The Montreal Canadiens ( ) are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal
, Quebec
, Canada
. The team is a member of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League (NHL). The club is officially known as le Club de hockey Canadien.
French
nicknames for the team include
Les Canadiens (or
Le Canadien),
Le
Bleu-Blanc-et-Rouge,
La Sainte-Flanelle,
Le
Tricolore,
Les Glorieux (or
Nos Glorieux),
Les Habitants and
Le Grand
Club. 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.)
Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the longest continuously
operating professional ice hockey team and the only existing NHL
club to predate the
founding of the NHL,
as well as one of the oldest North American sports franchises. The
franchise is one of the "
Original Six"
teams, a description used for teams that were part of the NHL from
1942 until the
1967 expansion.
With the departure of the
Quebec
Nordiques in 1995, the Canadiens are the sole NHL team in
Quebec. The team's championship season in
1992–93 marks the last time a
Canadian team won the
Stanley Cup.
The Canadiens have won 24
Stanley Cups
(including their first in 1916, before the NHL existed), more than
any other team. On a percentage basis, as of 2008, the franchise
has won 26% of all Stanley Cup championships contested after the
Challenge Cup
era, making it one of the most successful professional sports
teams of the traditional four major sports of Canada and the United
States.
The
Canadiens play their home games at the Bell Centre
, which was named the Molson Centre until
2003. Former homes of the team include Jubilee Rink, Montreal Westmount Arena, Mount Royal
Arena
and the Montreal Forum
. The Forum was considered a veritable shrine
to hockey fans everywhere, and housed the team for seven decades
and all but their first two Stanley Cup championships.
History
The Canadiens were founded by
J.
Ambrose O'Brien on December 4, 1909,
as a charter member of the
National Hockey Association,the
forerunner to the
National Hockey
League. It was to be the team of the francophone community in
Montreal, composed of francophone players, and under francophone
ownership as soon as possible. The team's
first season was
not a success, placing last. After the first year, ownership was
transferred to
George
Kennedy of Montreal and the team's fortunes improved over the
next seasons. The team won its first
Stanley
Cup championship in the
1915–16 season. In 1917, with
four other NHA teams, the Canadiens formed the NHL, and they won
their first NHL Stanley Cup during the
1923–24 season, led by
Howie Morenz.
The team moved to the Montreal Forum
for the 1926–27 season.
In the 1930s, the club started the decade with success with Stanley
Cups in
1930 and
1931. However, the club and its then
Montreal rival, the
Montreal
Maroons declined both on the ice and economically during the
Depression.
Losses grew to the point where the team
owners considering selling the team to Cleveland, Ohio
interests. However, local investors were
found and instead it was the Maroons that suspended operations, and
several of the Maroons players moved to the Canadiens.
Led by the "
Punch Line" of
Maurice "Rocket" Richard,
Toe Blake and
Elmer Lach
in the 1940s, the Canadiens enjoyed success again atop the NHL.
From 1952 to 1960, the franchise won six Stanley Cups, including a
record five straight from
1956 to
1960, with a new set of stars
coming to prominence:
Jean Beliveau,
Dickie Moore,
Doug Harvey,
Bernie
"Boom Boom" Geoffrion,
Jacques
Plante, and Richard's younger brother,
Henri.
The Canadiens added ten more championships in fifteen seasons from
1965 to
1979, with another dynastic run
of four straight Cups from
1976 to
1979. In the
1976–77 season, the Canadiens set
a modern-day record for fewest losses by only losing eight games in
an 80-game season. The next generation of stars included
Guy Lafleur,
Yvan
Cournoyer,
Ken Dryden,
Pete Mahovlich,
Steve
Shutt,
Bob Gainey,
Serge Savard,
Guy
Lapointe and
Larry Robinson.
Scotty Bowman, who would later set a
record for most NHL victories by a coach, was the team's head coach
for its last five Stanley Cup victories in the 70s.
The Canadiens won Stanley Cups in
1986, led by rookie star
goaltender
Patrick Roy, and in
1993, continuing their streak of
winning at least one championship in every decade from the 1910s to
the 1990s.
In 1996, the Habs moved from the Montreal
Forum, their home during 71 seasons and 22 Stanley Cups, to the
Molson Centre (now the Bell Centre
).
On
December 29, 2008 the Canadiens won
5-2 over the
Florida Panthers to
become the first team in
NHL history to reach
3,000 victories.
Commemorative 100
th anniversary logo for 2008–09
Centennial celebrations
The Montreal Canadiens retired various uniform numbers as part of
its leadup to its celebrations during the
2008–09 and
2009–10
seasons. As part of the scheduled events for 2009, Montreal hosted
the
2009 NHL All-Star Game,
and the
2009 NHL Entry
Draft.
