Complex sentence: The Expos franchise was saved by a new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players that forbade contraction until at least 2006, but speculation of relocation immediately returned, as it was obvious MLB did not intend to keep the team in Montreal.
Split into simpler sentences: The Expos franchise was saved by a new collective bargaining agreement between the owners and players that forbade contraction until at least 2006. However, speculation of contraction was replaced by that of relocation, as it was obvious MLB did not intend to keep the team in Montreal.