Now, as much as it would be ill-advised not to keep politics out of this celebration... who am I kidding? After all, the last time the Habs won a cup in 1993, Jean Chrétien gave the Cons one helluva Shawinigan Handshake (actually, they destroyed themselves, pretty much). Just picture the possibility of Quebec's home team coming back to la belle province to hoist the cup with... Quebec's home prime minister. How many voters you think would come to associate the Liberals as Quebec's home party?
Man, that'd take the hot air out of Blanchet, Singh and O'Toole's pee wee pretend game, wouldn't it? Because... well, it's not like there isn't precedent for a Canada-wide sporting championship being a boon to Justin Trudeau's fortunes in a key battleground in an election year... like, say, Toronto in 2019? Where the premier getting booed only helped Trudeau even more — and was fun to watch:
This time, if the Habs go all the way, Trudeau at the parade can only be helped by coasting on François Legault's popularity, rather than contrasting himself with Doug Ford's, uh............... Doug Ford-ishness.
Speaking of Toronto, though (and Doug Ford), a few words about the city's own beleaguered hockey squad are in order here. My only consolation to offer to long-suffering Leafs fans is this: strange things happen in the universe when sporting curses are broken. As I've told a few people elsewhere on the Interwebs, I'm referring specifically to how the Cubs won a World Series in 2016, and then Biff Tannen moved into the White House. It could very well be that the hockey gods have determined that the Leafs need to perpetually sacrifice themselves so that Canada doesn't suffer the scourge of Prime Minister Biff Ford. (After all, Ontario took one for the team so that Canada didn't end up with PM Scheer.)
But I digress, and I'm getting ahead of myself here. Let's just enjoy this moment while it lasts, and then go on to win the whole big dance. That goes for the Liberals too: bring home that majority and make us all proud. Who knows, perhaps the playoff beard is having a payoff? 🙃