No Quebecers Were In The Habs Lineup For The First Time Ever On Monday & People Are Upset
Monday night’s game was not an easy one for fans who remember the glory days of Les Glorieux.
With Phillip Danault out with a concussion and Jonathan Drouin on an indefinite leave of absence, head coach Dominique Ducharme scratched forward Alex Belzile in favour of Ottawa-born Paul Byron (who is reportedly bilingual for what it’s worth) leaving the Canadiens with no lifelong Quebecers in their lineup for the first time in over a century of play, according to multiple reports.
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Sports fans are fond of saying "records are meant to be broken," but this one was different. This one was political.
"There are many talented young Quebecers and Montrealers who aspire to play in the NHL," stated Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante in response to an opinion piece on the subject by La Presse’s Alexandre Pratt. "The [Canadiens] need to make an extra effort to go get them. For their fans. For the French-speaking metropolis of America."
Quebec Premier François Legault also weighed in on Tuesday stating: "I think it's unfortunate that there aren't more [...] Quebecers with the Canadiens."
"Maybe one day, if we had the Nordiques, there will be a competition to see who can get the most Quebec players."