"Le Club de Hockey Canadien" or the Montreal Canadiens is the oldest playing team in the NHL. The team has won 24 Stanley cups, and is a great Montreal pride. The team was established by John Ambrose O'Brian, the founder of
the National Hockey Association, in 1909 to capture Francophone Montrealers’ interest in ice hockey. In the early 20th century, most of Quebec's French speaking population was in a lower social class. Therefore,the local hockey teams belonged
to the English speaking bourgeousie and there weren't many or any French speakers on the teams. This is why O'Brian chose to create a hockey club with only French speaking players. The way the team spelled their name,"Canadien" alludes the
teams connection to Montreal's working class. Hockey is an important aspect in Montreal culture. Like football in America, Montreal citizens exhibit a great pride and deep feelings towards the sport, and it plays a significant part in many
peoples lives. Since Quebec was so linguistically divided in the early and mid 1900s, with Anglophones having more opportunities than Francophones, the Canadiens inspired many Montrealers and hockey fans that French Hockey players could be
succesful. There is a lot of French pride in Quebec, and this team has become a huge cultural icon to the province. The Montreal Canadiens have instilled a generational pride in Hockey and in the French language.
