by Matt Smith, Staff Writer/Social Media Specialist, All Habs Hockey Magazine

The Montreal Canadiens have issued a media advisory for a press conference on Monday, July 11 at 11:00 a.m. from Place Bell in Laval, Quebec.

Major announcement from #Habs coming on Monday. So are the #IceCaps moving to Laval? Dum, dum, dum… pic.twitter.com/MFnZ994Gm4

— Kelly Greig (@KellyGreig) July 8, 2016

According to reports, it is expected that the Canadiens will announce that Place Bell in Laval will become the new home of its AHL affiliate beginning in the 2017-2018 season.

This arrangement would once again remove hockey from St. John’s, Newfoundland after the IceCaps complete the 2016-17 season. This should come as no surprise as the affiliation agreement was for a two year term (with an option for a third.)

This could be a simple relocation announcement as the Canadiens own their farm team. In 2015, at the same time that we became aware the team was moving from Hamilton to St. John’s, the organization announced that it purchased the AHL affiliation from owner Michael Andlauer, who operated the team as the Hamilton Bulldogs.

The move will facilitate easier transfer for the Canadiens AHL call ups, especially in an injury situation, and will provide management the ability to scout their prospect pool much more often.

The team will also be moving into a brand new $200 million arena, Place Bell. The arena is a 10,000 seat facility with adjoining practice facilities. In total Place Bell has three rinks, included one that is Olympic sized.

Canadiens owner Geoff Molson, General Manager Marc Bergevin, as well as Laval Mayor Marc Demers will be in attendance Monday.

Personally, I have sympathy for the passionate fans in St. John’s but the Canadiens are on the right track by making this move. It will reduce the travel burden on the players. Teams such as the Winnipeg Jets, Toronto Maple Leafs and Philadelphia Flyers each have their affiliate playing rather close to the parent club. It has also been reported that the Binghamton Senators, affiliate of the Ottawa Senators, are considering a move to Belleville as soon as the 2017-2018 season.

The Canadiens will now see their AHL affiliate operate out of Quebec for the first time since the Quebec Citadellees from 1999-2002.

It’ll now be interesting to see what this new franchise will be called, and the impact it’ll have on the Canadiens organization.