Montreal Canadiens

Team information

• Inaugural season: 1910
• Home arena: Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
• Owner: Molson family
• Team colors: Red, white, and blue

Overview

The Montreal Canadiens is a National Hockey League (NHL) team that plays in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Founded in 1910, the team is one of the oldest professional sports franchises in North America and the only NHL team that predates the league itself. Over the course of their long history, the Canadiens have won more than twenty Stanley Cup Championships and an array of other accolades. By early 2024, the team’s all-time record included 3,551 wins, 2,427 losses, 837 ties, and 204 overtime losses. Traditionally known for their highly skilled players and remarkable on-ice achievements, the Canadiens are considered to be one of the NHL’s premiere teams and most historically significant franchises. The Canadiens are also one of the NHL’s most financially successful teams, worth an estimated $2.3 billion in 2023. In late 2023, a 10 percent minority interest in the team sold for a record $2.5 billion enterprise value.

In addition to their on-ice play, the Montreal Canadiens also maintain an active commitment to philanthropic endeavors aimed at contributing to the welfare of the community. Much of the team’s work in this realm is performed through the Montreal Canadiens Children’s Foundation, an organization that seeks to encourage physical activity and healthy lifestyles among underserved youth. The Canadiens also aim to support education through the Canadiens@School program, which provides free hockey-themed educational tools for students and teachers. Another of the Canadiens charitable endeavors is Operation Santa Claus, an annual program carried out in conjunction with various schools, youth centers, and other organizations that helps provide for children in need during the holiday season.

History

The history of the Montreal Canadiens began when Ottawa sportsman J. Ambrose O’Brien founded the team as a charter member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). The NHA was a short-lived professional league that was a forerunner to the NHL. At the time of its creation, the Canadiens franchise was meant to be the hockey team of Montreal’s francophone community and was envisioned to include both French-speaking players and ownership.

The Canadiens first took the ice as part of the NHA on January 5, 1910, in a 7–6 win over the Cobalt Silver Kings. After struggling through much of their first few years, the Canadiens finally found success in the 1915–16 season. Following a strong regular season, the team entered the playoffs and eventually beat the Portland Rosebuds to win their first Stanley Cup.

Having become established as one of the top teams in professional hockey, the Canadiens played one final season in the NHA in 1916–1917 before that league folded and the NHL was formed. On December 19, 1917, the Canadiens participated in the first game in NHL history, defeating the Ottawa Senators 7–4 and scoring the first NHL goal in the process.

After building through much of the early 1920s, the Canadiens found their stride in the 1923–1924 season, finishing the regular season in second place and ultimately winning their first Stanley Cup championship as an NHL franchise. The Canadiens continued as one of the NHL’s leading teams through the remainder of the 1920s, capping off their rise to success with another Stanley Cup championship at the conclusion of the 1929–1930 season.

After starting the 1930s off in similarly strong fashion by defeating the Chicago Blackhawks to win another Stanley Cup, the Canadiens entered the longest period of struggle in their history up to that point. Throughout the 1930s and into the 1940s, the Canadiens failed to win any further championships and, in some seasons, even fell short of making the playoffs. The team’s fortunes took a positive turn in the mid-1940s as they returned to form and won Stanley Cup championships in both the 1943–1944 and 1945–1946 seasons.

While the Canadiens continued to play well through the rest of the 1940s, it was in the 1950s when the team truly became a dominant force in the NHL. That dominance began when Montreal beat the Boston Bruins in 1953 to win their seventh Stanley Cup. From there, the team went on to win five straight Stanley Cups from 1956–1960. Although the team’s dominance fell off somewhat in the early 1960s, the Canadiens continued performing strongly and went on to win four more Stanley Cups in the 1964–1965, 1965–1966, 1967–1968, and 1968–1969 seasons. The 1970s were an equally dominant decade for Montreal, with the team remaining among the NHL’s elite clubs and winning six Stanley Cup championships. By the end of the decade, the Canadiens had won the Stanley Cup a total of twenty-two times.

Despite remaining one of the NHL’s most competitive teams, the Canadiens’ era of dominance came to an abrupt end in the 1980s. Throughout the early 1980s, the Canadiens struggled to find the kind of success they enjoyed over the previous two decades. The low point came from 1981–1983 when the team failed to make out of the first round of the playoffs in both seasons. The highlight of the decade came in the 1985–1986 season, when the Canadiens returned to the Stanley Cup Finals and beat the Calgary Flames to win their 23rd championship. The Canadiens’ next trip to the Stanley Cup Finals came in 1992–1993, when the team defeated the Los Angeles Kings to win the Stanley Cup for the 24th time.

After lifting the Cup in 1993, the Canadiens struggled for the rest of the 1990s and into the 2000s. Some notable moments came when the team celebrated its centennial season in 2008–2009 and played in the NHL’s second-ever Heritage Classic game in 2011. The Canadiens subsequently won divisional titles in the 2012–2013, 2014–2015, and 2016–2017 seasons, but ultimately fell short of recapturing their former glory. Regardless, the Canadiens continued to be one of the NHL’s most competitive and well-respected teams in the years that followed. As perennial fan favorites, the Canadiens typically played before capacity crowds into the 2020s.

Notable players

Many former Montreal Canadiens have been honored with induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario. Perhaps most notable among these honorees was Maurice “The Rocket” Richard. A bona fide Canadiens legend, Richard was a star forward who is widely regarded as one of the greatest hockey players of all time. In addition to being the team’s all-time scoring leader with 544 career goals, Richard was the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a single season. Even more impressively, he also became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games when he achieved that feat in 1944–1945. So beloved was Richard in Montreal that when he was suspended for the remainder of the season in March 1955 after intentionally injuring another player and punching an official, Canadiens fans caused an estimated $500,000 in damages during a riot outside the Montreal Forum. Richard retired in 1960.

Another of the Canadiens’ most legendary players was Howie Morenz, a star center who played a critical role in the team’s success in the early 1930s. His playing career came to an abrupt and tragic end when he suffered a severely broken leg during a 1937 game and died as a result of his injuries weeks later.

One of the most important members of the dominant teams of the 1950s and 1960s was Jean Beliveau, an All-Star center who was a Canadien from 1950 to 1971. In addition to serving as team captain for a decade and leading the Canadiens to ten Stanley Cups, Beliveau recorded 507 goals and 712 assists over the course of his career. Other notable Canadiens Hall of Famers include forwards Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur, and Henri Richard; defensemen Emile Bouchard, Guy Lapointe, and Larry Robinson; and goaltenders Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, and Patrick Roy. Lafleur holds the distinction of being the team's season points record holder; he achieved this feat, 136 points, in the 1976-1977 season.

There have been many other notable Montreal Canadiens as well. Mats Naslund was the first European player in Canadiens history and one of the team’s all-time great left wingers. During his eight years in Montreal, Naslund scored 243 goals and recorded 369 assists. One of the top Canadiens stars of the 1990s, Vincent Damphousse, played in Montreal for seven years and recorded 184 goals and 314 assists. Center Saku Koivu was a star player in the 1990s and 2000s. He racked up 191 goals and 450 assists before leaving the team in 2009. Left winger Max Pacioretty played with the Canadiens for a decade starting in 2008 and amassed 226 goals and 222 assists before his departure. Defenseman P.K Subban played in 434 games for Montreal between 2009 and 2016 and recorded 63 goals and 215 assists during that span. Goaltender Carey Price debuted as the franchise’s netminder in 2007 and quickly became an anchor for the team. In 2022, after 15 years with the team, Price had played in 712 games, earned 361 wins, and made 19,304 saves.

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