THE NOT SO SECRET ORIGINS...
The OUTAOUAIS LAVA is a fictional professional ice hockey team that was formed by the two Berthier brothers during the Great Depression.
When the older brother, Maurice, died he left his share of the team to his only child, Renauld; while the other founding brother, Etienne, sold his half to commercial interests on his retirement.
Outaouais (OOT-TAH-WAY) is the name of the Regional municipality on the Quebec side of the river and was chosen because of its similarity to Ottawa and the potential for mispronunciation of the word, particularly by the American character in the series.
THE OLD GUARD...
Thirty odd years ago Renauld's daughter ANNIE married TOM Sparks, the Head Coach of the team, and an Anglo.
When Renauld retired he split his half ownership of the team between his two children, FRANKO and Annie, with Annie's share being split again between her and her husband, Tom. To make matters worse Renauld elevated Tom to the GM role over his own son. This has been a sore spot to Franko ever since.
THE TEAM...
The Lava haven't won the championship in a long while but their fan base is very loyal and the team has been hovering on the edge of profitability since their glory years in the late 1990's.
However, the half owned by commercial stakes has been putting more and more pressure on the team to win, while Franko has been using his position as the "French Don Cherry" to campaign against Tom's remaining involvement particularly since Annie divorced him a few years ago.
PREVIOUSLY ON PUCKTOWN...
The last hockey season was the worst one ever, and when Tom had a heart-attack his Assistant GM (daughter MELODIE) stepped in to run the team.
While the team improved slightly under her leadership, Franko has continued to blame any failings on the leadership provided by his now Ex-brother-in-law, while praising his niece for all the successes with an eye on getting control back in the hands of family.
But as our story begins the old curse resurfaces "Be careful what you wish for!"
