1994–95 Quebec Nordiques season

1994–95 Quebec Nordiques
Northeast Division champions
Division	1st Northeast
Conference	1st Eastern
1994–95 record	30–13–5
Home record	19–1–4
Road record	11–12–1
Goals for	185
Goals against	134
Team information
General manager	Pierre Lacroix
Coach	Marc Crawford
Captain	Joe Sakic
Alternate captains	Wendel Clark Mike Ricci
Arena	Colisée de Québec
Average attendance	14,397 (93.4%)
Minor league affiliate(s)	Cornwall Aces (AHL)
Team leaders
Goals	Owen Nolan (30)
Assists	Joe Sakic (43)
Points	Joe Sakic (62)
Penalty minutes	Chris Simon (106)
Plus/minus	Curtis Leschyshyn (+29)
Wins	Stephane Fiset (17)
Goals against average	Jocelyn Thibault (2.34)

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

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

• "Quebec Nordiques 1994-95 roster and scoring statistics at hockeydb.com". www.hockeydb.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.
• "1994-95 Quebec Nordiques Roster, Stats, Injuries, Scores, Results, Shootouts". Hockey-Reference.com. Retrieved September 5, 2023.