Could the QMJHL return to Lewiston?

Could the QMJHL be returning to Lewiston?

There were reports this week that the league could potentially be eyeing a return to the city that was home to the Maineiacs from 2003 to 2011. The franchise folded at the end of the 2010-11 season and the QMJHL has not had an American-based franchise since.

With the league expected to become much more of a destination for American players in the coming years thanks to the NCAA rule change, US expansion has been a growing topic of conversation. The QMJHL is the only CHL circuit without teams in the United States.

Portland, Maine and Manchester, New Hampshire have always been the most obvious destinations for the QMJHL. But with Portland currently home to the ECHL's Maine Mariners – who seem to have a decent thing going right now as the Boston Bruins' affiliate – that basically leaves Lewiston as the best landing spot for the league in Maine.

Here's this from Mark Divver of the New England Hockey Journal.

No details right now but rumor in the rinks points to Lewiston, Maine, as possible site for QMJHL franchise

City had QMJHL team from 2003-10, playing out of the Colisee, capacity 4,000

— Mark Divver (@MarkDivver) August 26, 2025

The QMJHL, as you would expect, did not have much to say about the rumours.

Reached out to the Q on the report of Lewiston of a potential spot for a team. A spokesperson said: "We don't have any comment to make on Lewiston, since it's a market that hasn't been in our League since 2011.

We don't comment rumours and we focus on our 18 markets."

— Nathan Fournier (@jrhockeywriter) August 27, 2025

Lewiston's Colisee had been home to the NAHL's Maine Nordiques since 2019. This year, the NCDC's Lewiston Maineiacs are moving in.

The arena, which opened way back in 1958, was starting to fall behind QMJHL standards when the Maineiacs left and would need some significant upgrades today. You can see some images from inside the building during a Nordiques game in 2023 here.

Manchester's SNHU Arena, meanwhile, has been without a hockey team since the ECHL's Monarchs left in 2019. The arena does host college hockey games occasionally. The building, which opened in 2001, would need a few upgrades here and there, but it would certainly become one of the better facilities in the QMJHL.

I have heard the same, and as my @sickpodnhl teammate, Pierre McGuire, reported on our podcast last week, Manchester, NH, is pushing hard for a @QMJHL franchise. https://t.co/XXkgih6WUt

— Jimmy Murphy (@MurphysLaw74) August 26, 2025

Le Journal de Quebec reported in May that the QMJHL would like to have two American franchises – via expansion, not relocation – up and running in time for the 2026-27 season. That's... not that far away, so this speculation will likely only increase over the next few months.