Team colours and mascot
Logo used (1917-19, 1921-22)
The current team colours are red, blue and white. These colours
have been used in combination since 1914. The Canadiens' colours
are an important part of French Canadian culture. In the short
story "
The Hockey Sweater",
Roch Carrier described the influence of
the Canadiens and their jersey within rural Quebec communities
during the 1940s.The story was later made into an animated short,
The Sweater, narrated by Carrier.A passage from the short
appears on the 2002 issue of the Canadian five dollar bill.
Logo
One of sport's oldest and most recognizable logos, the classic 'C'
and 'H' of the Montreal Canadiens was first used together in the
1917–18 season, when the club changed its name to Club de hockey
Canadien from Club athlétique Canadien, before evolving to its
current form in 1952–53. The 'H' does not stand for 'Habs' or
Habitants; this is a misconception. It
actually stands for 'Hockey', as in 'Club de hockey Canadien', the
official name of the team.
According to NHL.com, the first man to refer
to the team as "the Habs" was American Tex
Rickard, owner of the Madison Square Garden
, in 1924. Rickard apparently told a reporter
that the "H" on the Canadiens' sweaters was for "Habitants."
Uniforms
The home
sweater is predominantly red
in colour. There are four blue and white stripes, one across each
arm, one across the chest and the other across the waist. The main
road sweater is mainly white with a red and blue stripe across the
waist, red at the end of both arm sleeves and the shoulders are
also draped with red. The basic design has been in use since 1914,
with the current version dating from 1952. Because of the team's
lengthy history and significance in Quebec, the sweater has been
referred to as (the holy flannel sweater).
Motto
Nos bras meurtris vous tendent le flambeau, à vous toujours de
le porter bien haut.
To you from failing hands we throw the torch. Be yours
to hold it high.
The motto
is from the poem "In Flanders Fields
" by John McCrae which
was written in 1915, the year before the Canadiens won their first
Stanley Cup championship.
Mascot
Beginning in the
2004–05 NHL
season, the Canadiens adopted
Youppi as
their official mascot, the first costumed mascot in their long
history.
Youppi was the longtime mascot for the
Montreal Expos baseball team, but was
dropped from the franchise when they moved to Washington,
D.C.
in 2004 and became the Washington Nationals. With the
switch, Youppi became the first mascot in professional sports to
switch leagues.The terms of the deal was reportedly in the six
figures.
The team has previously had children as mascots who would skate
with the team during warm-ups and during intermissions. One notable
child mascot was the son of player
Howie
Morenz, Howie Morenz Jr. Other mascots were typically the
children of players or Canadiens management.
Seasons and records
Season by season results
This is a partial list of the last five seasons completed by
the Canadiens. For the full season-by-season history, see
List of Montreal
Canadiens seasons.
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses,
T = Ties, OTL = Overtime Losses, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA =
Goals against, PIM = Penalties in minutes
Season |
GP |
W |
L |
T1 |
OTL |
GF |
GA |
Pts |
PIM |
Finish |
Playoffs |
2004–05 |
Season cancelled due to 2004–05 NHL lockout |
2005–061 |
82 |
42 |
31 |
— |
9 |
243 |
247 |
93 |
1312 |
3rd, Northeast |
Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 2-4 (Hurricanes) |
2006–07 |
82 |
42 |
34 |
— |
6 |
245 |
256 |
90 |
1119 |
4th, Northeast |
Did not qualify |
2007–08 |
82 |
47 |
25 |
— |
10 |
262 |
222 |
104 |
1072 |
1st, Northeast |
Lost in Conference Semifinals, 1-4 (Flyers) |
2008–09 |
82 |
41 |
30 |
— |
11 |
249 |
247 |
93 |
1223 |
2nd, Northeast |
Lost in Conference Quarterfinals, 0–4 (Bruins) |
- 1 As of the 2005–06 NHL season, all games
will have a winner; the OTL column includes SOL (shootout
losses).
Franchise individual records
Franchise scoring leaders
These are the top-ten point-scorers in franchise history. Figures
are updated after each completed NHL regular season.
