Montreal Canadiens: The Pressure Of Being ‘Québécois’
I’ve always had a fascination for journalism of yesteryears. There was a time a century ago where your main source of information was the radio or the newspaper. A picture of modern times would show a bus full of people with their heads down on their phones. At some point in time the same thing could be true except people were all trying to make space to read their newspaper.
Sports journalism was at one time the final frontier when it came to proper reporting. While the western world always lived under a media regime where fear was the ultimate truth, the sports world would take a different approach. They would idolize the heroes to an almost godlike status: Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Joe Louis, Howie Morenz just to name a few.
On the Canadiens’ front, players were mostly evaluated for who they were – hockey players. Prior to World War II, the stars were made of the likes of Aurele Joliat, Sylvio Mantha, Johnny Gagnon or the biggest star at the time – Joe Malone.
Malone was one of the first superstars in the NHL. Scoring an incredible 44 goals in 20 games in 1917-18 holding the record for most goals in a season at the time was only one of many records he set, some still holding today. Yet at the time the NHL was in its infancy and the province of Quebec was just a blip on a map on the world stage. People spoke French but the street signs spoke English.
Fast-forward to 1955 when a riot ensued at the Montreal Forum after it was announced that Maurice Richard was suspended for the remainder of the season and the playoffs for allegedly punching a linesman. Richard at the time was the first French-Canadian, let alone Quebecer, to stand up for basic rights. He openly criticized the treatment French speaking players were receiving at a time when the league was run by Clarence Campbell and the province ruled under an iron fist with the conservative party of Maurice Duplessis.
When the “Quiet Revolution” of 1960 began, a certain patriotic pride swept over the province and the game of hockey was no different. After Maurice, his brother Henri drew the accolades of his peers. Jean Beliveau, Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard and of course Guy Lafleur made hockey in Montreal not only exciting because they would win nearly every year, but the pride knowing that their province was the best made for a victory they haven’t felt often over the course of history.