from Damien Cox of the Toronto Star,

Having recently witnessed the extraordinary energy created across the country by the Toronto Blue Jays, it’s not hard to imagine how enthralling a Montreal run to the Cup final would feel like to the whole country. Fans in Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton, Ottawa, Winnipeg and Toronto may prefer their own teams, but rarely do they hate the Canadiens in the same visceral way as, for example, the Leafs generate enmity/disdain or the Canucks seemed to produce a cynical reaction east of B.C. when they went to the Cup final four years ago.

The Canadiens aren’t like the Yankees that way. They’re a team all of Canada could get behind if they were the only Canadian team left, and they’re a team that wouldn’t make U.S. network executives recoil in horror because they have a profile that extends south of the 49th.

So there you have it. A Canadian-made solution, just around the corner, for the negative vibes the NHL is absorbing these days.

Happy to help. And to the Habs — no pressure. Just win, baby.

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