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54-594: On the idea of Jimmy Gardner of the Montreal Wanderers , Ambrose O'Brien set up the 'Les Canadiens' club as a francophone team created to attract fans away from the Montreal Le National of the rival Canadian Hockey Association and provide a local rivalry for the Wanderers. To manage the club, Gardner arranged for O'Brien to hire francophone Jack Laviolette who would manage and captain

108-707: A 3-year deal that expired after the 2016–17 season; the games were called by Bartlett and Jason York . Prior to this deal, TSN held the rights from 2010 through 2014; the games were broadcast on a part-time channel with Dave Randorf on play-by-play. This is a 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 Updated November 25, 2024 The Canadiens have retired 15 numbers in honour of 18 players,

162-635: A new city. Led by club president Pierre Boivin , the Canadiens returned to being a lucrative enterprise, earning additional revenues from broadcasting and arena events. In 2009, Gillett sold the franchise to a consortium led by the Molson family which included The Woodbridge Company , BCE/Bell , the Fonds de solidarité FTQ , Michael Andlauer , Luc Bertrand and the National Bank Financial Group for $ 575 million, more than double

216-458: A record for most NHL victories by a coach, was the team's head coach for its last five Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s. 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 (this streak came to an end in the 2000s). In 1996, the Habs moved from

270-655: A record-low value of the Canadian dollar , Montreal fans feared their team would end up relocated to the United States. Team owner Molson Brewery sold control of the franchise and the Molson Centre to American businessman George N. Gillett Jr. in 2001, with the right 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

324-540: A result, games on RDS are blacked out outside the Canadiens' home market of Quebec, Atlantic Canada and parts of Eastern Ontario shared with the Ottawa Senators . At least 22 Canadiens games per season (primarily through its Saturday night La super soirée LNH ), including all playoff games, are televised nationally by TVA Sports. TSN2 assumed the English-language regional television rights in

378-513: Is not explained. A possible reason is that a Montreal franchise could be worth more in a potential future sale, while Haileybury was exiting the NHA anyway. According to Andy O'Brien's book, Ambrose O'Brien himself is quoted as saying he sold the Canadiens to Kennedy "too soon", commenting on a 1967 sale of the Canadiens for millions of dollars. Another version of the events, as stated in Holzman's book

432-418: 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 waistline. The main road sweater is mainly white with a red and blue stripe across the waist, red at the end of both arm sleeves red shoulder yokes. The basic design has been in use since 1914 and took its current form in 1925, generally evolving as materials changed. Because of

486-531: Is sung in English. 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" stands for "hockey", not " Habitants ," a popular misconception. According to NHL.com,

540-474: Is that Kennedy received the franchise for free, but had to pay $ 7,500 for Newsy Lalonde . In Young's biography of Ambrose O'Brien, it is stated that the Canadiens name and players were transferred to Kennedy. In any event, in the 1910–11 season manager Laviolette and the players of the 'Les Canadiens' team (and none of the Haileybury players) signed up with Kennedy. The Haileybury Hockey Club resumed play in

594-657: The 1926–27 season . The club began the 1930s decade successfully, with Stanley Cup wins in 1930 and 1931 . The Canadiens and its cross-town rivals the Montreal Maroons , who stopped playing after the 1937–38 NHL season , declined both on the ice and economically during the Great Depression . Losses grew to the point where the team owners considered selling the team to interests in Cleveland , Ohio, though local investors were ultimately found to finance

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648-729: The 1976–77 season , the Canadiens set three still-standing team records – fewest losses (8) in an 80-game season, the longest home unbeaten streak (34), and best goal differential (+216) – and one record that lasted until the 2022–23 Boston Bruins beat it, for the most points (132) in an 80-game season. The next season, 1977–78, the team had a 28-game unbeaten streak, the second-longest in NHL history . The next generation of stars included Guy Lafleur , Yvan Cournoyer , Ken Dryden , Pete Mahovlich , Jacques Lemaire , Pierre Larouche , Steve Shutt , Bob Gainey , Serge Savard , Guy Lapointe and Larry Robinson . Scotty Bowman , who would later set

