Canadiens and Canadians

As the NHL Playoffs continue, Flyers fans all throughout Philadelphia have been getting hyped. After barely making the playoffs, the Broad Street Bullies bulldozed the New Jersey Devils and scraped by the Boston Bruins. Many hockey fans, like myself, were stunned when they learned how far the Flyers have advanced.

But their opponent has a more compelling story. On the very last day of the regular season, the Montreal Canadiens clinched their playoff spot. The Habs proceeded to upset the favorites in game 7's; they beat both the Washington Capitals and Pittsburgh Penguins who were expected to go far in the playoffs. And that is how we find ourselves with two great hockey cities playing for a berth in the Stanley Cup Finals.

After the Flyers readily beat the Canadiens in games one and two, many Flyers fans made some outrageous claims. Things such as "Canadians suck at hockey" emerged. There are two huge fallacies with this claim:
a. You might mean the Canadiens, and  b. Canadians are amazing at hockey. Spelling Canadiens that way is a tribute to the French heritage in Quebec. Next time you want to distinguish the hockey team from the people as a whole, use the French spelling.

And if you do mean that Canadians suck at hockey, that is probably the dumbest thing you have ever said. Canadians invented, played, and perfected hockey. 52% of NHL players are Canadian. Most of the Flyers stars such as Gagne, Briere, Carter, and Leighton are Canadian.

So you can say the Canadiens suck at hockey all you want, they are just a hockey team. But it would be foolish to say Canadians suck at hockey, and we have quite a few gold medals to back that up.