The French language is a great source of discussion for Montreal Canadiens fans. Too few foreign players seem to want to learn the local language.
However, these players do not need to speak impeccable French to gain the approval of the crowd, simply trying and showing an effort is enough. Chris Nilan, an American from Massachusetts, understands this very well.
When he hosted Cole Caufield on his podcast, the former CH tough guy was willing to make the young man aware of French. Even more, he even offered him courses to help him swear in french.
In a recent interview for the Sucré Salé show, Chantal Machabée mentioned that she wanted the players to take French classes and be able to make the effort to stammer a few words.
It will be interesting to see if all these incentives here and there will push players to not only learn the language, but to use it publicly.