Why are they called the Habs

[Herk]

Why are the Montreal Canadiens referred to as the "Habs"?

[Pounder]

I dug this up off a simple search on Yahoo, hopefully this helps, but it seems to be a semi-elusive answer.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0%2C1413%2C36%257E76%257E576772%2C00.html

I know "Habs" is short for Les Habitants. I'll post the relevant letter here, noting that the original question involved the H on the Canadiens' sweaters.

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Adrian - Regarding your answer to the question inquiring into the origin of the "H" in the Montreal Canadiens logo: simply put, your answer was incorrect.

The "H" does not stand for Les Habitants as you have suggested. The correct answer is much more boring. The "H" stands for "de hockey" to reflect the team's official name of "club de hockey Canadien." The familiar CH logo was first used in 1917, prior to that the team wore an "A" inside the "C" as the official name of the team was "le Club Athletique Canadien." In 1917 the name changed, and with it so did the logo.

The assumption that the "H" stands for les habitants is a fairly common one. The origin of the nickname Habitants is more difficult to pin down, but the term has a similar meaning to Canadien. I won't bore you with a Canadian history lesson but the term Canadien was a broad term used to refer to the people that lived in New France prior to confederation (1867). Les habitant roughly means "worker of the land" and was used to refer to the farmers that settled in what is now Quebec. The team was seen to represent the French people against the establishment English teams and the nickname is best understood in relation to the social climate of Quebec at the time.

Perhaps later I can recall the equally fascinating story of how the Mighty Ducks acquired their nickname ... (sigh).
-- Duane Rollins, Fredericton, New Brunswick

Duane, There is sufficient egg on my face to make an omelet. I had always heard on TV and lots of other places that it stood for Les Habitants, but that just goes to show you can't believe everything you see on TV. Thanks again.

Adrian Dater, a Denver Post sports reporter, has covered the Colorado Avalanche since the team moved to Denver in 1995. To drop a question into his Mailbag click here or visit DenverPost.com's Avalanche Page.