As we speculated here yesterday, the Montreal Canadiens have officially announced that they will move their AHL affiliate St. John’s to Laval, Quebec for the 2017-18 season. The city is building a new 10,000 seat arena that will house the team, and is now just a short distance from it’s parent club.
St. John’s has had terrible luck in keeping a professional hockey team over the years, as this represents the third time a club has moved away from the maritime city in recent memory. The Maple Leafs and Jets both once had affiliates there, before moving them into their respective metropolitan areas, just as Montreal has done today.
If a team ever were to head to Quebec City, perhaps St. John’s could be a successful fit, but for now the city must watch their third franchise leave in just over ten years. Montreal also announced that it will have a naming contest to determine what the new nickname of the team will be.