“If you can’t have games, there is a rich nostalgia,” Keri said. “That’s all you have to celebrate — no opening day, no playoffs. You root for symbols of the past.”

Image Gary Carter was a beloved Expos player. Credit... Louis Requena/MLB Photos, via Getty Images

The games and the celebration of the Expos’ glory years were the brainchild of Evenko, a Montreal-based company that produces concerts and sporting events. Simon Arsenault, the company’s manager of events and business development, said the idea of inviting the Blue Jays to play was spawned three years ago. After the Toronto Raptors played the Knicks in Montreal during the 2012 N.B.A. preseason, the idea picked up steam.

Arsenault and his group realized that the 10th anniversary of the Expos’ departure and the 20th anniversary of the 1994 team were approaching, so he contacted the Blue Jays in January 2013. He also reached out to Cromartie, who was planning an alumni gala, and the events, along with a celebration of Carter’s life, were combined.

“For us, it was important to do something for Expos fans and do something for one of the greatest players, Gary Carter,” Arsenault said. “It was a chance to remember all these great people.”

Including the Blue Jays was natural because they are the only Canadian team left in the majors and, even though they compete in the American League, they were an Expos rival. For several years, the teams played an annual exhibition game known as the Pearson Cup, named after a former Canadian prime minister.

The Blue Jays see the events in Montreal as a way to promote themselves in Quebec, where their games are broadcast on television and radio, said Howard Starkman, the Blue Jays’ vice president for special projects.

“Our territory is Canada,” he said. “We get people from eastern Ontario and Quebec coming to Jays home games.”