How the Canadiens became the Habs

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History
How the Canadiens became the Habs
By Habs.com
Feb 8, 2004, 02:01

Legend has it that the "H" on the Canadiens logo stands for "Habs" instead of "Hockey" as in Club de Hockey Canadien.

In 1924, Madison Square Garden owner Tex Rickard was falsely told by someone that the "H" stood for "habitant", a French word that in those days was used to denote the farmers of Quebec.

Rickard was told that the French players on the team came from the farms and that they were therefore "habitants" or "Habs". At the time, the Canadiens were considered Montreal's "French" team, as opposed to the primairly "English" Montreal Maroons.

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