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Habs Nation: A People's History of the Montreal Canadiens
The history of the Montreal Canadiens is not just a story about hockey. It's also the story of how hockey's most legendary 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. Kelly talks to former Canadiens greats like Serge Savard and Bob Gainey, journalists, politicians, filmmakers and even to Lord of the Rings star Viggo Mortensen, maybe the Canadiens' most famous fan— and they tell the tale of a team and its unique bond with its local fans. One surprising conclusion is that when the team's roster was at its most Qué bé cois, 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.
200 pages, Paperback
Published October 1, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
September 22, 2025
The Montreal Canadiens have one of the most storied histories in professional sports, having won 24 Stanley Cups and are also a source of pride for not only the city, but for the entire province of Quebec. However, they have not won a championship since 1993 and the number of French-speaking players from Quebec, once a source of pride for the team and province, has been dwindling during that time. This book by Brendan Kelly not only explores this phenomenon but also connects it to the movement by some Quebecers to secede as an independent, French-only nation.
Kelly does a great job writing about both the political and the hockey parts of the book. He interviews very knowledgeable people on both topics, especially the hockey part where he talks to former Canadien greats who were both anglophones and francophones (English and French speaking). That gave this a very balanced approach to the book, even though it is quite clear that Kelly is making a direct correlation between the status of the separatist movement and the success of the hockey team.
Something else that Kelly writes about very well is the rivalry between the Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques before the latter left for Colorado in 1995. That was also the year when the second independence referendum for Quebec failed to pass, dealing a blow to those who favored independence. This contrasted with the 1980 referendum, that passed, and while not resulting in independence, there were several concessions from the nationalist government. And, either by coincidence or not, 1980 marked the year of the end of the Canadiens dynasty in which they had won the last four Stanley Cups, losing to the Minnesota North Stars in the quarterfinals that spring.
While there is certainly no absolute connection between the two, Kelly makes this comparison very interesting, provides the reader with a great account of the rich tradition of francophone players for the Canadiens and also gives the reader an interesting look at the movement to make Quebec a separate nation.
I wish to thank Baraka Books for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
Kelly does a great job writing about both the political and the hockey parts of the book. He interviews very knowledgeable people on both topics, especially the hockey part where he talks to former Canadien greats who were both anglophones and francophones (English and French speaking). That gave this a very balanced approach to the book, even though it is quite clear that Kelly is making a direct correlation between the status of the separatist movement and the success of the hockey team.
Something else that Kelly writes about very well is the rivalry between the Canadiens and the Quebec Nordiques before the latter left for Colorado in 1995. That was also the year when the second independence referendum for Quebec failed to pass, dealing a blow to those who favored independence. This contrasted with the 1980 referendum, that passed, and while not resulting in independence, there were several concessions from the nationalist government. And, either by coincidence or not, 1980 marked the year of the end of the Canadiens dynasty in which they had won the last four Stanley Cups, losing to the Minnesota North Stars in the quarterfinals that spring.
While there is certainly no absolute connection between the two, Kelly makes this comparison very interesting, provides the reader with a great account of the rich tradition of francophone players for the Canadiens and also gives the reader an interesting look at the movement to make Quebec a separate nation.
I wish to thank Baraka Books for providing a copy of the book. The opinions expressed in this review are strictly my own.
https://sportsbookguy.blogspot.com/20...
January 17, 2026
Habs fans will find this concise book a timely read as Kelly revisits the history of the storied hockey club and questions whether it is more successful when its lineup emphasizes the team's Quebec roots. Is a franchise that also represents the political aspirations of its province more motivated by Francophone (or at least French-speaking) players and executives? The jury is still out, especially with the team off to a better start this season in the midst of a "rebuild" with leaders whose last names are Suzuki and Caulfied—unlike the Quebecois names of old.
March 6, 2026
A really interesting topic: the Canadiens in Quebecois culture from 1980-present. I wasn’t thrilled with this book - very few subjects were interviewed in this work and at times the writing felt lazy. I actually think this time period - the mediocre years - are very interesting. This book didn’t address those years very well or pay them much homage.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews