choose 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

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  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. 1 2 "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.
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