The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times than any other franchise, having earned 24 championships, with 23 victories since the founding of the NHL, and 22 since 1927, when NHL teams became the only ones to compete for the Stanley Cup.[13] The Canadiens also had the most championships by a team of any of themajor North American sports leagues until theNew York Yankees won their 25thWorld Series title in1999.[14]
The Canadiens were founded byJ. Ambrose O'Brien on December 4, 1909, as a charter member of theNational Hockey Association (NHA),[15][16] the forerunner to theNational Hockey League. It was to be the team of thefrancophone community in Montreal, composed of francophone players, and under francophone ownership as soon as possible.[17] The founders named the team "Les Canadiens," a term identified at the time with French speakers.[18] The team'sfirst season was not a success, as they placed last in the league. After the first year, ownership was transferred toGeorge Kennedy of Montreal and the team's record improved over the next seasons.[19] The team won its first Stanley Cup championship in the1915–16 season.[20] In 1917, with four other NHA teams, the Canadiens formed the NHL,[21] and they won their first NHL Stanley Cup during the1923–24 season, led byHowie Morenz.[22] The team moved from theMount Royal Arena to theMontreal Forum for the1926–27 season.[23]
The club began the 1930s decade successfully, with back-to-back Stanley Cup wins in1930 and1931. However, the Canadiens, along with cross-town rivals theMontreal Maroons, declined both on the ice and economically during theGreat Depression era. Losses grew to the point where team owners considered selling interest toCleveland, Ohio, though local investors were ultimately found to finance the Canadiens.[24] After the Maroons suspended operations following the1937–38 season, several of their players joined the Canadiens.[25]
The Canadiens won Stanley Cups in1986, led by rookie star goaltenderPatrick Roy,[35] and in1993, continuing their streak of winning at least one championship in every decade from the 1910s to the 1990s (this streak came to an end in the 2000s).[36] In 1996, the Habs moved from the Montreal Forum, their home during 70 seasons and 22 Stanley Cups, to Molson Centre (now calledBell Centre).[37]
Following Roy's departure in 1995, the Canadiens fell into an extended stretch of mediocrity,[38] missing the playoffs in four of their next ten seasons and failing to advance past the second round of the playoffs until2010.[39] By the late 1990s, with both an ailing team and monetary losses exacerbated by a record-low value of theCanadian dollar, Montreal fans feared their team would end up relocated to theUnited States. Team ownerMolson Brewery sold control of the franchise and the Molson Centre to American businessmanGeorge N. Gillett Jr. in 2001, with theright of first refusal for any future sale by Gillett and a condition that the NHL Board of Governors must unanimously approve any attempt to move to a new city.[40] Led by club presidentPierre Boivin, the Canadiens returned to being a lucrative enterprise, earning additional revenues from broadcasting and arena events. In 2009, Gillett sold the franchise to aconsortium led by theMolson family which includedThe Woodbridge Company,BCE/Bell, theFonds de solidarité FTQ,Michael Andlauer,Luc Bertrand and theNational Bank Financial Group for $575 million, more than double the $275 million he spent on the purchase eight years prior.[41][42]
In2021–22, the Canadiens were unable to replicate their success from the prior season, ultimately finishing last in the league for the first time since the1939–40 season and the first time in the NHL's expansion era, in what was one of the worst seasons in the team's history.[51][52][53] In the process, they set team records for most regulation losses (49), most goals against (319), fewest wins (22),[note 7] and fewest points (55),[note 7] while their .335 point percentage was the team's third-worst ever, after only the1925–26 (.319) and1939–40 (.260) campaigns. As a result, team ownerGeoff Molson authorized a "rebuild" of the roster over an extended period, a first in the modern history of the franchise.[54] The Canadiens finished fifth-last in the subsequent2022–23 and2023–24 seasons.[55][56]
The Canadiens organization operates in both English and French. For many years, public address announcements and press releases have been given in both languages, and the team website and social media outlets are in both languages as well. At home games, the first stanza ofO Canada is sung in French, and the chorus is sung in English.
