The Montreal Canadiens[note 4] (French: Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially le Club de hockey Canadien (lit. The Canadian Hockey Club)[5] and colloquially known as the Habs,[note 5] are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Since 1996, the team has played its home games at Bell Centre, originally known as Molson Centre.[6] The Canadiens previously played at the Montreal Forum, which housed the team for seven decades and all but their first two Stanley Cup championships.[note 6]

Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the oldest continuously operating professional ice hockey team worldwide, and the only existing NHL club to predate the founding of the NHL. One of the oldest North American professional sports franchises, the Canadiens’ history predates that of every other Canadian franchise outside the Toronto Argonauts, as well as every American franchise outside baseball and the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals. The franchise is one of the “Original Six”, the teams that made up the NHL from 1942 until the 1967 expansion. The team’s championship season in 1992–93 marked the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup.[7]

The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times than any other franchise, having earned 24 championships, with 23 victories since the founding of the NHL, and 22 since 1927, when NHL teams became the only ones to compete for the Stanley Cup.[8] The Canadiens also had the most championships by a team of any of the four major North American sports leagues until the New York Yankees won their 25th World Series title in 1999.

The Canadiens were founded by J. Ambrose O’Brien on December 4, 1909, as a charter member of the National Hockey Association,[9][10] the forerunner to the National Hockey League. It was to be the team of the francophone community in Montreal, composed of francophone players, and under francophone ownership as soon as possible.[11] The founders named the team “Les Canadiens,” a term identified at the time with French speakers.[12] The team’s first season was not a success, as they placed last in the league. After the first year, ownership was transferred to George Kennedy of Montreal and the team’s record improved over the next seasons.[13] The team won its first Stanley Cup championship in the 1915–16 season.[14] In 1917, with four other NHA teams, the Canadiens formed the NHL,[15] and they won their first NHL Stanley Cup during the 1923–24 season, led by Howie Morenz.[16] The team moved from the Mount Royal Arena to the Montreal Forum for the 1926–27 season.[17]

The club began the 1930s decade successfully, with Stanley Cup wins in 1930 and 1931. The Canadiens and its cross-town rivals the Montreal Maroons, who stopped playing after the 1937–38 NHL season, declined both on the ice and economically during the Great Depression. Losses grew to the point where the team owners considered selling the team to interests in Cleveland, Ohio, though local investors were ultimately found to finance the Canadiens.[18] The Maroons suspended operations, and several of their players moved to the Canadiens.[19]
Five men playing hockey in a crowded arena.
Game between the Canadiens and the New York Rangers in 1962.

Led by the “Punch Line” of Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Toe Blake and Elmer Lach in the 1940s, the Canadiens enjoyed success again atop the NHL. From 1953 to 1960, the franchise won six Stanley Cups, including a record five straight from 1956 to 1960, with a new set of stars coming to prominence: Jean Beliveau, Dickie Moore, Doug Harvey, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Jacques Plante and Richard’s younger brother, Henri.[20]

The Canadiens added ten more championships in 15 seasons from 1965 to 1979, with another dynastic run of four-straight Cups from 1976 to 1979.[21] In the 1976–77 season, the Canadiens set three still-standing team records – fewest losses (8) in an 80-game season,[22] the longest home unbeaten streak (34),[23] and best goal differential (+216)[24] – and one record that lasted until the 2022–23 Boston Bruins beat it, for the most points (132) in an 80-game season.[22][25][26] The next season, 1977–78, the team had a 28-game unbeaten streak, the second-longest in NHL history.[27] The next generation of stars included Guy Lafleur, Yvan Cournoyer, Ken Dryden, Pete Mahovlich, Jacques Lemaire, Pierre Larouche, Steve Shutt, Bob Gainey, Serge Savard, Guy Lapointe and Larry Robinson. Scotty Bowman, who would later set a record for most NHL victories by a coach, was the team’s head coach for its last five Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s.[28]

Source:https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Montreal_Canadiens