Bauer is the one who came up with the theory of the Habs as religion, or at least he was the first serious scholar to consider the question. As such, his argument is already well-known in francophone academic circles in Montréal, as well as within the general public; I have seen discussions of his thesis on Radio-Canada, LCN, RDI, and RDS. Bauer makes an original and, I would argue, essential argument, to understanding the importance of a hockey team to Quebecers, in both official languages. I see his most recent book, Hockey as a Religion: The Montréal Canadiens, is out in English and this article itself began life as an English-language conference paper.
Bauer’s prose is concise and witty, but at times reads like a conference paper. For any translation (or re-translation) into English for publication, I would urge a slight toning down of the humour here.