Montreal Canadiens: Encyclopedia II - Montreal Canadiens - Franchise history

Montreal Canadiens - Franchise history

With the possible exception of baseball's New York Yankees, no North American sports team has had as storied and as successful a history as the Montreal Canadiens, the oldest team in professional hockey. They have won 24 Stanley Cups, eleven more than the team with the next largest number – the Toronto Maple Leafs.

The Maple Leafs are regarded by many as the Canadiens bitter rivals although within the Province of Quebec at least, this is open for debate. Since the 1970's, the Boston Bruins have developed a heated and emotional rivalry with the Canadiens through their many playoff encounters. The former Québec Nordiques were also bitter rivals of the Canadiens, and their matchups came to be known as "The Battle of Quebec".

However their rivalry with the Toronto Maple Leafs is the most storied and most famous rivalry in North American professional ice hockey.

Montreal Canadiens - 1909 to 1931

Before there was an NHL, there was a Montreal Canadiens team. They were a charter member of the league's forerunner, the National Hockey Association (NHA), in 1909, operating as the Haileybury Hockey Club. The next season, the Club Antique-Canadien, seeking admission to the NHA, threatened suit for copyright infringement over the NHA's Les Canadiens club, and were admitted to the league, taking over the Haileybury franchise and renaming it the Canadiens, while the former Les Canadiens franchise was taken over by Toronto interests the next season.

In 1916 the Canadiens beat the Portland Rosebuds of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association to win their first Stanley Cup; and they returned to the finals the following season, only to lose to the Seattle Metropolitans.

The Canadiens and four other NHA team executives formed the NHL in 1917. Two years later, they once again faced Seattle for the Stanley Cup, but tragedy struck with the series tied at two games apiece: a Spanish Flu pandemic hit Seattle, and star Joe Hall died. The remainder of the series was cancelled.

In addition to Hall's death, the next season they lost Joe Malone, the league's leading scorer. Malone was on loan from the dormant Quebec Bulldogs, but that team returned to the ice in 1919.

With rookie Howie Morenz completing a line with veterans Aurel Joliat and Billy Boucher, the Canadiens once again reached the top in 1924, defeating both the Calgary Tigers (of the Western Canada Hockey League) and the Vancouver Maroons (of the PCHA) in a convoluted playoff format. In 1925, the Habs lost to the Victoria Cougars (now the Detroit Red Wings) in the last year of the old Western Hockey League challenging for the Stanley Cup.

The Canadiens lost goaltender Georges Vézina to tuberculosis in late 1925, and finished last in the league. The following season, the Canadiens signed a suitable replacement in George Hainsworth, who would win the newly created Vezina Trophy for best goaltender. Hainsworth would be the league's best goalie for the next few years.

Generally, however, the Habs stumbled in the playoffs until they won their third Stanley Cup in 1930, defeating the seemingly invincible Boston Bruins. The "Flying Frenchmen" once again beat the regular-season champion Bruins in the 1931 playoffs, then beat the Ottawa Senators to win their fourth Cup.

Montreal Canadiens - 1932 to 1966

The Canadiens' stars (Morenz and Joliat) faded out in the early 1930s, and they had the worst record in the league by the 1935-36 NHL season. Stunned by such a horrible performance, the NHL gave the Habs rights to all French Canadian players for two years. They had the second-best record in the NHL in 1936-37, but were stunned again by Morenz's death following a devastating hit by the Chicago Blackhawks' Earl Seibert. The Canadiens were once again mired in mediocrity for several more seasons, until a team led by the Punch Line of Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach lifted the Cup again in 1944 after losing only five games in the regular season.

In 1945, Richard made NHL history by becoming the first player to score 50 goals in one season, reaching the mark on the final night of the season. Despite their power, the Habs lost to the Toronto Maple Leafs in the semi-finals. The team was to be invigorated in the 1946 playoffs, winning their sixth Stanley Cup.

In 1957, brothers Tom and Hartland Molson, owners of the Molson brewery, purchased the team. The 1950s were by far the most successful decade for the Canadiens, and it is believed by many that the Habs of this era were the best team in NHL history. Between 1951 and 1960, the Canadiens made the finals every year, winning six times (including a record five straight between 1956 and 1960). Toe Blake would become coach, and they added more of the league's great players such as Jean Béliveau, Dickie Moore, Doug Harvey, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, goalie Jacques Plante (who, in 1959, became the first goalie to regularly wear a mask) and Maurice Richard's brother Henri.