702-557: The 2020–21 season , the league moved the Canadiens along with the other six teams from Canada to the North Division . Due to the COVID-19 pandemic , the Canadiens only played against teams in the division in the regular season to avoid travel restrictions between the United States and Canada . All teams in the division played without fans to begin the season. The Canadiens advanced through the 2021 Stanley Cup playoffs , beating

756-618: The Foster Hewitt Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame. The first two recipients of the award were Danny Gallivan and Rene Lecavalier in 1984. The other three award recipients are Doug Smith (1985), Dick Irvin Jr. (1988), and Gilles Tremblay (2002). Players Builders Source: "MTL Records - Montréal Canadiens - History" . records.nhl.com . Retrieved November 22, 2023 . These are

810-848: The Habs , are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal . The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference . Since 1996, the team has played its home games at Bell Centre , originally known as Molson Centre. The Canadiens previously played at the Montreal Forum , which housed the team for seven decades and all but their first two Stanley Cup championships. Founded in 1909,

864-646: The Montreal Canadiens for two seasons before retiring as a player. Gardner then coached the Canadiens for two seasons and in later years coached the Hamilton Tigers , Providence Reds , and teams in the Western Canada Hockey League and Quebec Hockey League. Gardner is credited with helping to found the Montreal Canadiens in 1909, including its name. As an official of the Wanderers, he met with Ambrose O'Brien during

918-661: The Montreal Expos baseball team but was dropped from the franchise when they moved to Washington, D.C. in 2004–05 and became the Washington Nationals . With the switch, 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. In June 2020, Youppi became the first mascot from a Canadian-based club to be honoured in The Mascot Hall of Fame. Youppi's induction in

972-602: The National Football League 's Arizona Cardinals . The franchise is one of the " Original Six ", the teams that made up the NHL from 1942 until the 1967 expansion . The team's championship season in 1992–93 marked the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup . The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times than any other franchise, having earned 24 championships, with 23 victories since

1026-628: The Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round of the playoffs 4–3, overcoming a 3–1 Maple Leafs lead in the series. The Canadiens then swept the Winnipeg Jets in the second round, advancing to the Stanley Cup semifinals. The Canadiens defeated the Vegas Golden Knights in the semifinals, clinching an overtime victory in game 6 of the series, and reaching their first Stanley Cup Finals in 28 years, whilst also being

1080-544: The Toronto Maple Leafs , who first faced the Canadiens as the Toronto Arenas in 1917. The teams met 16 times in the playoffs, including five Stanley Cup Finals . Featuring the two largest cities in Canada and two of the largest fanbases in the league, the rivalry is sometimes dramatized as being emblematic of Canada's English and French linguistic divide. From 1938 to 1970, they were the only two Canadian teams in

1134-453: The " Battle of Quebec ". Montreal Canadiens games are broadcast locally in both the French and English languages. CHMP 98.5 is the Canadiens' French-language radio flagship. As of the 2017–18 season, the team's regional television in both languages, and its English-language radio rights, are held by Bell Media . CKGM , TSN Radio 690 , is the English-language radio flagship; it acquired

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1188-482: The $ 275 million he spent on the purchase eight years prior. During the 2008–09 season , the Canadiens celebrated their 100th anniversary with various events, including hosting both the 2009 NHL All-Star Game , and the 2009 NHL entry draft . The Canadiens became the first team in NHL history to reach 3,000 victories with their 5–2 victory over the Florida Panthers on December 29, 2008. For

1242-486: The 1940s. The story was later made into an animated short, The Sweater , narrated by Carrier. A passage from the short story appears on the 2002 issue of the Canadian five-dollar bill . 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

1296-461: The 2017–18 season, with John Bartlett on play-by-play, and Dave Poulin , Mike Johnson and Craig Button on colour commentary. All other games, including all playoff games, are televised nationally by Sportsnet or CBC . Bartlett returned to Sportsnet over the 2018 off-season, and was succeeded by Bryan Mudryk . English-language regional rights were previously held by Sportsnet East (with CJNT City Montreal as an overflow channel), under

1350-493: The Canadiens are the oldest continuously operating professional ice hockey team worldwide, and the only existing NHL club to predate the founding of the NHL . One of the oldest North American professional sports franchises, the Canadiens' history predates that of every other Canadian franchise outside the Canadian Football League 's Toronto Argonauts , as well as every American franchise outside baseball and

