AS I SEE IT COLUMN: We’re all Habs fans now

Thanks to the outstanding goaltending of Montréal’s Jakub Dobeš – who did what has never been said of Winnipeg’s Connor Hellebuyck, which is singlehandedly stealing a series-deciding playoff game that his team had no right winning – the Canadiens advanced to the second-round of the NHL playoffs as the only hope to end Canada’s 33-year Stanley Cup drought.

The Habs were the last Canadian-based NHL team to win Lord Stanley’s cup, back in 1993 when Whitney Houston topped the music charts and the X-Files ruled TV.

The Habs are an interesting franchise. When they visit the Jets – and any other Canadian city – local hockey fans are sometimes irked by all the Canadiens jerseys in the stands. Locals want everyone to support their NHL team but the Habs are an original six team and the winningest hockey club in league history.

They are a storied, fabled franchise. They do pre-game ceremonies with more emotion and heart than any pro sports franchise on earth. In North American team sports, only the New York Yankees (27) have more league championships than Montréal (24).

This would be a great time for the Habs to win, as the country needs an emotional boost. Think of the pure joy when we won the 4 Nations tournament and the utter heartbreak when we lost the Olympic gold medal in a game Canada could have easily won 5 or 6-1.

When you factor in the hockey emotions to the overall anxiety in Canadian society – a toughening economy and a president south of the border in severe cognitive decline who takes great pleasure in hurting our country – Canadians could use a deep Montréal Stanley Cup run to boost our collective morale.

Prime Minister Carney is doing everything he can to protect Canada against the childlike whims of the convicted criminal in the White House. Then there’s poor, pathetic Pierre Polievere, the hapless leader of the Conservatives. He frittered away a massive polling lead, lost his own seat and seems to lose caucus members every other day. Despite his best efforts, the deeply unpopular leader of the opposition just cannot hide his Trumpian tendencies, which guarantee there is no universe where he will ever be Prime Minister.

So here’s hoping the Habs can do what hasn’t been done for a very long time.

Remember how the Blue Jays united a nation last fall, coming one horrific inning short of winning the World Series? It was a glorious time, uniting the country in ways we don’t often get to experience anymore.

There will be some hockey fans in Manitoba and across Canada who simply cannot abide cheering for the Habs. It’s a valid position, but to them I would ask them this: If millions of Canadians can help our country by not vacationing in the states, not buying U.S. goods or services and generally doing whatever they can to support our home and native land, is it really asking too much to put your American cheerleading on the shelf for a month and root for the lone Canadian team?

Given the tangible sacrifices that many Canadians are making to defend Canada – sacrifices that cost money and convenience – not cheering for an American team doesn’t seem like a hard ask at this critical juncture in our nation’s history.

As the lone Canadian team in the playoffs, hearing the fans in Montréal sing our national anthem takes on a whole new meaning. We all know the words to our cherished anthem, but if you stop and actually think about their meaning in the context of the deranged madman south of the border, the line “God keep our land glorious and free” takes on an entirely new and poignant significance.

We are in an existential fight for the future of our nation, and even though we’re talking about sports – the toy department in the hardware store of life – a Habs win would do wonders for our country.

Buy Canada. Bye America.