History of the Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, formally Le Club de Hockey Canadien, was founded on December 4, 1909. Created as a founding member of the National Hockey Association with the aim of appealing to Montreal’s francophone population. Played their first game on January 5, 1910, and captured their first Stanley Cup in 1916. With 25 NHL titles overall, they are the most successful team in league history. The Canadiens’ home rink, the Montreal Arena, was destroyed by fire in January 1918.
About History of the Montreal Canadiens in brief
The Montreal Canadiens ice hockey club, formally Le Club de Hockey Canadien, was founded on December 4, 1909. Created as a founding member of the National Hockey Association with the aim of appealing to Montreal’s francophone population. Played their first game on January 5, 1910, and captured their first Stanley Cup in 1916. With 25 NHL titles overall, they are the most successful team in league history. The Canadiens’ home rink, the Montreal Arena, was destroyed by fire in January 1918. After spending seven seasons in the Mount Royal Arena, the Canadiens moved into the Montreal Forum in 1926, sharing it with the rival Montreal Maroons until 1938. After 72 years in the Forum, they moved to the Bell Centre in 1996. The 1976–77 team, often regarded as the greatest in NHL history, won 60 games while losing only 8, a record for fewest losses in an 80-game season. The 1993 team set an NHL record with 10 consecutive overtime victories in one playoff year and is the most recent Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup. The Hockey Hall of Fame has inducted over 50 former Canadiens players, as well as ten executives. The team has retired 15 numbers, representing 17 players, and has honoured ten off-ice personnel in its Builder’s Row. The club struggled during the Great Depression, nearly relocating to Cleveland, Ohio, in 1935 and contemplated suspending operations in 1939. Their fortunes rebounded following World War II as they won six championships, including a record five consecutive titles from 1956 to 1960. In 1959, Jacques Plante revolutionized the game when he became the first goaltender to consistently wear a mask during play.
Maurice \”Rocket\” Richard emerged as the team’s star in the 1940s, and during the 1944–45 season was the first player to score 50 goals in a single season. In 1984 the Canadiens eliminated the World Hockey Association’s Quebec Nordiques in six games, but not before the Good Friday Massacre made headlines. In 2003, Montreal participated in the first regular season outdoor game in NHL History, defeating the Edmonton Oilers in the Heritage Classic. The Montreal Wanderers, owned by Ambrose O’Brien of Renfrew, Ontario, were the first francophone team to join the league. The Wanderers were initially financed by the Montreal Gazette, initially with the intent of transferring ownership to francophone sportsmen in Montreal. At the time, francophone teams were not considered to be good enough to play with the top anglophone teams. As a result, two teams were created, Les Canadiens and Les Wanderers. The NHL was created on December 2, 1909, and Les Canadiens were created two days later, with theintent of transferring the ownership of francophone fans to the top sportsmen. Later that day the ECHA’s owners chose to disband their league and form the Canadian Hockey Association in a bid to exclude the Montreal Wanderer. The Canadiens won nine championships between 1964 and 1978. In 1979, a rivalry grew between the Canadiens and the Nordiques, peaking in 1984 when the Canadiens won their 23rd Stanley Cup and their 24th in 1993.
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This page is based on the article History of the Montreal Canadiens published in Wikipedia (as of Dec. 06, 2020) and was automatically summarized using artificial intelligence.
