‘A spiritual necessity’: the cultural heft of the Montreal Canadiens’ playoff run

The Habs' ultimately doomed title challenge served as a reminder of just how deep the storied team's social imprint goes across the north. Just don't call them Canada's team

For such a storied team, it's inevitable that you step back into the past to figure out the present.

It was October 1975 when the Montreal novelist and incisive social purveyor, Mordecai Richler, filed a piece for Esquire magazine entitled, The Home Team, My Heroes'.