THE CANADIAN PRESS
QUEBEC — Pierre Karl Peladeau, the chairman of media giant Quebecor, has met with Edmonton Oilers owner Daryl Katz to discuss hockey — and small-market hockey teams.
Katz invited Peladeau to chat in Katz’s box at Rexall Place on Tuesday during a game between the Oilers and the Los Angeles Kings, said Martin Tremblay, Quebecor’s senior adviser on special projects.
The invitation came two weeks ago during a previous encounter between the businessmen.
The news had circulated on Twitter before Tremblay was reached by Quebec City radio station Quebec-800 on Wednesday.
Tremblay told the radio station the men talked hockey and about the return of a team to Quebec City, which is actively seeking one to put in a new proposed sports arena being financed by the city and the provincial government.
Peladeau and Katz discussed the similarities between the Edmonton and Quebec City markets and the importance of a new multi-purpose arena.
Katz is also in talks with the city of Edmonton to get a new arena.
Peladeau’s Quebecor empire includes the Edmonton Sun newspaper, which has often done business with the Oilers. Peladeau is currently on a cross-Canada tour coinciding with the launch of the Sun TV News channel on April 18.
Tremblay would not say if Peladeau will meet with the owners of other NHL teams.
Edmonton Oilers officials met in December with Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume to compare notes on arena funding but were emphatic that talks did not include a possible relocation of the franchise.
Quebec’s previous team, the Nordiques, became the Colorado Avalanche in 1995.
