Growing up, the Montreal Canadiens hockey club was the team that I despised the most.

Patrick Roy? Hated him. Ditto for Chris Chelios and Claude Lemieux.

Bobby Smith? Nice nose.

Larry Robinson? Wear a darned helmet.

And if that wasn’t enough, the snooty fans, including a really close friend of mine, would always remind me that the Habs had 20-something Stanley Cups while the Canucks had zero.

But that was then.

The late nineties and the early 21st century did a number on Montreal thanks to the new economics of the NHL.

Heck, there was even a three-year spell where the missed the playoffs altogether.

Fast-forwarding back to the present, the Canadiens are into the Eastern Conference final vs. the Philadelphia Flyers and I find myself on the fence on whether to cheer for them or not.

On one hand, all the players I hate are gone.

I predicted to a friend that Jaroslav Halak would single-handedly defeat the Caps in Round 1 and he made me look good.

I like Mike Cammalleri, Brian Gionta and I actually have met Josh Gorges, who is a really nice guy.

On the other hand, there is still my friend.

The popular reason to cheer for Montreal is because they are the last remaining Canadian team but is that really a reason?

The Philadelphia Flyers have their fair share of Canadian-born players and so do the San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks for that matter.

If Montreal does end up going to the Cup there is a chance that I will cheer for them but not because I’m Canadian.

I was born here, I pay taxes and was wearing red and white during the Olympic hockey tournament; that makes me Canadian enough.