/https%3A%2F%2Fcdn-tor.buminteractif.com%2F2025%2F10%2F22123515%2FGuerrero-1024x773-1-1.jpg)
Have you had a chance to watch the documentary on the death of the Expos, on Netflix?
“Who Killed the Montreal Expos? is a hard-hitting documentary, even for someone who was only eight years old when the franchise left for Washington. I can't imagine what it means to those who lived through the club's glory years.
I'm not here to give away the documentary, but you'll understand that money is a predominant theme for 90 minutes. It's also, of course, part of the answer to the question in the title.
The refusal of shareholders to invest in order to keep players… the refusal of the government to finance a stadium, as in the United States… these are the elements that sank the Expos.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who watched the documentary yesterday, just before picking up my cell phone and reading the latest sports news from Quebec.
Among them? The Blue Jays and Dodgers getting ready for the World Series… and the Colorado Avalanche and Hurricanes recreating a Nordiques – Whalers game. #Nostalgia
I dont like when the Hurricanes and Avs wear the jerseys of the cities they abandoned. Feels like this rubs Quebec's nose in shit https://t.co/xYrOh3waFW
– Chief (@BarstoolChief) October 21, 2025
The Blue Jays and Expos are the two franchises that brought Major League Baseball to Canada. Both have had tougher years, both have had success, particularly in the early 1990s… but both have taken a different trajectory thereafter.
While financial issues sank the Montreal club, the Blue Jays never had those problems. They stayed afloat and managed to become a big money printing machine.
If the two cities have roughly the same hockey resources, we suspect that the Expos of the 2020s wouldn't have offered Shohei Ohtani or Juan Soto $700 million.
And we also suspect that an Expos series against the Los Angeles Dodgers would have produced much the same result as the series against the Milwaukee Brewers.
But the Blue Jays are elsewhere. The club, which will attempt to bring the World Series home for the first time since 1993, has the means to match its ambitions. Its stadiums (Dunedin and Toronto) have recently been renovated, and several players are being paid handsomely in the city.
As for the Blue Jays, they've managed to retain their Vlad.
– CBC Sports (@cbcsports) October 21, 2025
It's also a reminder that going to see the ball isn't just about buying a ticket to the game. You also have to plan your travel and hotel to Toronto or an American city.
The timing of the documentary (the day after the Blue Jays qualified) gives Montreal a mix of emotions, I think. And that's even if it's nice to see that the World Series might not be won by an American club for the first time in some thirty years.
This content was created with the help of AI.
