Habs Nation

Larry Ostola speaks with Brendan Kelly about his book Habs Nation. The history of the Montreal Canadiens is about more than just hockey. It’s also the story of how hockey’s most winning team has always skated hand-in-hand with its home province of Quebec.

Brendan Kelly takes a fresh look at the ups and downs of the Habs since the heyday of the “Flying Frenchmen” in the 50s, 60s and 70s and shows how the history of the team mirrors the tumultuous changes in Quebec over the past decades. Why was it that from 1955, year of the “Rocket Richard Riot,” until 1995, year of Quebec’s second referendum, the Canadiens won 17 Stanley Cups?

Kelly talks with former Canadiens greats like Serge Savard and Bob Gainey, journalists, politicians, filmmakers and even Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen, maybe the Canadiens’ most famous fan—telling the tale of the team’s unique bond with its fans. One surprising conclusion is that when the team’s roster was at its most Québécois, the team had its greatest success on the ice. Since Montreal’s last Quebec superstar, Patrick Roy, was unceremoniously booted out of town, the franchise has failed to win a Stanley Cup and has rarely been amongst the NHL’s elite squads.

Brendan Kelly, born in Glasgow, raised in Montreal and a fan of the Canadiens for longer than he can remember, was one of the founders of the late great alternative weekly the Montreal Mirror. He worked at the Montreal Daily News in the late 80s and had a weekly music column on CBC Radio for over 30 years. His Montreal Gazette column “What the Puck” is a controversial contrarian hot take on the Canadiens that elicits much hate and even more love. He has written for the Gazette since 1996. He also contributes frequently to various Radio-Canada cultural shows.

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