MLS chats with Melnyk about Ottawa franchise
Vancouver, Montreal also want expansion teams in pro soccer league
A new player for a possible Major League Soccer expansion franchise north of the border has stepped forward.
The Globe and Mail reported Thursday that MLS president Mark Abbott met last week with Eugene Melnyk, owner of the NHL's Ottawa Senators, about the possibility of bringing the beautiful game to the nation's capital.
No details on how the talks went were given.
Any MLS expansion here will have to wait until a three-year Canadian exclusivity agreement with Toronto FC runs out in time for the 2010 season.
League commissioner Don Garber has previously named Vancouver as a possible expansion site, and Montreal Impact president Joey Saputo has said he wants a team for the city.
Major League Soccer has 14 teams and will add a 15th next season in Seattle, followed a year later by Philadelphia.
With files from the Canadian Press