The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
The Reminder has a treat for hockey fans. Over the next several editions, we will bring you an in-depth look at the history of each of Canada's six NHL teams. We start today with the Montreal Canadiens. * * * Not only are the Montreal Canadiens the oldest team in pro hockey, they are also the most successful. The team was a charter member of the National Hockey Association (NHA, the forerunner to the NHL) in 1909, operating as the Haileybury Hockey Club. The following year, the Club Antique-Canadien joined the league, taking over the Haileybury franchise and christening it the Canadiens. The name "Les Canadiens de Montral" is a reference to French Canadians. The club was originally Montreal's French Canadian team, while the long-defunct Montreal Maroons were the English Canadian team. The Habs won their first Stanley Cup even before there was an NHL. They defeated the Portland Rosebuds of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) to take the coveted trophy in 1916. In 1917-18, the first NHL season got underway with the Canadiens joining four other former NHA teams Ð the Montreal Wanderers, Quebec Bulldogs, Toronto Arenas and Ottawa Senators. The Canadiens made their first NHL final appearance two years later versus the Seattle Metropolitans; however, with both teams having won two games, the series was canceled due to the Spanish Flu pandemic. With stars like Aurel Joliat and Howie Morenz, Montreal was back in top form in 1924, defeating the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League and the Vancouver Maroons of the PCHA for hockey supremacy. A few years of drought Ð uncommon in later years Ð followed until the "Flying Frenchmen" upset a tough Boston Bruins lineup in 1930 and 1931, carrying home Lord Stanley's mug both years. By 1935-36, the Canadiens had become the league's cellar dwellers. After a brief rebound, Montreal endured several more unmemorable years. A young player named Maurice "The Rocket" Richard would help change that. In the early 1940s, the man with the unforgettable glare helped form "The Punch Line" along with Hector "Toe" Blake and Elmer Lach. The Habs reclaimed the Cup in 1944 on the heels of a spectacular regular season. Then a freshman, Richard and his immense talents made a mockery of those who believed he was too small for the big leagues. In fact the native of Laval, Quebec proved to be a physical presence as he chipped in goal after goal en route to a magical career that made him the team's all-time most popular player. A few Cups later, in 1957, the owners of the Molson brewery bought the Canadiens. It was the beginning of a long and storied relationship between the two uniquely Canadian entities. Back on the ice, the Habs' amazing success continued. Between 1951 and 1960, they made the final every year, hoisting the big silver trophy six times, including a record five straight from 1956 to 1960. By now more legends had come on board, from Jean Bliveau and Dickie Moore to Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion and goalie Jacques Plante. Room was also made for Maurice's younger brother, Henri Richard. Despite the elder Richard's retirement in 1960, Montreal continued its unprecedented reign throughout that decade, winning it all in 1965, 1966. 1968 and 1969 Ð their 16th Cup. With a new crop of Habs, including the likes of goalie Ken Dryden, Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer and Larry Robinson, the Cups kept piling up throughout the 1970s. They took home another six, including four straight to close out the decade. But by the 1980s, some of the magic from years past had dissipated. The NHL had swelled to 21 teams and its talent pool spread thinner than ever before. Winning no longer seemed so easy. Backed by the stellar netminding of a young Patrick Roy, Montreal managed just one Cup in the 1980s, defeating the Calgary Flames in the 1986 final. They again faced Calgary in the 1989 final, but came up empty-handed. See 'Lowered' P.# Con't from P.# Despite his sometimes brash nature, Roy quickly became one of the most popular players to ever don the "CH." Other notables from the '80s include winger Mats Naslund, defensive forward Guy Carbonneau and defenseman Chris Chelios. As the 1990s arrived, Montreal remained a perennial playoff presence but weren't often considered a Cup contender. Yet lowered expectations weren't enough to stop them. In 1993, thanks again to the heroics of Roy and one overtime miracle after another, Montreal defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings in five games. A 24th Stanley Cup banner would hang from the rafters of the famed Montreal Forum. In hindsight, the joy was short-lived. In 1995, the Habs missed the playoffs for the first time in a quarter-century. They also lost Roy, who, after being kept in goal for nine goals during a drubbing at the hands of the Detroit Red Wings, announced he was through with the Canadiens. He was soon