Crest and sweater design
Early logos used by the Canadiens
Logo used from 1909 to 1910
Logo used from 1912 to 1913
Original design of the "CHC" logo (1917–1919, 1921–1922)
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",[57] before evolving to its current form in 1952–53. The "H" stands for "hockey", not "Habitants," a popular misconception.[58] According toAbout.com, the first man to refer to the team as "the Habs" was AmericanTex Rickard, owner of theMadison Square Garden, in 1924. Rickard apparently told a reporter that the "H" on the Canadiens' sweaters was for "Habitants".[59] In French, the "Habitants" nickname dates back to at least 1914, when it was printed inLe Devoir to report a 9–3 win over Toronto on the ninth of February.[60][61]
Since 1911, the team's primary colours are blue, white and red. The homesweater is predominantly red in colour and features four blue and white stripes: one across each arm, one across the chest and the other across the waistline. The main road sweater is white with a red and blue stripe across the waist, red at the end of both arm sleeves, and red shoulder yokes. The basic design has been in use since 1914 and took its current form in 1925, generally evolving as materials changed.[62] Because of the team's lengthy history and significance in Quebec, the sweater has been referred to as'La Sainte-Flanelle' (the holy flannel sweater).
As of 2015, the Canadiens' home red sweater is the only uniform in the league to feature theFrench language version of the NHL shield logo (LNH) on the neck collar, in acknowledgment of Montreal's French Canadian heritage. The road white sweater retains the English NHL shield logo.[63]
The Canadiens used multiple designs prior to adopting the aforementioned design in 1914. The original shirt of the 1909–10 season was blue with a white C. The second season had a red shirt featuring a greenmaple leaf with the C logo, and green pants. Lastly, the season before adopting the current look the Canadiens wore a "barber pole" design jersey with red, white and blue stripes, and the logo being a white maple leaf reading "CAC", "Club athlétique Canadien".[62] All three designs were worn during the2009–10 season as part of the Canadiens'centenary.[64]
In the 2020–21 season, the Canadiens unveiled a "Reverse Retro" alternate uniform in collaboration withAdidas. The uniform was essentially the same as their regular red uniform, but with blue as the primary colour and red as the stripe colour.[65] A second iteration was released in the 2022–23 season, again using the same template but with red relegated to the logo only and featuring a light blue base with white/dark blue/white stripes.[66]
This period also saw the introduction ofcorporate sponsor advertising across NHL-sanctioned equipment, starting with helmet ads and followed by front jersey patches on gameday uniforms. Contextually, the Canadiens' away jerseys feature theAir Canada logo[67] in the upper right chest area whereas the name and shield for theRoyal Bank of Canada (RBC) is stitched onto its home counterpart.[68]
The Canadiens' colours are a readily identifiable aspect ofFrench 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.[69] The story was later made into an animated short,The Sweater, narrated by Carrier.[70] A passage from the short story appears on the2002 issuance of the Canadian five-dollar bill.[71][72]
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" byJohn McCrae, which was written in 1915, the year before the Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup championship. The motto appears on the wall of the Canadiens' dressing room as well as on the inside collar of the new Adidas Adizero jerseys introduced in 2017.[73][74]
Mascot
The Canadiens mascot, Youppi!, poses for photographs at a Rogers Media event
Beginning in the2004–05 season, the Canadiens adoptedYouppi! as their official mascot, the first costumed mascot in their long history. The foregoing was the longtime mascot forMajor League Baseball (MLB)'sMontreal Expos but was dropped from the franchise when they moved toWashington, D.C. prior to the2005 MLB season and became theWashington Nationals.[75] With the changeover, Youppi! became the first mascot in professional sports to switch leagues. He is also the first mascot in professional sports to get ejected from a game dating back to his time with the Expos.[76] In June 2020, Youppi! became the first mascot from a Canadian-based club to be inducted into theMascot Hall of Fame.[77]
In November 2022, the Canadiens introduced METAL!, an "unofficial official mascot", for the team's Reverse Retro series of games that season.[78] METAL! was retired ahead of the2024–25 season.[79]
The Canadiens have developed strong rivalries with two fellow Original Six franchises, with whom they frequently shared divisions and competed in postseason play. The oldest is with theToronto Maple Leafs, who first faced the Canadiens as theToronto Arenas in 1917. The teams met 16 times in the playoffs, including fiveStanley Cup Finals. Featuring the two largest cities in Canada and one of the two of the largest fanbases in the league, the rivalry is sometimes dramatized as being emblematic of Canada'sEnglish andFrench linguistic divide.[80][81] From 1938 to 1970, they were the only two Canadian teams in the league.