Montreal fell into a state of unbridled love, if not obsession, with the Canadiens. At no time was this more evident than when Rocket Richard was suspended for the rest of the season in 1955 for striking an official in a game against the Detroit Red Wings. Montrealers rioted in the streets, causing millions of dollars in damage. The Canadiens had to forfeit the game, and went on to lose in the finals to the Red Wings. In 1956 the Canadiens established a farm team in Peterborough (now known as the Peterborough Petes), which is in the OHL (Ontario Hockey League).

Despite Rocket Richard's retirement in 1960, the Canadiens looked ready to win a sixth straight Cup in 1961; but they were stunned in the playoffs by the Chicago Blackhawks in the semi-finals. The Canadiens continued to suffer (relative) playoff frustration until they won the Cup again in 1965, in Yvan Cournoyer's rookie season, and repeated in 1966. The following season, the Canadiens lost to the Maple Leafs in the Stanley Cup finals, the last time the two hated rivals met each other in the final round.

Montreal Canadiens - 1967 to 1986

With expansion in 1968, the Canadiens handily defeated the fledgling St. Louis Blues in the finals during each of the next two seasons. The Canadiens missed out on a playoff spot in 1970 on the final day of the regular season, thanks to a tiebreaker (and since Toronto missed out as well, it meant the only time in NHL history no Canadian teams made the playoffs.)

The Habs were back to their winning ways in 1971, defeating the Blackhawks to capture yet another Stanley Cup in goalie Ken Dryden's rookie season (starting a career where he would average an astonishing 2 goals allowed per game), in addition to long-time Leafs' star Frank Mahovlich's first in a Canadiens' uniform. After losing in the quarter-finals to the Bruins in 1972 (Guy Lafleur's rookie season), they would once again win the Cup over Chicago in 1973.

The Canadiens were upset by the New York Rangers in the first round in 1974, and lost out to the Buffalo Sabres in the 1975 semi-finals. But in 1976, under the leadership of head coach Scotty Bowman, they set a record in the NHL by losing only eight games in an eighty game schedule and went on to win the Cup again, thwarting the Philadelphia Flyers' hopes for a third consecutive championship. The team was led by Lafleur (who was in the midst of six straight 50-goal seasons), Cournoyer, Steve Shutt, Pete Mahovlich and Larry Robinson. The Canadiens would then go on to win three more consecutive Cups to close out the 1970s.

Most of the Canadiens' best players were retired or traded by the early 1980s (the major exceptions being Bob Gainey, Robinson, and Lafleur). They would, however, pick up star Swedish left winger Mats Naslund, as well as Guy Carbonneau in the early 1980s. By the 1985-86 NHL season, they once again had a top goalie in rookie Patrick Roy. Roy would lead the Canadiens to their only Stanley Cup of the decade that season, defeating the Calgary Flames.

Montreal Canadiens - 1986 to Today

The Canadiens would continue to consistently perform through the early 1990s, winning another Cup in 1993 over the Los Angeles Kings. That season, they picked up scoring threat Vincent Damphousse from the Edmonton Oilers, in addition to having forwards Kirk Muller, Brian Bellows, and Stephan Lebeau - all four of whom scored more than 30 goals each during that season.

By 1995, the Canadiens disintegrated and missed the playoffs for the first time in 25 years. The final straw came in December of that year, when Patrick Roy allowed nine goals against the Detroit Red Wings in one game and, after head coach Mario Tremblay pulled him from the goal well after the game was out of reach, Roy approached then team president Ronald Corey and told him, "I just played my last game in this town." Then he walked past Tremblay with a defiant look as he took his seat behind the bench. He was dealt to the eventual Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche along with Mike Keane for Jocelyn Thibault, Andrei Kovalenko, and Martin Rucinsky. On March 11 1996, the Canadiens defeated the Dallas Stars 4-1 in the final game at the historic Montreal Forum. The team moved into the new Molson Centre (renamed the Bell Centre in 2003) the following Saturday. Despite solid players like Pierre Turgeon, Mark Recchi, Vladimir Malakhov, and Patrice Brisebois at various points in the late 1990s, the Canadiens would stumble and eventually miss the playoffs three straight seasons between 1999 and 2001. There was even small talk of the team moving, especially after American investor George N. Gillett Jr. was the team's only interested buyer when the Molson family sold it in 2001.