1404-698: The Canadiens, including suggesting the team name. Gardner's playing career started with Montreal Hockey Club amateur men's team of the Canadian Amateur Hockey League in 1900, where he played until 1903, winning the Stanley Cup twice, in 1902 and 1903 as one of the 'Little Men of Iron'. In 1903, the players of the Montreal Hockey Club left to form the new Montreal Wanderers of the Federal Amateur Hockey League (FAHL). After one season with

1458-707: The Canadiens. The Maroons suspended operations, and several of their 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 1953 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 15 seasons from 1965 to 1979 , with another dynastic run of four-straight Cups from 1976 to 1979. In

1512-486: The English NHL shield logo. 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 green maple 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

1566-536: The Jubilee Arena. After the 1910 NHA season , Georges Kennedy of Club Athletique Canadien threatened legal action against the NHA over the use of the 'Canadiens' name. According to Coleman's book, O'Brien granted Kennedy the NHA franchise and assets of the Haileybury Hockey Club for $ 7,500 and suspended the 'Les Canadiens' franchise. The reason for the transaction being structured this way

1620-459: The Mascot Hall of Fame was decided by a long voting process, which included the public vote. In 2022, the Canadiens introduced an "unofficial official mascot" for its Reverse Retro series of games that season. 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

1674-484: The Montreal Forum, their home during 70 seasons and 22 Stanley Cups, to Molson Centre (now called Bell Centre ). Following Roy's departure in 1995, the Canadiens fell into an extended stretch of mediocrity, missing the playoffs in four of their next ten seasons and failing to advance past the second round of the playoffs until 2010. By the late 1990s, with both an ailing team and monetary losses exacerbated by

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1728-678: The Temiscaming League. According to Coleman (1966), in 1911 O'Brien sold the suspended NHA franchise to Toronto interests who formed the Toronto Blueshirts club, starting play in the NHA in 1912. At the same time, he sold his Cobalt franchise to Quebec interests. In 1912, O'Brien left the hockey business completely, with the sale of the Renfrew Creamery Kings . Jimmy Gardner (ice hockey) James Henry Gardner (May 21, 1881 – November 6, 1940)

1782-671: The Wanderers, Gardner then turned professional, playing two years for US teams the Calumet Miners and the Pittsburgh Professionals before returning to Canada and the Montreal Shamrocks . He would return to the Wanderers in 1908 and play for the club until 1911, winning the Cup in 1908 and 1910. He joined the new PCHA and played for New Westminster for two seasons, before returning to Montreal to play for

1836-630: The club in its first season. Ambrose O'Brien, who owned three other NHA clubs intended from the start that the club would be transferred to "French sportsmen" as soon as possible to operate. The franchise was offered to the Montreal Le National upon the NHA taking in the Ottawa and Shamrocks teams, but Le National declined. One reason offered is that Le National was committed to the Montreal Arena, and Les Canadiens were signed up for

1890-601: The first Canadian team to reach the Finals since the Vancouver Canucks in 2011 . Montreal lost the Finals to the Tampa Bay Lightning , 4–1. In 2021–22 , the Canadiens were unable to replicate their success from the prior season, ultimately finishing last in the league for the first time since the 1939–40 season and the first time in the NHL's expansion era, in what was one of the worst seasons in

1944-426: The first Canadiens given the honour in 1945, while Pierre Turgeon was the most recently inducted, in 2023. Along with players, a number of inductees from the builders category are affiliated with the club. The first inductee was vice president William Northey in 1945. The most recent inductee was Pat Burns in 2014. In addition to players and builders, five broadcasters for the Montreal Canadiens have been awarded

1998-583: 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". In French, the "Habitants" nickname dates back to at least 1914, when it was printed in Le Devoir to report a 9–3 win over Toronto on the ninth of February. The team's colours since 1911 are blue, white and red. The home sweater

2052-466: 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 founders named the team "Les Canadiens," a term identified at the time with French speakers. The team's first season was not a success, as they placed last in the league. After the first year, ownership

