The Montreal Canadiens will be playing one of their preseason game in Quebec next season.
There was a press conference in Quebec yesterday. Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer (and former Montreal Canadiens minority owner) announced his team would be playing two preseason games in la vieille Capitale in September.
On Sunday Sept. 28, the Sens will be taking on the New Jersey Devils, then on Tuesday Sept. 30, they'll battle the Canadiens. The public should give a better reception to this announcement than to the one about the Los Angeles Kings last year. The Quebec government had paid between five and seven millions to bring the California team to the Centre Videotron and the "investment" was heavily criticized.
It won't happen this time around since the Senators won't be paid by the government to play in town. Furthermore, Andlauer mentions that he would like to see a regular season game played there eventually, that it's the vision. He adds that if regular season games can be played in Sweden, why couldn't they be in Quebec?
It has been quite some time since the Canadiens played a preseason game in Quebec. The last time was in 2018 when Montreal had hosted the defending Stanley Cup Champions Washington Capitals. The Habs had won the duel 5-2, but as has often been the case for their preseason outings in Quebec, their lineup was light on veterans. Brendan Gallagher, Philip Danault and Tomas Tatar were dressed but so were players like Michael Chaput, Joel Ward, Alexandre Alain and Rinat Valiev.
Of course, preseason games are auditions for hopefuls, but when they are played at a neutral site, they are also a rare opportunity for fans in other cities to see real NHL action. The lineup decisions were often criticizes when the Canadiens used to play a preseason game or two in Quebec over the years.
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