A Saskatoon NHL team playing in Regina? It almost happened.

It’s a story that has carved a place into hockey lore — the remarkable 1983 drive to bring an NHL team to Saskatoon.

It brought to the surface a spirit of sports excitement in the city and around the province.

But what few people mention is Regina was in the mix as well.

Bill Hunter spearheaded a plan to buy a financially troubled St. Louis Blues franchise and move the team to Saskatoon.

His iconic announcement at a podium in Saskatoon is an image people from that period remember vividly. Raising his fist in the air, he told a packed news conference he had an agreement to buy the team.

The plan included building a new arena that would seat 18,000 people. The province backed the mortgage for the arena, which would have been built on the outskirts of the city.

But Hunter needed a backup plan, just in case the new arena would not be ready in time.

That’s when the Regina Exhibition board said they would be prepared to host Saskatchewan’s NHL team at the Agridome, now known as the Brandt Centre.

This would mean the team could call Regina home in the event an unexpected delay came up with the construction of the new Saskatoon arena.

At the time, the Agridome was only about six years old, and while it had a smaller seating capacity, it would be prepared do the job, at least temporarily.

Hunter’s bid to bring the Blues franchise to Saskatoon had the support of the entire province. Molson was involved with the deal as it would have a 20-year agreement for marketing rights.

“We are confident it is the largest marketing contract in sports history. Not only in Canada, but North America totally,” said Hunter during a press conference with a big Molson banner in the background.

Air Canada was asked to ensure it could accommodate a flight schedule at the Saskatoon airport to facilitate travel for the Saskatchewan team to other NHL cities.

There was a rally at the Saskatoon airport for the prospective ownership group before they boarded a plane for New York City.

Once there, they would need ratification from the NHL’s board of governors to transfer the team to Hunter’s group and allow it to relocate to Saskatoon.

Despite a strong pitch, the board of governors voted against the plan 15-3.

It would be the closest Saskatchewan has ever got to landing an NHL team.

So close, and yet it seems so far.

But once in a while, here and there, even just in passing, Saskatoon gets a light-hearted mention whenever someone brings up potential NHL cities in the future.