Club de hockey Canadien National Historic Event

The Club de hockey Canadien was designated as a national historic event in 2009.

Historical importance: ingrained in Canada's cultural fabric, many French Canadians invested its triumphs and tribulations with symbolic significance,

Commemorative plaque: Bell Center (formal Molson Center) Montréal, Quebec^{Footnote 1}

The Montreal Canadiens

Formed in 1909, the Montreal Canadiens have boasted many legendary hockey players and coaches and won more professional championships than any other team, becoming the most successful franchise in National Hockey League history. Under the leadership of Frank Selke and Sam Pollock, this club earned a reputation for innovation and organizational excellence, building a team that won the Stanley Cup 16 times between 1952 and 1979 and creating a hockey dynasty. Through their triumphs and tribulations, the Habs have captured the imaginations of hockey fans everywhere, becoming deeply embedded in Canada’s cultural fabric.

Club de hockey Canadien

The Club de hockey Canadien became ingrained in Canada’s cultural fabric, particularly in Quebec, and many French Canadians invested its triumphs and tribulations with symbolic significance. Over the years, the Canadiens assembled a vast roster of some of the most significant players and coaches in NHL history, some of whom made enduring contributions to the development and expansion of professional hockey, while others are considered legends of the sport. The innovative and capable management of Frank Selke and his protégé and successor, Sam Pollock, produced a dynastic quarter-century during which the team became the model of professional sport franchises, dominating the National Hockey League and winning the Stanley Cup 16 times in 27 seasons. The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup 24 times overall, by far the most in NHL history.

The team was founded in Montréal in December 1909. Made up mostly of French Canadian players, it was created to generate greater interest in hockey by pitting a Francophone team against the city’s Anglophone teams. Despite a rocky start, over the next thirty years, the Canadiens became fierce competition for their Anglophone rivals, thus capturing the attention of French Canadians. Renowned for the speed of its players, the team was referred to as the “Flying Frenchmen” by the English press.

Unlike today, in the early 1940s the NHL had only six teams, and the Montréal Canadiens faced a formidable opponent: the Toronto Maple Leafs. During this decades long rivalry, from 1942 to 1969, a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup 22 out of the 28 years, a heady time for both teams. These years were also most significant for the Canadiens. Thanks to the innovation of its managers, Selke and Pollock, minor league clubs were set up, and the resulting pool of young talent helped the team put together three successive dynasties of star players. Over the years, many of these players, and some of their coaches, became actively involved in developing and transforming their sport and helped the Canadiens dominate the NHL until the late 1970s. It was during this golden era that the Canadiens became more entrenched in French Canadian culture, and it was during the “Richard Riot” in March 1955 that the team’s symbolic value became clear when the NHL president, an Anglophone, suspended the star player for the remaining season for fighting.

Not only did the Montréal Canadiens transform the sport, but they also boast the most hockey legends. Along with superstars such as Howie Morenz, Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur, may be mentioned other greats such as Newsy Lalonde, Georges Vézina, Aurèle Joliat, Didier Pitre, George Hainsworth, Jacques Plante, Doug Harvey, Larry Robinson, Dickie Moore, Ken Dryden, Serge Savard, Jean-Claude Tremblay, Henri Richard, Toe Blake, Bill Durnan, Ken Reardon, Elmer Lach, Bernard Geoffrion, Tom Johnson, Bert Olmstead, Yvan Cournoyer, Bob Gainey, Jacques Lemaire and Steve Shutt. Each of these players contributed significantly to the development of hockey and of the team itself, which without a doubt has made its mark on Canadian history.

Backgrounder last update: 2009-03-30