| Founded: | 1909 | GM: | Kent Hughes |
| Owned By: | Molson Family | Coach: | Martin St. Louis |
| Home Rink: | Bell Centre | Captain: | Nick Suzuki |
| AHL Affiliate: | Laval Rocket | ECHL Affiliate: | Trois-Rivieres Lions |
Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the longest 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 football as well as every American franchise outside baseball and the National Football League’s Arizona Cardinals. The franchise is one of the Original Six teams, a description used for the teams that made up the NHL from 1942 until the 1967 expansion. The team’s championship season in 1992–93 was the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup.
The Canadiens have won the Stanley Cup more times than any other franchise. They have won 24 Stanley Cup championships, 23 of them since the founding of the NHL and 22 of them since 1927, when NHL teams became the only ones to compete for the Stanley Cup.
Deeper Dive
- The Latest Canadiens News at The Hockey Writers
- Current Players, Salaries and Cap Info
- The Start of the NHL
- Best NHL Team of All-Time Brackets: 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens
- Why the Vezina Trophy Deserves Its Name
- Greatest Habs Player of All-Time
- Four Straight Cups in the 70s
- Storied Legacy of No. 11 In Montreal
- Canadiens Retired Jerseys – Story of a Famed Franchise
- Montreal Canadiens Top 20 Goal Scorers of All-Time
- Montreal Canadiens’ 50-Goal Scorers
- Canadiens With 100-Point Seasons
- The Montreal Forum: 1908-1996
- When the Canadiens’ Dynasty Ended For Good
- Top 5 All-Time Canadiens’ All-Star Moments
- The Montreal Canadiens’ Franchise Four
2023-24 Season Roster
A Dynasty Is Born
In NHL history, only a single franchise has won five straight Stanley Cups. Unsurprisingly, the Montreal Canadiens, with a league-leading 24 championships up to now, accomplished the feat from 1956-60. It’s really only unsurprising in retrospect, though. Read more…
The Players
- Maurice ‘Rocket’ Richard: More Than Just a Game
- The 50 Goal Season
- Jacques Plante: The Man in the Fiberglass Mask
- Canadiens’ Ken Dryden – Truly One of a Kind
- Top 3 Canadiens Goaltenders
- Canadiens Have a New King of the Crease as Price Passes Plante
- Guy Lafleur: Last of the Great Habs Skaters
- Howie Morenz: Hockey Royalty
- Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion: Hockey Royalty
- Serge Savard: Memories of a Hall of Fame Career
- Doug Harvey: Greatest of Them All?
- Top 10 Canadiens of the 2000s
- Career of Jacques Lemaire: The Underrated Legend
- Kovalev and the Canadiens: The Perfect Match
- Underrated Canadiens: Mats Naslund
- One For the Ages: Mats Naslund’s 1985-1986 Season
- A Season To Remember: Steve Schutt’s 1976-1977 Campaign
- Mike Keane: Hard Work, Determination, and 3 Stanley Cups
- Jean Beliveau: Miracle of Modesty
- Remembering Koivu’s Breakout Season
- Is Andre Markov a Habs Legend?
More Canadiens History
- Myth of Montreal Canadiens’ Early Success
- The Best Habs Teams Since 1993 Stanley Cup
- 5 Canadiens Goalies You Didn’t Know Were Habs
- Candiens’ 70s Starts Landed in Strange 80s Uniforms
- Legendary Big Three On Defense
- Newsy Lalonde’s Six-Goal Performance
- A Memorable Game 7
- Hart to Hart: The Canadiens’ Hart Winning Goalies of the 2000s
- 1993 Canadiens: A Love Letter
- A Czech History of the Habs
Greatest Teams of All Time
- 1959-60 Montreal Canadiens
- 1968-69 Montreal Canadiens
- 1972-73 Montreal Canadiens
- 1976-77 Montreal Canadiens
Canadiens By The Numbers
Assembling a list of greatest players to ever wear a number is not easy with a franchise as old and as storied as the Montreal Canadiens. It will also leave great players off the list, players who also enjoyed Hall-of-Fame careers. Debates over these lists will rage on, but one thing Habs fans can agree upon – these players provided fans memorable moments and quirky trivia items to last a lifetime. Here are the greatest players to have worn each number for the Canadiens. Read more…
Captains
- Jack Laviolette, 1909-1910, 1911-1912
- Newsy Lalonde, 1910-1911, 1912-1913, 1916-1922
- Jimmy Gardner, 1913-1915
- Howard McNamara, 1915-1916
- Sprague Cleghorn, 1922-1925
- Billy Coutu, 1925-1926
- Sylvio Mantha, 1926-1932, 1933-1936
- George Hainsworth, 1932-1933
- Albert “Babe” Siebert, 1936-1939
- Walter Buswell, 1939-1940
- Toe Blake, 1940-1948
- Bill Durnan, 1948
- Emile Bouchard, 1948-1956
- Maurice Richard, 1956-1960
- Doug Harvey, 1960-1961
- Jean Beliveau, 1961-1971
- Henri Richard, 1971-1975
- Yvan Cournoyer, 1975-1979
- Serge Savard, 1979-1981
- Bob Gainey, 1981-1989
- Guy Carbonneau and Chris Chelios, 1989-1990
- Guy Carbonneau, 1990-1994
- Kirk Muller, 1994-1995
- Mike Keane, 1995
- Pierre Turgeon, 1995-1996
- Vincent Damphousse, 1996-1999
- Saku Koivu, 1999-2009
- Brian Gionta, 2010-2014
- Max Pacioretty, 2015-2018
- Shea Weber, 2018-2022
- Nick Suzuki, 2022-present
Heading Coaching History
- Newsy Lalonde, 1918-1935
- Leo Dandurand, 1922-1935
- Sylvio Mantha, 1936
- Cecil Hart, 1927-1939
- Jules Dugal, 1939
- Pit Lépine, 1940
- Dick Irvin, 1941-1955
- Toe Blake, 1956-1968
- Claude Ruel, 1969-1981
- Al MacNeil, 1971
- Scotty Bowman, 1972-1979
- Bernie Geoffrion, 1980
- Bob Berry, 1982-1984
- Jacques Lemaire, 1984-1985
- Jean Perron, 1986-1988
- Pat Burns, 1989-1992
- Jacques Demers, 1993-1996
- Jacques Laperrière, 1996
- Mario Tremblay, 1996-1997
- Alain Vigneault, 1998-2001
- Michel Therrien, 2001-2017
- Claude Julien, 2003-2021
- Bob Gainey, 2006-2009
- Guy Carbonneau, 2007-2009
- Jacques Martin, 2010-2012
- Randy Cunneyworth, 2012
- Dominique Ducharme, 2021-2022
- Martin St. Louis, 2022-Present