In case you haven't figured it out by now, I'm an American. I have a great love for Canada for a lot of different reasons, and i like to keep tabs on the country - not in a creepy way, I swear - and I follow Canadian news and opinion and whatnot. But I'm not Canadian, despite how much we all think Minnesota should be Canada. So I can't access a bit of knowledge that I think I might understand if I was born a little further north.
How was the rise of the Montreal Canadiens so quiet? We've been waiting on the Oilers to win the Cup, for the Maple Leafs to get anywhere in the postseason, but the Habs rose and fell and rose again soff the radar.
The Leafs certainly take up a lot of the oxygen in coverage, but why do I know that the Jets were a disappointment this year and the Senators were a pleasant surprise? And yet the Canadiens made the Cup Final in the pandemic year, then plummeted to the bottom of the East and are now back in the Conference Final. They are going to lose, but the trajectory is strong!
Montreal seems like the type of place even Canadians would make fun of. Out of envy, in a lot of cases. It has an air about it, given it's close ties with continental Europe. Every time I see a picture of central Montreal, I can forget it's closer to me than New York City. Quebec is so much more French than, say, Louisiana, which is French-ish, by comparison. And people tease what is different. And yet, I just don't hear the jibes about the Habs like I do about other Canadian teams.
I've heard all about Winnipeg coming back around, and then falling on their face this year, but maybe that is because the Jets are in the same division as the Wild. Similar as to why the Canucks are on my radar - they made a huge trade with Minnesota this year, so I knew all about how bad they have foundered. But why am I so in tune with the Flames and Senators? It's not just a broad Canadian bias from the American side of it. And the best NHL Media is Canadian anyway. And the Canadiens are an Original Six team. That should be sacrosanct, top of the page coverage, right?
Montreal made it to the Stanley Cup Finals in the weird Covid season of 20-21, and then were out of the playoffs until last year. Now, they made it to the Eastern Conference Final on the backs of a group of players not getting the attention they deserve. Has Nick Suzuki always been this good? I still know more about Juraj Slafkovsky because of the 2022 Olympics than his time in the NHL.
It looks like their road is almost over this year, but I will pay closer attention to the Habs next year. I should have been paying attention this whole time.
During the writing of this post, we learned of the passing of former Canadiens great Claude Lemieux. Condolences to those who knew and loved him.
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