That’s fine, I get it, really I do...hating the Habs has been in my blood for generations, and you enough of my story to recognize my knowledge and passion for the game and it’s history, as well as my love for the Bruins. That said
1) Success breeds contempt. Even with their occasional runs like this year, Montreal hasn’t won shit and is a bit of a joke at this point. Tampa has not only been the best team in hockey over the last handful of years,
they cheated to get away with avoiding the inevitable price of success ( and I’m tired of the ‘it’s in the rule book’ or ‘other teams have done it’ argument- this team should not have been allowed to stay together this year and be this good, but people seem okay with it)
2) Compare the rosters. Philip Danault aside, I at least respect the rest of the Habs...I’ll not argue hard defending Perry or Tatar or whoever, but overall this is a likable roster of players. Tampa on the other hand has been full of despicable players, the majority of whom are the type to elbow you in the back of the head and then run away laughing. Off the top of my head Killorn, Maroon, Gourde, Coleman, Goodrow are awful (I’ll have Johnson and Gallagher cancel each other out as I have a soft spot for small skilled rats)...Even Jon Cooper. I love the Cooper story, he sounds like he’d be a great guy to play for; I despise his smug, pretentious, entitlement. Everything that doesn’t break right for them is some affront, and this attitude pervades the whole franchise. I kind of find Ducharme, well, charming, and Bergevin is generally regarded as one of the funniest and most well liked GMs in the league.
3) Montreal’s media is absolutely absurd, it’s as if Shank and KPD had babies and those babies became more famous than the actual players in some cases. I mention this because I think this is why a large part of their fan base is bat shit crazy. Almost every Habs fan I’ve met (and I was going to Montreal when you were in diapers
@PedroSpecialK) in person has been a genuinely knowledgeable and passionate hockey fan who hasn’t minded (and often enjoyed) having some beers and talking hockey with a Bruins fan. And I honestly think that they’ve been chastised by their drought...I think that their general air of superiority has been deflated enough that they’d accept a Cup with some humility. Unlike the Leafs.
Tampa’s fans and media by and large know nothing more than the fact that their team is good, and they wantto keep telling us that, as if the rest of us can’t comprehend what that’s like.
some of this is probably recency bias from not having to deal with the Habs this year and from our recent inability to get past Tampa, but that’s a thing. When I was a kid we all hated the Blue Jays and As more than the Yankees...that obviously changed quickly.
to be honest I don’t really want any of the teams left to win it.