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.

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

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

Player	Pos	GP	G	A	Pts	P/G
Guy Lafleur	RW	961	518	728	1246	1.30
Jean Beliveau	C	1125	507	712	1219	1.08
Henri Richard	C	1256	358	688	1046	0.83
Maurice Richard	RW	978	544	421	965	0.99
Larry Robinson	D	1202	197	686	883	0.73
Yvan Cournoyer	RW	968	428	435	863	0.89
Jacques Lemaire	C	853	366	469	835	0.98
Steve Shutt	LW	871	408	368	776	0.89
Bernie Geoffrion	RW	766	371	388	759	0.99
Saku Koivu	C	779	191	450	641	0.81

Source:

Current roster

Leaders

Team captains

Head coaches

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.

Montreal Canadiens Hall of Famers
Player	Nat.	Position	Inducted
Howie Morenz		C	1945
Georges Vézina		G	1945
Aurele Joliat		LW	1947
Newsy Lalonde		C	1950
Joe Malone		C	1950
Sprague Cleghorn		D	1958
Herb Gardiner		LW	1958
Sylvio Mantha		D	1960
Maurice "Rocket" Richard		RW	1961
Joe Hall		D	1961
George Hainsworth		G	1961
Jack Laviolette		D	1962
Didier Pitre		D	1962
Albert "Babe" Siebert		LW	1964
Bill Durnan		G	1964
Ken Reardon		D	1966
Hector "Toe" Blake		LW	1966
Emile Bouchard		D	1966
Elmer Lach		C	1966
Tom Johnson		D	1970
Jean Beliveau		C	1972
Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion		RW	1972
Doug Harvey		D	1973
Dickie Moore		LW	1974
Jacques Plante		G	1978
Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard		C	1979
Lorne "Gump" Worsley		G	1980
Frank Mahovlich		LW	1981
Yvan Cournoyer		RW	1982
Ken Dryden		G	1983
Jacques Lemaire		C	1984
Bert Olmstead		RW	1985
Serge Savard		D	1986
Jacques Laperriere		D	1987
Guy Lafleur		RW	1988
Bud O'Connor		RW	1988
Bob Gainey		LW	1992
Guy Lapointe		D	1993
Steve Shutt		LW	1993
Larry Robinson		D	1995
Denis Savard		C	2000
Rod Langway		D	2002
Patrick Roy		G	2006
Dick Duff		LW	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

1. 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

• List of Montreal Canadiens award winners
• Montreal Junior Canadiens
• Bruins-Canadiens Rivalry
• List of Montreal Canadiens presidents
• List of Montreal Canadiens general managers
• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of Stanley Cup champions
• List of Montreal Canadiens goaltenders

External links

• Official website of the Montreal Canadiens
• Official historical website of the Montreal Canadiens
• CBC Digital Archives: Montreal Canadiens at 100