Canadiens go country at LASSO

Montreal is Canadiens country, and the Habs took that term to heart this weekend at LASSO.

The two-day country festival wrapped up its second edition at Parc Jean-Drapeau on Friday and Saturday, and there were enough Habs on-site to make it feel like a home game.

Here's a recap of the western fun that went down.

Any good festivalgoer needs a gram-worthy fit, and Kaiden Guhle got a hand picking one out with the help of an expert.

LASSO 2023 spokesperson and country artist Brittany Kennell took the Alberta-born defenseman on a shopping spree at La Caravane Vintage earlier in the week to get him looking like a regular Canadian cowboy.

Guhle was joined at LASSO by plenty of teammates, including Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki, Arber Xhekaj and Josh Anderson.

The Habs fivesome kicked off the weekend by meeting Friday's headliner, Kane Brown, for a backstage photo op.

It turns out the multi-time Platinum recording artist really does have "Famous Friends".

Slafkovsky for his part has only been a Hab for a year but clearly already "gets" being a Montrealer.

A week removed from partying hard at îLESONIQ, mascot Youppi! ran the good vibes back at LASSO, this time in all-denim cowboy duds.

The orange giant was a hit with fans and artists alike, catching up with Jake Owen, Tyler Joe Miller, and Andie Therio, among others.

Saturday saw the Habs try their hands at being hype men, setting the stage for Dean Brody on the Bell LASSO Stage ahead of his set - not to mention getting an "Olé" chant going.

After all, it was only fitting to have the artist behind "Canadian Girls" be introduced by some Canadien Boys.

For more Canadiens going country, see Cole Caufield and Jake Evans meet Thomas Rhett backstage at the Bell Centre last February.

Plus, check out the Habs' newly announced 2023-24 Event Nights and save the date for Country Night in March.