2106-585: The founding of the NHL, and 22 since 1927, when NHL teams became the only ones to compete for the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens also had the most championships by a team of any of the four major North American sports leagues until the New York Yankees won their 25th World Series title in 1999 . The Canadiens were founded by J. Ambrose O'Brien on December 4, 1909, as a charter member of the National Hockey Association (NHA),

2160-408: The franchise. The Canadiens finished fifth-last in the subsequent 2022–23 season . 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 of O Canada is sung in French, and the chorus

2214-432: The hockey meetings of December 1909, when the Wanderers and O'Brien's teams were left out of a new professional league. Gardner and O'Brien together worked on the idea of the new National Hockey Association, and the idea of a new francophone team for Montreal, to be named "Les Canadiens". The club would be a natural rival for the anglophone Wanderers. O'Brien, whose family controlled railway and mining business, underwrote both

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2268-556: The league. The team's other Original Six rival are the Boston Bruins , who since their NHL debut in 1924 have played the Canadiens more than any other team in both regular season play and the playoffs combined. The teams have played 34 playoff series, seven of which were in the finals. The Canadiens also had an intraprovincial rivalry with the Quebec Nordiques during their existence from 1979 to 1995, nicknamed

2322-451: The logo being a white maple leaf reading "CAC", "Club athlétique Canadien". All three designs were worn during the 2009–10 season as part of the Canadiens centenary. In the 2020–21 season, the Canadiens unveiled a "Reverse Retro" alternate uniform in collaboration with Adidas . The uniform was essentially the same as their regular red uniform, but with blue as the primary colour and red as the stripe colour. A second "Reverse Retro" uniform

2376-642: 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. The NHL retired Wayne Gretzky 's No. 99 for all its member teams at the 2000 NHL All-Star Game . The Montreal Canadiens have an affiliation with a number of inductees to the Hockey 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 and Georges Vezina were

2430-597: The new league and the Canadiens franchise. A month later, the rival league folded and O'Brien's teams absorbed some of the rival teams. O'Brien would sell the Canadiens one year later to George Kennedy , who owned Club Athletique Canadien. Gardner died in Montreal on November 6, 1940, after a lengthy illness. He was inducted posthumously into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1963. Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (French: Les Canadiens de Montréal ), officially le Club de hockey Canadien ( lit. The Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as

2484-416: The rights under a seven-year deal which began in the 2011–12 season. In June 2017, Bell Media reached a five-year extension. Regional television rights in French are held by Réseau des sports (RDS) under a 12-year deal that began in the 2014–15 NHL season . A sister to the English-language network TSN , RDS was the only French-language sports channel in Canada until the 2011 launch of TVA Sports , and

2538-413: The team's history. In the process they set team records for most regulation losses (49), most goals against (319), fewest wins (22), and fewest points (55), while their .335 point percentage was the team's third-worst ever, after only 1925–26 (.319) and 1939–40 (.260). As a result, team owner Geoff Molson authorized a "rebuild" of the roster over an extended period, a first in the modern history of

2592-508: The team's lengthy history and significance in Quebec, the sweater has been referred to as 'La Sainte-Flanelle' (the holy flannel sweater). Since 2015, the Canadiens' home red sweater is the only uniform in the league to feature the French 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

2646-470: 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 Sources: "Statistics | Historical Website of the Montreal Canadiens" . Montreal Canadiens. Archived from the original on May 5, 2009 . Retrieved June 27, 2009 . , "Hockey-Reference.com" . June 17, 2010. Archived from

2700-426: Was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach. Gardner started his career as professionalism was just starting in ice hockey. He won championships with both amateur and professional teams. After his hockey career ended, Gardner coached professionally, most notably with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey Association (NHA). Gardner helped found the NHA, the predecessor of today's National Hockey League , and

2754-483: 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. With TVA Sports becoming the national French rightsholder in the 2014–15 season through a sub-licensing agreement with Sportsnet , RDS subsequently announced a 12-year deal to maintain regional rights to Canadiens games not shown on TVA Sports. As

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2808-418: 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. The Canadiens' colours are a readily identifiable aspect 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

2862-478: Was transferred to George Kennedy of Montreal and the team's record 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 from the Mount Royal Arena to the Montreal Forum for

2916-407: 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 2017–18 jerseys. 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

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