Only one game last week for the nordics a 3-2 loss against the Boston Bruins. Not the worst scenario to be in though as the Nordiques are waiting the return of forward Tapio Kussi..

Artyom Galeyev has immediately proven himself to be an absolute stalwart on the Blue line. He has recorded five points in four games since being traded to Quebec. While the Nordiques  are definitely missing the offensive abilities of Dalton Chucko,off to his own hot start in Washington, The Nordiques are thrilled with what they have seen from the young blue liner

As far as trades go, that was a significant one!

The Nordiques bid farewell to Dalton Chucko who heads to Washington. After last years amazing season Chucko struggled without his favorite running mates and looks to recover his scoring touch in DC. It shouldn't be hard considering the top end talent collected on the roster, something that was long discussed to be missing in Quebec City. 

In return the Nordiques brought in two first round picks in 2039 and 2040, sniper prospect and name of the year contender Kasper Storm, white dude Ayden Woodward who was immediately sent to the Halifax of the AHL to continue developing and young defender Artyom Galeyev. The smooth skating defender has strong attributes on both sides of the pick and has already recorded two 15 goal seasons from the blue line in the PSHL and already has 10 on the year. He immediately becomes a big part of the Nordiques rebuild locked down to a team friendly contract for another four years and still only 23. The draft picks bring Quebec's total up to three in each of the next two first rounds and two in 2040

Chucko exits the Nordiques 2.0 as their leading goal scored (immediately passed by Jaden Sadowy) and third leading points total behind Sadowy and Tapio Kussi. His time with the club included a playoff performance and a President's Trophy. The fan favorite will be missed in Quebec but the return for the left winger promises to bring a strong future for Les Bleus. Thanks for being the coolest person named Dalton to ever eat poutine

 

The month of December came to a close with a 4-8 record for the Nordiques. While the losses mounted management was able to trade Matvei Michkov out of Quebec to some other franchise that definitely didn't steal a hockey team from here before definitely didn't happen.......

The Nordiques recorded two shutouts in the past two weeks, one from each of their strong goaltenders and look forward to what 2038 might bring. Look for them to continue to try to move out their strongest players with a focus on gaining future draft picks and young players. They currently sit 21st in the league, well outside of the lottery picks that was desired and the draft picks that they acquired via trades are not in significantly strong positions to earn them a high draft pick either. 

That makes five losses in a row for the Nordiques after poor showings against the Bruins and the Sabres. A short term injury to 1C Jiri Krupala will see Tapio Kussi move back from the wing and into Centre. Management continues to look for trade partners as it's clear it's time to retool this organization and get things moving towards the future. 

It's not all bad though. Michkov has 29 in 32. Ed Combs might be a Marvel villain with 127 PIMS, David Gunnarsonn has goals in 5 straight and goalies Henry and Rowland despite getting completely shelled every night are proving they should play for contenders. 
 

Some more surprisingly strong results from the Nordiques have them sitting at 15-11-2 on the season, a win total that management thought would be a season total not a late November total.

Recent highlights include Jadeon Sadowy's 5 point night saw the squad dispatch the Panthers and Michael Rowland's 26 save effort earn him the shutout against the Ducks.

Rumors have it that more teams have touched base with the Nordiques about trade possibilities with players from Michkov, Guimont, Chucko, Sadowy, Henry and Szczechura all drawing attention from trigger happy GM's. While not every player will be traded, it's possible that as the season goes on the roster looks different than it does today

Despite struggling to score in the first month of the campaign the Nordiques went 2-1 this past week and managed to collect 14 goals in their three games. In every game there has been a player who has stepped up to put their stamp on the scoresheet with multi goal games. Sometimes it's the expected players: Michkov, Krupala, Sadowy. Others its some of the newer or less expected Nordiques like Nikolayev or Gunnarsson. At the quarter mark of the season the Nordiques unexpectedly find themselves in the first wild card slot in a tough Atlantic Division. Look for the organization to manage expectations for achievement this year.

