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I Would Like To Issue A Cease And Desist To The Hurricanes And Avalance On The Behalf Of Hartford And Quebec Citizens

Let's start with what Nate wrote in his top/bottom 5 blog about these jerseys. 

I feel like some people might hate this…or some might love it. I'm scared to look at the internet's reaction, because internet folk get VERY protective over things, and two such things are the Nordiques and the Whalers. Well, the Hurricanes/Whalers jersey did not crack my top 5

but the Avalanche/Nordiques mash up is beautiful. It's so clean, so ripe for the picking, and I feel it'll only look better in person. Nathan MacKinnon is going to be even faster in that thing, boy oh boy--The Nate Dogg 


This is a very poignant and accurate quote by Nate.  I am not going to dismiss this take simply because he had the Canucks and Blues in his top 5 when they're objectively some of the worst jerseys released in this series. That is his opinion. He is entitled to it even if his tastes are disgusting. 

Nate did hit the nail on the head with his description of the Avalanche/Nordiques mashup. It's crisp. It's clean. The colors work. They're going to look great on the ice and on tv. Having said that...just because they're beautiful, doesn't mean that they were done in good taste. 

This is a spit in the face to the millions of Quebecois who are LONGING for the NHL to return. They had a Stanley Cup Championship caliber team stolen from them in the mid-90s and they never gave up hope. The NHL said that they needed a new arena before they could be considered for relocation or expansion. They built this palace

An 18,000 modern NHL arena with EVERYTHING a franchise could ever want. What did the NHL tell them when they were one of two cities who applied for an expansion team?…They told them to get to the back of the bus

At the time Bettman talked about "deferring" the Quebec Nordiques 2.0 expansion bid on the grounds that they didn't want to bring in two teams at once. Quebec wasn't denied, they were delayed. Okay, that's fine…except it was just a line of bullshit until Seattle could get their act together with their own stadium plans and ownership. Are Seattle and Vegas better markets for an NHL team than Quebec from an economic stand point…probably. The League has that decision to make. They shouldn't rub Quebec's nose in shit while doing it though and that is what this Avalanche jersey is. 

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The Avs and the NHL turned their backs on the Nordique franchise. Changed the name. Changed the colors. Changed the location. Changed everything. They wanted nothing to do with the old brand from day one. Now they have a logo that means NOTHING to Colorado on the front of their shirts and fleur du lis lining the bottom of the jersey as if the Mile High City was a part of the Louisiana Purchase or something. 

The Nordiques logos, colors, and memory belongs to the good people of Quebec City. The Avs don't have the right to bastardize it for monetary gain while the Quebecois are sitting there patiently waiting for a team that has been promised. A team they deserve. The Avalanche have no right to suddenly usurp the history of a different franchise. Find a new way to be old that fits with their story. 

Same thing goes for the Whalers/Hurricanes

They had the audacity to do this tweet today

YOU ARE NOT THE HARTFORD WHALERS!!!! YOU LEFT!!! THIS IS NOT YOUR SONG!!!

If you abandon everything you don't get to have a historical cash grab. It's absolute bullshit. Now, the Whalers and Hartford have NO hope of having a team in the future. It's sad, but Connecticut as a state is dying. I love how passionate the #BringBackTheWhale crew is, but it's over. They could build the greatest rink the world has ever seen at Mohegan Sun and the NHL would say no. That doesn't mean that Tom Dundon has the rights to the IP of the Whalers. Sure, he might legally have it, but just because he can doesn't mean that he should. 

This is like any other breakup. When you're done, you're done. You delete the pictures off of instagram. If you were a cheese dick that had a song with a girl, you don't make that same song your song with the next girl. It's over. It's gone. You can look back and smile, but you can't make your girlfriend into your ex and you shouldn't try. If it was so good, you never would've left to begin with. These situations should be like the Ravens-Browns. The Ravens do not own any of the Browns history. Jim Brown and Bernie Kosar never played for the Ravens franchise. They're Browns. Gordie Howe didn't play for the Carolina Hurricanes. Peter Stastny didn't play for the Avalanche and neither did Michel Goulet. Leave the memories and IP to the fans and true believers.