In the fall of 2001, it was revealed that centre Saku Koivu, who had been with the team since 1995, had cancer and would miss the season. However, he came back and, along with the surprising strong play of goalie Jose Theodore, inspired the team for a run to the 2002 playoffs as the final seed in the Eastern Conference. They then upset the Bruins in the first round, but lost to the cinderella Carolina Hurricanes in the second round.

On November 22, 2003, the Canadiens participated in the Heritage Classic, the first outdoor hockey game in the history of the NHL. They defeated the Oilers 4-3 in front of more than 55,000 fans – an NHL attendance record – at Commonwealth Stadium in Edmonton. The team seemed to turn a corner at that point, and finished the season in the 7th playoff seed with 93 points. The team would again play the Bruins in the playoffs. Coming back from a 3-1 deficit, the Canadiens would win the rest of the games, including a thrilling Game 7 in Boston, to again upset the Bruins. Sadly, however, the team would run into the future Cup winners, the Tampa Bay Lightning, and fall in a sweep.

The 2004 lockout prevented the Canadiens from gaining on the momentum of the 2004 season, but the team's future still looks bright.

On July 22, 2005, the Canadiens were awarded the fifth position in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft to be held on July 30, 2005 in Ottawa, Canada. They used the fifth pick to draft goaltender Carey Price of the Tri-City Americans of the Western Hockey League. On September 19, prior to the start of the 2005-06 season, the Canadiens announced that they had adopted "Youppi!", the popular former Montréal Expos mascot who was left behind when the Expos moved to Washington. This is the first time the Canadiens have had a mascot in their 90+ year history.

During the 2005 training camp and pre-season, the main story was arguably the performance of the team's 2nd round pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft, right winger Guillaume Latendresse. The 18-years old Latendresse won over fans, media, teammates and team management alike, playing with skills and passion, on-level with veteran players and surpassing other rookies. Unfortunately, however, Latendresse was told he would not play with the Habs in 2005-06. He was sent back to the QMJHL on October 2, 2005. Other stories included elite Swiss defenseman Mark Streit's quest at making the NHL after spending 10 years in the Switzerland National League A with the ZSC Lions and the race for the backup goaltender position left vacant by the injured Cristobal Huet between Carey Price, NCAA Brown University alumni Yann Danis, and underdog journeyman Olivier Michaud. However, on January 13, 2006, with the teams' performance not up to standards, Claude Julien was fired as coach, and replaced on an interim basis by Bob Gainey, the teams' general manager. Guy Carbonneau is scheduled to take over as head coach of the Montreal Canadiens as soon as he becomes comfortable with the position.

The Montreal Canadiens were a part of the "Original Six" era. They're rivals, the Toronto Maple Leafs, due to being the only 2 Canadian teams at the time. The Leafs and Habs have met 2, 718 times, the Leafs winning 1, 143 of them, the Habs winning 1, 101, and the remainding 474 times finished as a draw. As of 1917-2003.

Montreal Canadiens - The Future

A major announcement about the one hundred year anniversary of Les Habs was made on October 2, 2005. On October 15 of that year, to begin the Canadiens' centennial countdown, it was announced that three more jersey numbers would be retired — Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer's number 12 on November 12 before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs, and the number 5 worn by Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion on March 11, 2006 prior to their contest against the New York Rangers, the other team he played for after a one-year retirement — the first since moving from Le Forum during a "Legends Night" ceremony, with one additional number to be hoisted to the rafters in each of the three following seasons. They also announced ambitious plans for their Centennial year of 2008-09, including plans to bid on hosting the World Junior Hockey Championships, the NHL Draft and the 2009 NHL All-Star Game, all to be held at Centre Bell, although it has been widely expected that the Phoenix Coyotes are scheduled to receive that honor because of the cancelled 2006 event due to the 2006 Winter Olympics.

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Franchise history", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki