I looked at their website but couldn’t find anything to answer what may be a dumb question.
Why Habs? That’s what they put on the scoreboard for the team. The website refers to them that way, too, but with no explanation. Even my husband the hockey fan doesn’t know. In fact, he’s the one who asked. So I’m passing on the question, since I couldn’t figure it out.
I can tell you it’s short for les habitants, but how that nickname came to be applied to the hockey club I don’t know.
ETA: I can’t find a cite but I think the nickname arose out of a misconception about the H in their logo which stands for Club de Hockey, not Habitants.
2nd paragraph of the Wikipedia article:
“In English, the team’s main nickname is the Habs, an abbreviation of “Les Habitants”. (Note even in English, the French spelling, Canadiens, is always used.)”
It’s short for “Les Habitants”, the name for the first pioneers who lived in Quebec. This is also the source of the name “Canadiens”, I believe. Also, this is why there’s an H in the middle of the “C” in their logo.
ETA: Apparently I am a holder of the misconception HongKongFooey noted above.
I only found out recently, this link explains it better.
BTW, we always joke with Canadiens fans that the CH stands for Center Hice 
Disclaimer: this joke is only funny if you’re familiar with Quebec accents.
Thanks, all. I knew I could count on you guys. I didn’t even think of Wikipedia, after the team’s own website didn’t seem to have it. Anyway, again, thanks.
This is commonly believed, but it appears that the logo actually stands for “Club de Hockey Canadien”. Here’s a wiki cite (scroll down to “1910-17”).
Their website does have it: http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/jerseys-and-logos/1909-1946
Holy crap, this is funny.
Fabulous! Wish I’d thought of that! I’ll be using it now. 
