.jpg)
1 hour ago
3
The Montreal Canadiens are trying to win their first Stanley Cup since 1993.
Along the way, they'll be called the Habs by plenty of hockey fans. But for the uninitiated, that's a confusing term.
Where does it come from? What does it mean?
These are the answers.
What are Habs in hockey?
"Habs" is a nickname for the Montreal Canadiens.
It stems from the French, Les Habitants, which is what the 17th-century French settlers were referred to in Quebec.
It makes sense once you see that -- Habs is just that French phrase in a shorter, nickname form.
The nickname is meant to represent the heritage of Montreal.
The name "Habitants" first was used to refer to the hockey team in a 1914 news article -- fittingly, after the lads from Montreal smashed Toronto, 9-3.
One common misconception, though -- although there's an 'H' within the 'C' of their logo, the Canadiens' actually have that letter because they are the 'Club de Hockey Canadien," not because of the Habs nickname.
Also a cool French tidbit: The Canadiens' home uniform features the French-language version of the NHL logo (LNH), although the road uniforms feature NHL as is.
One of the most popular taglines for the Canadiens is "Go Habs Go," which they'll be hoping to continue in this postseason.
English (US)