Quebec City set for NHL audition With expansion talk in the air, the Montreal Canadiens face the Pittsburgh Penguins at the new Videotron Centre, Frank Seravalli writes.

Frank Seravalli TSN Senior Hockey Reporter Follow|Archive

The record book says Quebec City’s Videotron Centre was officially christened two weeks ago, when Guy Lafleur, Michel Goulet and others took a lap around the ice on Sept. 12.

But the Videotron Centre’s real shining moment will be tonight, with all eyes on Quebec City’s NHL audition, as the sparkling 18,259-seat arena hosts the first NHL exhibition between the Canadiens and Penguins.

The backers of the Nordiques’ return, Quebecor Inc., will meet with the NHL’s executive committee prior to the league-wide Board of Governors meeting at the Westin Times Square in New York on Tuesday. A clip of tonight’s exhibition game, highlighting the arena, will likely be used to promote the bid.

Despite the buzz in Quebec City, three of hockey’s biggest names - Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin and Phil Kessel - will not be appearing for Pittsburgh. The Penguins are hosting Tampa Bay on Tuesday night in Johnstown, Pa., where “Slap Shot” was loosely based.

Instead, native Quebec sons Kris Letang, Marc-Andre Fleury, Pascal Dupuis, and David Perron will make the trip for the Penguins.

“I’m going back home,” Montreal native Letang told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “My friends and family will be there. I can’t wait."

The Canadiens, Quebec’s only franchise since 1996, are expected to dress a formidable NHL lineup, including Carey Price, P.K. Subban, Brendan Gallagher, Alex Galchenyuk and Tomas Plekanec. Habs coach Michel Therrien has deep ties to Quebec City, as the first coach of the AHL’s Citadelles in 1999.

No matter the success of tonight’s sold out matchup, a decision from the NHL on expansion is unlikely to occur on Tuesday. The decision could be voted on Dec. 7-8 at the next Board of Governors meeting in Pebble Beach, Calif., after Tuesday’s presentation.

Bids from Quebec City and Las Vegas were the only two cities invited to complete the NHL’s three-step expansion application process, which wrapped up earlier in September.

Each city was required to wire a $10 million (U.S>) application fee to the NHL, with $2 million of that being non-refundable. The fee to purchase an expansion franchise is expected to be north of $500 million, or nearly $667 million Canadian.

NHL commissioner Gary Bettman cautioned last week the league has “a lot of work to do” before any decision could be made on expansion.

“We’re in a process,” Bettman told TSN 1040. “It’s an important decision to make. It’s not one that you make lightheartedly; it’s not one that you make just to balance out divisions. My bigger concern is I don’t want expectations raised in places where maybe they shouldn’t be raised. So, let’s move nice and slow.”

Frank Seravalli can be reached at frank.seravalli@bellmedia.ca.