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NHL-laden “Tournée des Joueurs” begins Thursday

Max Talbot Philly getty

Philadelphia Flyers forward Max Talbot says he expects a sellout crowd on Thursday when he and fellow NHLers play in the inaugural game of “Le Tournée des Joueurs” -- the player’s tour.

“It’s a way to keep in shape and raise some money for charity,” Talbot told the Montreal Gazette. “We hope to play twice a week on Thursday and Friday nights. We’ve had a lot of arenas around the province express interest in having games, and we’ll talk to the players and see what works best.”

The first game will take place at the Centre Multisports in Chageauguay, a suburb of Montreal. Players expected to participate in the contest include Talbot, Bruno Gervais, Brian Gionta, David Desharnais, Josh Gorges, Colby Armstrong, Simon Gagne, Kris Letang, Danny Briere, Alex Burrows, Marc-Andre Fleury, David Perron, Marc-Edouard Vlasic, Mathieu Darche, Guillaume Latendresse and Steve Begin.

The tour will feature 20 minute periods and full five-on-five action, in an effort to simulate real games. The brainchild of Talbot and Gervais, the tour has received support from Joel Bouchard, an ex-NHLer that ran a similar “caravan” league during the 2004-05 work stoppage.

“Our format was a little different because we played 4-on-4, but we had 16 games over eight weeks and they were all sold out,” Bouchard told the Gazette. “I talked to Bruno and gave him some advice and wished them luck because he and Max are good guys who are involved in the community.”