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Provincial politicians in Quebec have unanimously backed a motion calling for the National Hockey League to allow public Montreal Canadiens watch parties in the Outaouais.
A planned Saturday screening of Game 1 of the Eastern Conference final against the Carolina Hurricanes at Gatineau’s Slush Puppie Centre was cancelled after tickets for the fundraiser went on sale.
Organizers had approval of TVA Sports, the exclusive French broadcaster of the NHL playoffs.
However, the area falls under the territory of the Ottawa Senators.
“The Ottawa Senators [have] an 80-kilometre territory where you can’t promote other teams,” organizer Wassim Aboutanos said he was told by the NHL.
The NHL said the screening “never received the necessary authorization required by the NHL for large showings of our games.”
Prohibiting fans from watching the last remaining Canadian team in the playoffs in their home province has upset some local politicians. More than 7,600 people that have signed a petition calling for the NHL to make an exception.
‘Shameful’ decision
Tuesday’s motion was introduced to applause in the chamber by Parti Québécois MNA Pascal Bérubé, the party’s sports critic.
He told Radio-Canada it will be passed along to NHL leadership.
“I find it shameful to deny [the people of the Outaouais] these hockey watch parties in their region,” Bérubé said in French, referencing Habs legend Guy Lafleur’s roots in the region’s city of Thurso as one of the ties between the area and the team.
Game 4 of the series is Wednesday night in Montreal, with Carolina up 2-1 after a pair of 3-2 overtime wins.
The first team to four wins will meet Vegas in the Stanley Cup final and will have home-ice advantage, as both Montreal and Carolina earned more regular-season points than the Golden Knights.
