The Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club was established on December 4, 1909 and was done so to add and promote a French flavour to hockey in the Montreal area, which up to that time, was predominately run by the English with clubs like the Shamrocks, Wanderers and Victorias. The first owner J. Ambrose Obrien was neither French, nor was he from Montreal, but nontheless he wanted to establish a French Canadian team in his home town of Refrew, Ontario. It was agreed that as soon as Montreal ownership could be found, the team would be transferred. The first players chosen for the new club were Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Art Bernies and George "Skinner" Poulin. The team earned the nickname "Habs" from the French term "les Habitants" used to describe the hearty settlers in New France, the predecessor of what is now Quebec. The word Canadiens also had a similar meaning and was used to describe the local people of Montreal.
Maurice Richard joined the Canadiens in 1942-43. Teamed up with Hector "Toe" Blake and Elmer Lach and the team took off like a "rocket". That season they won 38 of 50 games, tied 7 and only lost 5 games all season. In the playoffs Richard scored 12 goals in 9 games during Montreals victories over the Maple Leafs and Black Hawks. The Canadiens now had their first cup since 1931 and the City of Montreal had their first cup since 1935. In the 1944-45 season Richard became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games. Frank Selke joined the Canadiens on August 1, 1946. He started the task of building a farm system that would feed the Canadiens the talent that would later see them set a string of records. Selke's efforts paid off with future stars such as Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion, Ralph Backstrom, Dickie Moore, Phil Goyette, and Jacques Plante.
A new guard was forming with stars like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Claude Larose, Yvan Cournoyer, and new coach Scotty Bowman. Gone were Beliveau, Richard, Talbot, Backstrom and Provost. The Canadiens continued to pile up Stanley Cups in the late 70's winning 4 straight in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. From a team and individual standpoint both amassed records and awards that may never be equalled again. Henri Richard has more Stanley Cup rings(11) than he can wear at any one time on both hands. Beliveau and Cournoyer can fill both hands with the 10 each that they have. Claude Provost has 9, Jacques Lemaire 8, Jean Guy Talbot 7 and several other members have 5 or 6 each. Compare that with Wayne Gretzky's 4 rings and you begin to see how dominant the Canadiens were.
The 80's saw the Canadiens lose their fire power. Jacques Lemair, Ken Dryden and Scotty Bowman were now gone and it was up to the likes of Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Bob Gainey to keep the dream alive. But new teams were beginning to dominate, the Islanders, and the Oilers were establishing themselves as serious threats as the next dynasty. In 1986 Patrick Roy, Shayne Corson, Stephane Richer and Peter Svoboda joined the Canadiens and led them to yet another Stanley Cup victory over Bruins, Whalers, the Rangers and finally taking out Calgary in the finals. Their 1992-93 Stanley Cup victory vaulted the Canadiens into the enviable position of being the only long term professional sports team to win a championship in every decade they played in.
March of 1996 saw the final game played at the Montreal Forum as the Canadiens moved across the street to the Molson Centre. Now the new generation of Canadiens had to carry the torch. Mark Recchi, Pierre Turgeon, Valeri Bure, Saku Koivu and Martin Rucinsky. As time marches on, new Canadiens will continue to come, and old ones will continue to go, but the ghosts of the past will always be with us as the Canadiens continue their quest for hockey's holy grail…the Stanley Cup.