moved to the Colorado Avalanche. Another major change came in 1996 when the Canadiens vacated the Forum in favour of the massive Ð and modern Ð Molson Centre (since renamed the Bell Centre). Some say the ghosts of the Forum never made the move with them. Whatever the case, limited success has been the norm ever since. The Canadiens missed the playoffs three straight seasons between 1999 and 2001, the year American businessman George N. Gillett Jr. bought the club from the Molson family. The future began looking brighter in 2002 when they returned to the playoffs, advancing to the second round as an eighth seed. To top it off, new number one goalie Jose Theodore won the Hart and Vezina trophies. The team that has made so much history over the decades continued in the trend in November 2003. Montreal defeated the Edmonton Oilers in the first outdoor hockey game in NHL history, held in a modified football stadium. The Canadiens managed a first-round upset in 2004, but were handily defeated in Round Two by the eventual Stanley Cup champion Tampa Bay Lightning. They again lost to the eventual Cup winner in the 2006 playoffs when the Carolina Hurricanes bested them in the opening round. By now the surprisingly effective Cristobal Huet was the new number one, with the struggling Theodore having been shipped to Colorado. Looking ahead, Montreal seems eager to build a team centred around skill. In addition to star winger Alex Kovalev, captain Saku Koivu and the two Michaels Ð Ryder and Ribeiro Ð management has brought in the speedy Sergei Samsanov and the capable Mike Johnson. Off the ice, preparations are well underway for the monumental 2008-09 season, which will mark the club's 100th anniversary. Given the long winning tradition of the Montreal Canadiens, no celebration will be quite complete without a visit from Lord Stanley in the spring. Hall of Famers Jean Bliveau; Bob Cob; Hector "Toe" Blake; Emile Bouchard; Sprague Cleghorn; Yvan Cournoyer; Ken Dryden; Dick Duff; Bill Durnan; Bob Gainey; Herb Gardiner; Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrion; George Hainsworth; Joe Hall; Doug Harvey; Aurel Joliat; Tom Johnson; Elmer Lach; Guy Lafleur; Newsy Lalonde; Jacques Laperrire; Jacques Laronde; Guy Lapointe; Jack Laviolette; Jacques Lemaire; Frank Mahovlich; Joe Malone; Sylvio Mantha; Dickie Moore; Howie Morenz; Bud O'Connor; Bert Olmstead; Didier Pitre; Jacques Plante; Ken Reardon; Maurice Richard; Henri Richard; Larry Robinson; Patrick Roy; Denis Savard; Serge Savard; Steve Shutt; Albert "Babe" Siebert; Georges Vzina; Lorne "Gump" Worsley. Team Captains Saku Koivu 1999- present Vincent Damphousse 1996-99 Pierre Turgeon 1995-Oct.1996 Mike Keane 1995 (Apr.-Dec.) Kirk Muller 1994-95 Guy Carbonneau 1990-94 Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios (Co-Cap.) 1989-90 Bob Gainey 1981-89 Serge Savard 1979-81 Yvan Cournoyer 1975-79 Henri Richard 1971-75 Jean Bliveau 1961-71 Doug Harvey 1960-61 Maurice "The Rocket" Richard 1956-60 Emile "Butch" Bouchard 1948-56 Bill Durnan 1948 (Jan.-Apr.) Hector "Toe" Blake 1940-48 Walter Buswell 1939-40 Albert Babe Siebert 1936-39 Sylvio Mantha 1933-36 George Hainsworth 1932-33 Sylvio Mantha 1926-32 Billy Coutu 1925-26 Sprague Cleghorn 1922-25 Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde 1916-22 Howard McNamara 1915-16 James Henry "Jimmy" Gardner 1913-15 Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde 1912-13 Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette 1911-12 Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde 1910-11 Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette 1909-10 Retired Numbers 1 Jacques Plante, G, 1952-63 - Number retired on October 7, 1995. 2 Doug Harvey, D, 1947-61 - Number retired on October 26, 1985. 4 Jean Bliveau, C, 1950-71 - Number retired on October 9, 1971. 5 Bernard "Boom-Boom" Geoffrion, RW, 1950-64 - Number retired on March 11, 2006. 7 Howie Morenz, C, 1923-34 & 1936-37 - Number retired on November 2, 1937. 9 Maurice "Rocket" Richard, RW, 1942-60 - Number retired on October 6, 1960. 10 Guy Lafleur, RW, 1971-85 - Number retired on February 16, 1985 12 Dickie "Digger" Moore, LW, 1951-63; and Yvan Cournoyer, RW, 1963-79 - Numbers retired on November 12, 2005. 16 Henri Richard, C, 1955-75 - Number retired on December 10, 1975 Franchise Scoring Leaders 1. Guy Lafleur (1,246 points in 961 games) 2. Jean Beliveau (1,219 points in 1,125 games) 3. Henri Richard (1,046 points in 1,256 games) 4. Maurice Richard (965 points in 978 games) 5. Larry Robinson (883 points in 1,202 games) 6. Yvan Cournoyer (863 points in 968 games) 7. Jacques Lemaire (835 points in 853 games) 8. Steve Shutt (776 points in 871 games) 9. Bernie Geoffrion (759 points in 766 games) 10. Elmer Lach (623 points in 664 games) Stanley Cup Victories 1916; 1924; 1930; 1931; 1944; 1946; 1953; 1956; 1957; 1958; 1959; 1960; 1965; 1966; 1968; 1969; 1971; 1973; 1976; 1977; 1978; 1979; 1986; 1993. Ð Compiled article, with notes from Wikipedia.8/16/2006
