Independent Baseball Teams Revive Nordiques, North Stars

A couple of independent baseball leagues are joining together to bring back some long-lost, never-forgotten hockey teams.

An interleague game between the CanAm League‘s Quebec Capitales and American Association’s St. Paul Saints tomorrow night will see the return of the NHL’s Quebec Nordiques and Minnesota North Stars… sort of.

Quebec Nordiques Minnesota North Stars — The original Quebec Nordiques and Minnesota North Stars, seen here in the 1990s

It’s “Soirée Hockey!” (or “Hockey Night”) at Quebec City’s Stade Municipal, as the Capitales will don baseball uniforms based off of the Nordiques, the NHL team which once called Quebec City home. Their opponents tomorrow, the St. Paul Saints, who will wear Minnesota North Star inspired baseball jerseys.

The classic fleur-de-lis of the old Nordiques jerseys will run along the base of the special white Capitales uniforms, red trim on the player numbers suggests this uniform is based off of the final Nords jerseys, worn from 1991-1995.

The Saints will be wearing the green, black, gold, and white North Stars road uniforms originally worn from 1988 until their Cinderella Stanley Cup final season of 1991.

The Minnesota North Stars left for Dallas, Texas following the 1992-93 season where they were re-named the Dallas Stars and went on to win the Stanley Cup in 1999; the Quebec Nordiques moved to Denver, Colorado in 1995 to become the Colorado Avalanche, they won the Cup their first season in Denver and went on to win a second in 2001.