If there is one notable difference between the 1970s, when Brendan Kelly fell under the Canadian’s spell, and today, it is surely the aim of early-season training.

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“If you didn’t win the cup, it was a failure. In the 1990s we just wanted to do the series. Yes, there are more teams now, hockey has changed, but we don’t even have to win anymore, we want to develop and today we just want to be there mix [course aux séries].”

The supporters have also changed, said Kelly. Many have never seen a parade on Sainte-Catherine Street and are content with little.

“Serge Savard told me he was at the Bell Center two years ago, at the end of the season. And when Boston scored, the crowd cheered, hoping for a better draft pick. He couldn’t believe it.”

“A club like any other”

Among the former players and managers, columnists, journalists, historians, politicians and artists Kelly spoke to, many shared their love story with the CH, but some, like director Denys Arcand, are now indifferent.

“For him it’s just a team like any other. “The managers understand this symbol, but they run the team the way you run the New York Rangers or the Los Angeles Kings,” explains the book’s author. The CH and its people.

Phillip Danault celebrated CH’s qualification for the Stanley Cup Finals on Midsummer Eve by sharing a pizza with Cole Caufield at a press conference on June 24, 2021.

SCREENSHOT, VAT SPORTS

Serial fever

Despite the difficult last decades, Kelly maintains that there is nothing better than taking part in the series, “even if the team is no longer as French-speaking and the connection with the community is less.”

“As soon as the Habs get into the playoffs, something clicks. We saw it with “Halak Spring” in 2010, then 2014 and 2021. Something happens. Everyone becomes fans, even those who haven’t seen a game all season. It’s bigger than the team, bigger than hockey.”

“2021 was also the end of the health restrictions. On Midsummer Eve, June 24th, CH qualified for the final, thanks in particular to Quebec’s Phillip Danault. There were parties everywhere on the streets. “It shows the importance of this team and its strength,” argues Kelly, piquing the curiosity of a customer sitting next to us in a cafe in Mile End.

The discussion continued with the lady who, without being a Canadian fan, had a lot to say on the subject. Proof that CH runs in the veins of many Quebecers.

Brendan Kelly holds his book “The CH and its people” in his hand.

Photo Pierre Paul Poulin