Finally, that's more like what we all expected. Three losses. Three games with only two goals scored for the franchise that has not figured out goalscoring in four years

Look for some line shuffling as the Nordiques look to take opportunities to put their younger players in situations for growth. Carson Ambrosio will shift into some power play minutes and Sam LaLeggia is going to take some more minutes on the penalty kill. Tapio Kussi looks like he's headed to the wing after a few years at center which should take some defensive responsibility off of the player who really wasn't that good at it at all. 

Dalton Chucko  should be back from injury towards the end of the week but likely too late to save them from a four game week. Look for him to jump start whatever offense these igloo builders have. 

The Nordiques continued their hot start to the season recording a 4-3 win over the Detroit Red Wings  followed by another a 4-3 win over their expansion cousins the Lagers. Strong games from both goalies as well as defensive efforts from Jiri Krupala and Ed Combs continue to allow Les Bleus to pull off close score wins. The team is led in scoring by surprise rookie Etienne Guimont who has made a name for himself early in the season as an assist merchant recording 1 goal and 9 assists in the teams 12 games. Management surprised fans however by bringing in a late free agent signing in Alexander Foroshchuck. The 32 year old sniper signed a one year deal following his 37 goals with the Philadelphia Flyers last year. With contract room to spare after the claim on Maksim Goroshansky, the Nords were able to add some depth to their roster at no long term risk. 35 of his goals last year were scored at 5v5. While management doesn't expect to see this kind of return from Foroshchuck in a slightly reduced role, the winger should still find the back of the net

Summer signing Matvei Michkov is heating up with his stat line now reading 2-7-9 in 10 games. The big free agent landed in Quebec with managements hopes of jump starting some scoring on a team that had long established their defensive abilities. 

Another two wins this week for the squad as they sit a surprising second in the division and one point off of the league league. Even though it's early and the team has some games played disadvantages against those behind them in the standings, this is a surprising start for Les Nords

The Nordiques settled into what will likely be the pattern for the rest of the year with a win and two losses in their last three games. A pretty uneventful win against the Capitals led to a 2-1 win was followed up by a loss to the Predators (Tomas Cebak returns) and the Devils. 

The Nordiques have been reported to be very busy behind the scenes working the trade channels. Some reports have them attempting to use their draft pick capital to acquire young ascending talent. Others have heard rumors of discussions surrounding their top players Michkov and Chucko. It's clear that whatever direction it goes, the Nordiques will provide more than enough talking points over the next few weeks. 

A fun start to the season for the Nordiques as they managed to rattle off a 3-0-1 start including a beat down of in division Tampa Bay Lightning. Jamie Henry has started strong again with a 939 save percentage. The first line of Chucko, Krupala and Michkov hasn't yet started to put up points but their defensive efforts have allowed them to hold back other teams lines, leaving room for secondary scoring. After only 18 points last year Aulis Mykkanen has come out strong. The rookies continue to find their way on this youth laden team with Etienne Guimont, Sam LaLeggia, Brenden Petgrave, Afansy Nikolayev and Carson Ambrosio finding both successes and struggles in the early days. While the wins came this past week, look for the Nordiques to settle into the lower part of the standings especially as they play more in division games. 

The Quebec Nordiques look forward to another season following a let down of a year. The northern squad only recorded 29 wins in a season defined by injuries and change. The team looks to retool over the coming Season as the division looks to have given no ground for them to gain. Look for first round pick Harrison Cross to return to the Q. Big offseason signing Matvei Michkov looks to establish himself a strong start to the season to earn a trade to a cup contender. Maksim Goroshansky has been made available for half of his salary, but in a league where goalies don't earn massive contracts, he may be left to work in the AHL to see out his contract. Discussions about Brenden Petgrave moving to the wing have management and fans excited for his unique brand of beat your ass. With a full season of Jiri Krupala centering Dalton Chucko should produce even stronger season for the goal scoring winger. Look for Carson Ambrosio and Sam LaLeggia to take a step to full time NHLers as the rest of the  youth movement is given another year to develop in the AHL.