The team's other Original Six rivals are theBoston Bruins, who, since their NHL debut in 1924 have played the Canadiens more than any other team in both regular season play andthe playoffs combined. The teams have played 34 playoff series, seven of which were in the finals.[82][83]
The Canadiens also had an intraprovincial rivalry with theQuebec Nordiques during their existence from 1979 to 1995, nicknamed the "Battle of Quebec".[84]
Montreal Canadiens games are broadcast locally in both the French and English languages.CHMP 98.5 is the Canadiens' French-language radio flagship.[85] As of the2017–18 season, the team's regional television in both languages, and its English-language radio rights, are held byBell Media.[86]CKGM,TSN Radio 690, is the English-language radio flagship; it acquired the rights under a seven-year deal which began in the2011–12 season.[87] In June 2017, Bell Media reached a five-year extension.[86]
Regional television rights in French are held byRéseau des sports (RDS) under a 12-year deal that began in the2014–15 season.[88] A sister to the English-language networkTSN, RDS was the only French-language sports channel in Canada until the 2011 launch ofTVA Sports,[89] and was also the previous national French rightsholder of the NHL; as a result, the Canadiens forwent a separate regional contract, and allowed all of its games to be televised nationally in French as part of RDS's overall NHL rights.[90]
With TVA Sports becoming the national French rightsholder in the 2014–15 season through a sub-licensing agreement withSportsnet,[90] RDS subsequently announced a 12-year deal to maintain regional rights to Canadiens games not shown on TVA Sports. As a result, games on RDS areblacked out outside the Canadiens' home market of Quebec,Atlantic Canada and parts of Eastern Ontario shared with theOttawa Senators.[88] At least 22 Canadiens games per season (primarily through its Saturday nightLa super soirée LNH), including all playoff games, are televised nationally by TVA Sports.[91][92]
English-language regional rights were previously held bySportsnet East (withCJNTCity Montreal as an overflow channel), under a three-year deal that expired following the2016–17 season; the games were called by Bartlett andJason York. Prior to this deal, TSN held the rights from 2010 through 2014; the games were broadcast on a part-time channel withDave Randorf on play-by-play.[97][85][98]
Season-by-season record
This is a list of the last five seasons completed by the Canadiens. For the full season-by-season history, seeList 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
Some of the retired numbers at Bell Centre, photographed in 2010
Collectively, the Canadiens haveretired 15 numbers in honour of 18 players,[101] the most of any team in the NHL. All honourees were born in Canada and were members of at least two Stanley Cup winning Canadiens teams.Howie Morenz was the first honouree, on November 2, 1937.[102] The NHL retiredWayne Gretzky's No. 99 for all its member teams at the2000 NHL All-Star Game.[103]
The Montreal Canadiens have an affiliation with a number of inductees to theHockey Hall of Fame. Thirty-seven of these players are from three separate notable dynasties: 12 from 1955 to 1960, 11 from 1964 to 1969, and 13 from 1975 to 1979.Howie Morenz andGeorges Vezina were the first Canadiens given the honour in 1945, whileShea Weber was the most recently inducted, in 2024. Along with players, a number of inductees from the builders category are affiliated with the club. The first inductee was vice presidentWilliam Northey in 1945. The most recent inductee wasPat Burns in 2014.[104]
^Though the Canadiens won theClarence S. Campbell Bowl and advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals in2021, this does not count as a conference championship. Due to restrictions brought on by theCOVID-19 pandemic, the2020–21 NHL season saw a realignment of teams into new divisions, without any assigned conferences.
^ThePresidents' Trophy was not introduced until1985. Had the trophy existed since league inception, the Canadiens franchise would have won 21 Presidents' Trophies.
^Even in English, the French spellingCanadiens is always used instead ofCanadians. The French spelling ofMontréal is also sometimes used in English-speaking media.
^Other nicknames for the team includeLe Canadien,Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge,La Sainte-Flanelle,Le Tricolore,Les Glorieux (orNos Glorieux),Le CH,Le Grand Club,Les Plombiers, andLesHabitants (from which "Habs" is derived).
^National Film Board of Canada Production (2008)."The Sweater".NFB – Collection. National Film Board of Canada Production.Archived from the original on February 18, 2014. RetrievedSeptember 4, 2008.
^"The Spirit of Hockey".CBC.ca. CBC Archives. 2008.Archived from the original on August 8, 2012. RetrievedSeptember 20, 2008.
