NEW YORK - Even with the sagging Canadian dollar, the men spearheading the bid to bring an NHL expansion team to Quebec City are confident that a franchise can survive there.
So said Quebecor chairman of the board Brian Mulroney on Tuesday afternoon, just minutes after his group had made its sales pitch to the NHL’s executive committee at the league’s downtown offices in mid-town Manhattan.
“It’s an important factor but we can, even with the exchange rate, handle the team,” said Mulroney, part of the four-man Quebecor contingent that also included CEO Pierre Dion.
The Quebec City group was enjoying the momentum of the first-ever NHL game played at the new Videotron Centre Monday night, a 4-1 preseason victory by the Montreal Canadiens over the Pittsburgh Penguins in front of a capacity crowd of 18,259 in Quebec City.