Note: Pos = Position; GP = Games Played; G =
Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; P/G = Points per game
Updated at completion of 2007–2008 season
Source:
Current roster
Leaders
Team captains
- Jack Laviolette, 1909–10
- Newsy Lalonde, 1910–11
- Jack Laviolette, 1911–12
- Newsy Lalonde, 1912–13
- Jimmy Gardner,
1913–15
- Howard McNamara, 1915–16
- Newsy Lalonde, 1916–22
- Sprague Cleghorn, 1922–25
- Billy Coutu, 1925–26
- Sylvio Mantha, 1926–32
- George Hainsworth,
1932–33
- Sylvio Mantha, 1933–36
- Albert "Babe" Siebert,
1936–39
- Walter Buswell, 1939–40
- Toe Blake, 1940–48
- Bill Durnan, 1948 (January -
April)
- Emile Bouchard, 1948–56
- Maurice Richard, 1956–60
- Doug Harvey, 1960–61
- Jean Beliveau, 1961–71
- Henri Richard, 1971–75
- Yvan Cournoyer, 1975–79
- Serge Savard, 1979–81
- Bob Gainey, 1981–89
- Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios, 1989–90
(co-captains)
- Guy Carbonneau, 1990–94
- Kirk Muller, 1994–95
- Mike Keane, 1995
(April-December)
- Pierre Turgeon, 1995–96
- Vincent Damphousse,
1996–99
- Saku Koivu, 1999–2009
Head coaches
- Joseph Cattarinich
and Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette,
1909–1910
- Adolphe Lecours, 1911
- Napoleon Dorval, 1911–1913
- Jimmy Gardner,
1913–1915
- Newsy Lalonde, 1915–1921
- Leo Dandurand, 1921–26
- Cecil Hart, 1926–32
- Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde,
1932–34
- Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde
and Leo Dandurand, 1934–35
- Sylvio Mantha, 1935–36
- Cecil Hart, 1936–38
- Cecil Hart and Jules Dugal,
1938–39
- Albert "Babe" Siebert,
1939
- Alfred "Pit" Lepine,
1939–40
- Dick Irvin, 1940–55
- Hector "Toe" Blake, 1955–68
- Claude Ruel, 1968–70
- Al MacNeil, 1970-71
- Scotty Bowman, 1971–79
- Bernie Geoffrion, 1979
- Claude Ruel, 1979–81
- Bob Berry, 1981–84
- Jacques Lemaire, 1984–85
- Jean Perron, 1985–88
- Pat Burns, 1988–92
- Jacques Demers, 1992–95
- Mario Tremblay, 1995–97
- Alain Vigneault, 1997–00
- Michel Therrien, 2000–03
- Claude Julien,
2003–06
- Bob Gainey, 2006 (January -
May) (interim)
- Guy Carbonneau, 2006–09
- Bob Gainey, 2009 (March -
June) (interim)
- Jacques Martin,
2009–present
Source:
Honoured members
Hockey Hall of Famers
In the
Hockey Hall
of Fame
, the Canadiens boast the second-most enshrined
Hall-of-Famers with forty-two. All of their
inductees are from Canada
(defenceman
Joe Hall was born in England
but raised in Manitoba
). Thirty-six of these players are from three
separate notable dynasties: 12 from 1955-1960, 11 from 1964-1969
and 13 from 1975-1979.
Howie Morenz and
Georges Vezina were the first
Canadiens given the honour in 1945, while
Patrick Roy and
Dick
Duff were the most recently inducted, in 2006.
Retired numbers
The Canadiens have retired fourteen numbers, by 15 players, in
their history,the most of any team in the
National Hockey League, and the third
highest total of any of the four
major professional sports leagues of the United States and
Canada. All of the honourees were born in Canada.
Howie Morenz was the first honouree on November
2, 1937. Although not officially retired under his name,
Jacques Laperriere who wore no. 2
after Doug Harvey, was present on the ice in the Montreal Forum the
night the number was retired.
Montreal Canadiens retired
numbers |
No. |
Player |
Retired |
1 |
Jacques Plante |
October 7, 1995 |
2 |
Doug Harvey |
October 26, 1985 |
4 |
Jean Beliveau |
October 9, 1971 |
5 |
Bernard Geoffrion |
March 11, 2006 |
7 |
Howie Morenz |
November 2, 1937 |
9 |
Maurice Richard |
October 6, 1960 |
10 |
Guy Lafleur |
February 16, 1985 |
12 |
Dickie Moore |
November 12, 2005 |
12 |
Yvan Cournoyer |
November 12, 2005 |
16 |
Henri Richard |
December 10, 1975 |
18 |
Serge Savard |
November 18, 2006 |
19 |
Larry Robinson |
November 19, 2007 |
23 |
Bob Gainey |
February 23, 2008 |
29 |
Ken Dryden |
January 29, 2007 |
33 |
Patrick Roy |
November 22, 2008 |
99 |
Wayne Gretzky |
February 6, 2000 (Retired League-Wide) |
References
- As of July 2008, the Boston Celtics have the highest percentage of
NBA championships with 28%,
and in MLB, the New York Yankees
have the highest percentage with 25%.
See also
External links