One of the most famous and certainly most successful professional hockey teams of all time, the Montreal Canadiens are practically a national institution in Quebec society. More than any other team, the Habs play an important role in the identity, economy, and culture of their home town and province.

The essays in The Montreal Canadiens: Rethinking a Legend offer a panoramic view of this influence. What were the connections between the Maurice Richard Riot of 1955 and Quebec’s Quiet Revolution? Can we say that loyalty to the team constitutes a religion for its fans? How is corporatization affecting how Quebecers connect with their beloved team? Featuring a wide range of writing on Le Grand Club and its social significance, the book offers a fresh and fascinating perspective on one of Canada’s greatest sports teams.

Nicolas Moreau is an associate professor in the School of Social Work at the University of Ottawa.

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Audrey Laurin-Lamothe is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at l’Université du Québec à Montréal.

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Howard Scott is a Montreal literary translator who works with fiction, non-fiction, and poetry. His translations include works by Madeleine Gagnon, science-fiction writer Élisabeth Vonarburg, and Canada’s Poet Laureate, Michel Pleau. Scott received the Governor General’s Literary Award for his translation of Louky Bersianik’s The Euguelion. The Great Peace of Montreal of 1701, by Gilles Havard, which he co-translated with Phyllis Aronoff, won the Quebec Writers’ Federation Translation Award. A Slight Case of Fatigue, by Stéphane Bourguignon, another co-translation with Phyllis Aronoff, was a finalist for the Governor General’s Literary Award. Howard Scott is a past president of the Literary Translators’ Association of Canada.

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Marie-Pier Rivest is a doctoral candidate in the School of Social Work at the University of Ottawa.

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