I recently flew back to Montreal from a short stint in Mexico, only to exit the métro and immediately be greeted by STM buses flashing the iconic “Go Habs Go!” slogan. It’s NHL playoff season in Montreal and my heart could burst!
I’m a fair-weather hockey fan. I’ll catch the occasional game during regular season, but the minute the Canadiens make the playoffs you can’t pull me away from the screen.
This city comes alive in a special way during playoff hockey. I love that the Habs’ long legacy, intertwined with Montreal’s French history, manages to unite and include us all regardless of language, politics or religion. Politicians could learn a lesson or two from our hockey club.
This sense of inclusion makes cheering for La Sainte-Flanelle an important marker of Montreal and Quebec identity. We’re not just simply rooting for a local sports team. It feels like we’re part of something bigger.
I watched Game 1 between Montreal and Tampa Bay in Playa del Carmen. As a general rule, when I travel, I avoid other tourists. What’s the point of travelling thousands of miles, only to surround myself with people I’d meet back home? But with the Canadiens in the playoffs, I made an exception.
Fans gather to watch the Canadiens-Lightning series outside the Bell Centre. Toula Drimonis watched Game 1 at a sports bar with rowdy Quebecers — in Mexico. Dave Sidaway / Montreal Gazette
I watched the game at a Quebecer-owned Playa sports bar — Los Tabernacos, a cheeky portmanteau of the Québécois swear word and taberna, Spanish for tavern. I spent the evening among rowdy Quebecers — most wearing Habs jerseys, which means they explicitly packed them — eating poutine (with non-squeaky but passable cheese curds made in Oaxaca) and cheering on the Canadiens.
English-speaking Canadians were also there supporting the Habs — one of three Canadian teams that made the playoffs. From the corner of my eye I caught a glimpse of an older gentleman wearing an outrageously flashy suit printed entirely with the bleu blanc rouge logo. I couldn’t resist going up to compliment him on his attire. He proudly informed me he had it custom-made for a friend’s wedding — a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. Perfectly, playfully petty!
The entire bar erupted that night when Montreal won the game in overtime.
I arrived back home just as the Habs were preparing to play Game 3 in Montreal and the entire city was vibrating with excitement. Even “prochaine station” announcements in some métro stations were taken over by Habs players.
I headed to my neighbourhood bar — Bar de Courcelle — where they turn off the volume when the U.S. anthem is performed and play Stompin’ Tom Connors’ The Hockey Song instead. Every seat was taken and those with no reservations were standing against the walls or outside the door to catch a glimpse of the game.
“There’s playoff hockey,” as Habs star Cole Caulfield put it, “and then there’s playoff hockey in Montreal.”
As a Montrealer I know I’ll never be able to truly appreciate a hockey game without “Aweille, mon esti!”, “Let’s go, les boys!” and “Tu me f—g niaises?” being yelled in the background. Even for us English-speakers, playoff games are in French.
By the time defenceman Lane Hutson scored that perfect goal in overtime, the entire stressed-out bar was in a collective frenzy.
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The following day I was a panelist at Montreal’s Blue Metropolis Literary Festival on the topic of belonging in Quebec, alongside writers Kim Thúy, Francine Pelletier and Guy Rodgers. I arrived voice already hoarse from cheering on the Habs the night before. Is that not the ultimate marker of belonging here?
Game 4 didn’t go our way, but “we” bounced back with a crucial win in Game 5 and are now in position to close out the best-of-seven series at home tonight. Who knows how it plays out.
Regardless of the outcome, a big thank you to our team for all the ça sent la coupe magic. There’s truly nothing like playoff hockey in this town.
Toula Drimonis is a Montreal journalist and the author of We, the Others: Allophones, Immigrants, and Belonging in Canada.