Stu Cowan: Celebration as Canadiens return to Bell Centre
There was already a party atmosphere outside the Bell Centre an hour before the Canadiens held their annual Red vs. White scrimmage Sunday afternoon.
There was music, games for the kids and Youppi! posing for photos with fans young and old. Two guys who looked to be in their 20s were standing in front of a big banner with a Canadiens crest on it, posing for photos while holding an inflatable Stanley Cup over their head.
There was a time in Montreal when that would have been seriously frowned upon — and probably still is by Canadiens fans old enough to remember when the Stanley Cup parade would take the “usual route.”. But this season will mark the 25th anniversary of the Canadiens’ last championship and those two guys hoisting the inflatable Cup might not even have been born back then.
