Mike Green is what is missing!

Posted by Navarath on 12/31/09 at 11:31 AM ET

Is this a serious article/column?

Posted by Aaron from Boston on 12/31/09 at 12:07 PM ET

Why haven’t the Canadians built a wall around Quebec and filled it with water yet?

Posted by mrfluffy from Long Beach on 12/31/09 at 12:28 PM ET

@Aaron: I’m a regular reader of Sean Gordon’s blog at the G+M, and I think it’s safe to say that it might not be what he himself seriously feels, but he’s echoing the viewpoint of a lot of French-speaking people in Quebec.

It’s a serious article in the sense that many people in Quebec (and I lived there for 10 years) look at things like the selection of national hockey teams through a very political, language-oriented lens.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, YT on 12/31/09 at 12:28 PM ET

It’s a serious article in the sense that many people in Quebec (and I lived there for 10 years) look at things like the selection of national hockey teams through a very political, language-oriented lens.

French Canadians, boy I dunno.

From an American perspective, I want the team with the best chance to win and I could care less where they are from.

Posted by Aaron from Boston on 12/31/09 at 12:33 PM ET

Same number from BC…I’m not complaining…especially being the host province. Isn’t it more about national pride and not provincial?

Posted by JT From VicCity on 12/31/09 at 12:34 PM ET

I totally get how it looks to someone who doesn’t really follow Quebec/Canadian politics. There are a lot of factors at play.

Put it this way: I think if you hooked most hockey fans in Quebec (the French-speaking ones, anyway) up to a lie-detector, you’d find that they *honestly believe* that the team would be just as good (some of the more deluded ones would probably even say better) with St. Louis,Savard (who’s not from Quebec but I believe has French as a mother tongue) and even Gagne on it. So, in their minds, they’re probably not arguing in favour of a worse team - just one that has *their fair share* of players on it.

And JT…

Isn’t it more about national pride and not provincial?

That’s a sticky question because a lot of Quebecers (pretty close to half, last time they took a vote if you remember…) simply don’t share in what you and I consider ‘national pride’. I don’t want to get into a big debate about federalism and separation, but the fact is, there’s a sizable chunk of the population in Quebec that doesn’t want to be, and doesn’t see itself as, Canadian.

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, YT on 12/31/09 at 12:43 PM ET

Honestly, although I sympathize with the idea, being born and raised in Quebec BUT:

1) 100% of the selected goalies are Quebecers
2) If the selected team was pre-dominantly from Quebec, the French Media (not the fans, I’m talking RDS, La Presse, CKAC and all those fanning the flames of indignation to sell more papers) will still find ways to complain, such as why the jersey has a maple leaf and is red.

Most of us had to spend the last decade watching the French Media crucifying Saku Koivu for not speaking French and demanding a French-speaking coach instead of the BEST coach available (oh how I wish Gainey hired Tippett instead of Jacques Martin), and the truth is, most of the French Media are frustrated ex-Nordiques fans who forgot that their last good team had Sakics, Sundins, Nolans and Forbergs, not to mention that Stastny was their best player in the 80s.

Again, I understand how some people feel but the French Media are (once again) going over the top simply because righteous indignation sells.

Posted by AH1 from Montreal on 12/31/09 at 01:05 PM ET

AH1: I totally agree. If St-Louis had made the team, then they’d be complaining about how Savard didn’t. And if Savard had, it’d be about Lecavalier. And on and on and on…

Posted by Josh from Whitehorse, YT on 12/31/09 at 01:09 PM ET