The Habs Must Learn from the Failings of Their Home Province

In a province where healthcare costs are spiralling, infrastructure is crumbling, the economy is struggling and the population is ageing dangerously quickly, you would think these would be the main topic of interest among both politicians and media types. Not in La Belle Province, a place where language overrides the public good and sovereigntists and nationalists alike scour the landscape for any issue that can promote their ‘interest in preserving Quebec culture.’ Now that the Quebecois have managed to remove themselves from the province of influence, both economically and politically, their interest in enforcing their own culture now puts their hockey team at risk.

Most politics is about populism. One of the many flaws of the system is that politicians are often more motivated to take on issues that are less important but garner more media attention, while avoiding the more important issues that are less glamorous. Rarely is this attitude more prevalent then in the province of Quebec. The hard stance taken on promoting French culture since the Renee Levesque passed the language law in 1974 has coincided with a sharp decline in their economy, and a gradual exodus of influence towards Western Canada. When passed in 1974, the Official Language Act passed in the province enforced French signage, presence of language in the workplace and in schooling (despite its scarcity across the rest of North America), and the language of legislation and justice. These laws played a role in preserving the dominance of the Quebecois culture in Quebec. However, the law refused to acknowledge the role that many anglophones played in building the Quebec economy. The end result was that many businesses left Quebec, and the province went from a contributor in the Canadian economy to a leech. In the interest or protecting their culture, Francophone Quebecois destroyed the viability of their province. The same thing is beginning to happen to their hockey team.

The National Hockey League is now a more global league then it has ever been. An influx of Europeans (28% of the game is now made up of Europeans), as well as a larger American presence in the game, has made the NHL a much more diverse game then it was back in the days of the Flying Frenchmen. The makeup of all NHL teams reflects this. It used to be that the majority of teams were composed of 100% Canadian talent.

To avoid confusion, the language of all dressing rooms in the NHL is English, as it always has been, even in Montreal. So, the need for a coach to speak French plays no role in communication amongst players in the Habs dressing room. It serves only to appease those who desire to preserve the French identity of the team. However, the days of French dominated hockey in Montreal have been over for a long time, and despite what a lot of people may think, the presence of French hockey in Montreal has never been definitive.

Many of the greatest players to ever wear a Habs uniform have been anglophones. This list includes Toe Blake, Howie Morenz, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Pete and Frank Mahovlich and Bob Gainey, among others, were all Anglophones. Beyond this, there have been numerous anglophone coaches in Montreal history, Scotty Bowman and Dick Irvin being the most prominent (the latter of whom never learnt French at all). However, Irvin’s coaching career was not defined by this controversy because he WON. The success of the Montreal Canadiens has not been the result of enforcing French culture, it has been the result of selecting the best talent available, whether that be on the ice or behind the bench.

The expectation that the Quebec media, and even more ludicrously, the Quebec government, places on the organization to hire a French coach regardless of the circumstances highlights misled values within the province and puts the team in danger of giving into mediocrity. Culture is important, but enforcing it at the expense of success, whether it be within the province or the hockey team, is not right. Habs management has to do the right thing and hire the best coach to replace Cunneyworth, whether he is French, English or Swahili. They need only look at the province the team calls home to see what price they will pay if management decides differently.