Yes, the Habs stands for the Habitants (plural) but clumsy oafs? Les habitants were (and are) the salt of the earth, the true inhabitants of New France, unlike the traders, explorers, coureurs-de-bois, and the King's civil servants who came and went. Come to think of it, with today's professional athletes' lack of loyalty to team and city, perhaps the name is ironic after all. Mieke