Toronto Blue Jays, Montreal Canadiens championship rings stolen

Two championship rings were stolen from an Etobicoke home on Canada Day and Toronto police are asking for the public's help with tracking them down.

"They took everything that meant anything to me," the homeowner, who didn't want to be identified, told CBC News Tuesday. "Items from my grandparents, from my dad who has died, my mom who has died. I just wish that I could get them back."

Police say about $500,000 worth of jewelry, including a Toronto Blue Jays World Series ring from 1993 and a Montreal Canadiens Stanley Cup ring from 1977, was stolen from the home in The Kingsway and Prince Edward Drive North area. Championship rings routinely sell for upwards of $10,000.

The woman told CBC News that her father owned the Montreal Canadiens, and that his name was inscribed on the stolen ring.

She said she didn't want to disclose her identify for fear of her home bring broken into again. She said the suspects "came in through the back and knew what they were looking for."

David Boechler, who works with A.H. Wilkens Auctions & Appraisals, said the value of a ring depends on "the history behind it and whose it was."

He said the rings would have to be sold on the black market or melted down.

"Unless you melt it down, it's always going to be identified as stolen," Boechler told CBC News. "I don't understand what value [the thieves] see in it other than melting it."

Anyone who comes across the rings or who has information about the theft is asked to contact police or anonymously contact Crime Stoppers.