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With the Montreal Canadiens now competing , their fans, often described as (the faithful), continue to show devotion for their beloved team, , in perhaps surprising ways.

One rabbi . A for every playoff game. Some .

The jerseys are called (the holy cloth), while some players wearing them are given otherworldly nicknames. Former NHL goaltenders and are called “St. Patrick” and “Jesus Price.” The late great Guy Lafleur was known as le démon blond.

These acts might look strange to outsiders. But as scholars of religion, we think they reveal something about why hockey matters so much to fans. People , and hockey is no different.

We have written books about connections among , and told the story of , who sought higher ideals in the game.

We’re currently drafting a book about what matters most in hockey, centred around three things: beauty, belonging and believing. Together, these explain what is , and why it can move people so deeply.

Beauty

Plato, writing in the Phaedrus, the thing that “causes the soul to grow wings.” He meant there is something transcendent about beauty, and that our appreciation of beautiful things carries us to higher truths.

Beauty lies at the heart of our attraction to hockey. Skilful displays on the ice — like stickhandling, booming shots and toe-drags — can lift our spirits. Seeing beauty come alive on the ice takes people beyond the humdrum of regular life and toward something transcendent or special.

Players like stir a sense of wonder. Hutson’s skating and spatial intelligence have been exceptional in the playoffs. In Game 3 of the first round against Tampa Bay, he fielded a pass from Alexandre Texier and .

Beauty is also seen in hockey’s personalities and unforgettable stories. In March 2025, after Brendan Gallagher’s mother died from a battle with Stage 4 brain cancer, .

She had won his 2022 Hockey Fights Cancer jersey — the one on which he had written “I Fight For Mom” — at a Canadiens Children’s Foundation auction, and offered to give it back. He accepted, and in April 2025, the two met on the Bell Centre ice for a jersey swap.

It was a beautiful moment of humanity between the two.

Belonging

Belonging is a . When people feel part of a community, they have a greater sense of meaning, self-worth and hope. Hockey, at its best, .

Even the Canadiens’ nickname, the Habs (or les Habitants), refers to the early French settlers of Québec. The team has always carried a community’s identity, .

This playoff run has provided striking examples of the sport bridging real divides. On May 5, just before Game 1 of the Sabres-Canadiens series, , glowed in the colours of both teams: the Horseshoe Falls in red and white for the Canadiens, the American Falls in blue and gold for the Sabres. Hockey has the power to unite even amid bitter political division.

The falls were not the only example of this. A week earlier, during Game 5 of the Eastern Conference First Round between the Sabres and the Boston Bruins, the microphone cut out for singer Cami Clune during “O Canada.” Immediately, themselves.

As a border city, Buffalo is the regardless of opponent as a sign of respect and connection.

This mattered more than it might have in another year and in a different political context. Just months earlier, during the 4 Nations Face-Off, . The Buffalo moment was a different kind of answer.

Believing

that people find the sacred in many different things, including religion, gardening, music and sport. Wherever people find the sacred, they experience a sense of the extraordinary, ineffability and deeper meaning.

Psychologist Kenneth I. Pargament, in fact, defines spirituality as “.” Philosophers argue that many people have lost the ability to experience the sacred in this secular age, and that sport is one of the few places where people still encounter wonder and beauty.

The thirst for meaning, beauty and wonder doesn’t go away. Hockey is one place where many seem to find a sense of mystery and uplifting hope, passion and awe. Discovering the sacred in hockey helps fans feel a part of something bigger than themselves; something that has meaning beyond the ordinary minutia. Intense moments in sport can bring fans an implicit sense of meaning.

The answer to meaning and happiness may not be a complicated big picture but in these smaller moments of discovering the sacred. But a word of caution: as Paragament and his team have found, when we discover the sacred in something, there are implications for our everyday lives.

Fans organize their schedules around game time. They invest in the team by buying jerseys, tickets and merchandise. They defend their teams fiercely against criticism. And when their team loses, particularly in an elimination game, .

That deep sense of loss is intensified for those who experience a sense of the sacred in hockey and their team. This intersection of spirituality with the meaning of hockey can explain why a loss can be more devastating that might seem understandable. For many people, hockey is more than just a game.

Right now, two Montréal teams are competing for championships. The Canadiens . The Victoire — Montréal’s PWHL team — are tied 1-1 with the Minnesota Frost in their semifinal, after .

Whether either team manages to bring a trophy home, the devotion surrounding both is already extraordinary.

, Professor and Kule Chair at St. Joseph's College, and , Professor of Ethics, School of Religion and School of Rehabilitation Therapy,

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