Goodbye, Montreal Canadiens. Hello Vaughan Ontarians

National Post

Reports of a second National Hockey League team being sought for the Toronto area pop up with the frequency of crabgrass in summer, so the latest version should be treated with appropriate caution. Finally, the time has come for the league to act: We have a plan to kill two birds with one stone.

The Montreal Canadiens have been in the same city for 100 years. That’s long enough. And as noted in Friday’s editorial column, the fans are cranky: They booed the team in the last game of the season, and taunted goalie Carey Price, one of the most promising young players in the league. Local retailers were forced to fortify their shops against the traditional hooliganism of disappointed fans.

Montreal doesn’t deserve the Habs. So why not move them to Vaughan, Ont., which is reportedly offering to build an arena north of Toronto near a giant mall and fun park. They could be renamed the Vaughan Ontarians, and the famous CH crest on Hab sweaters replaced with VO, considerably easing the hunt for a corporate sponsor. Maybe Seagram would even buy naming rights for the arena.

Purists will grouse about Montreal’s “storied hockey history.” And yes, it’s true that the team has won a few Stanley Cups. But Vaughan has its own proud sporting tradition: The Vaughan Rangers Atom A squad has a loyal following, and many of the sports bars in the city go back all the way to the 1980s.

Gary Bettman, we’re in the book. We won’t taunt Carey Price. We promise.