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10 Facts About the Montreal Canadiens

Montreal Canadiens celebrate after scoring a goal during a game between the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden Manhattan, New York. The Canadiens won against the New York Rangers, 4-1.
Montreal Canadiens celebrate after scoring a goal during a game between the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden Manhattan, New York. The Canadiens won against the New York Rangers, 4-1.

Montreal Canadiens is one of the most beloved and successful teams in the world. Wit

Montreal Canadiens is one of the most beloved and successful teams in the world. With its long history, this illustrious team has gone through intriguing times. Here are some fun facts about them:

  1. Founded in 1909 by J. Ambrose O’Brien, a sportsman from Ottawa, the Montreal Canadians are the oldest continuously operating professional ice hockey team in the world.

  2. All three hockey rinks – the Westmount Arena, Jubilee Arena, and Mount Royal Arena – the Canadiens played in before settling into the Montreal Forum season were destroyed by fire.

  3. Their new home, the Bell Centre, has the largest seating capacity of any NHL arena with 21,273 seats. Montreal Canadiens tickets have been sold out since 2004, and anyone interested in season tickets needs to get on a waiting list

  4. Over the course of the last century, the Canadiens have only ever finished last overall in the NHL twice. Once during their 1935-36 season, and once in 1939-40.

  5. As of 2008 the franchise has won 26% of all Stanley Cup championships, more than any other team in the league and making them one of the most successful professional sports teams in Canada and the United States.

  6. When the Montreal Expos baseball team became the Washington Nationals, their long-time mascot Youppi was officially unemployed. In 2004, the Canadiens adopted the lovable orange creature, making him their first mascot ever and the first mascot in professional sports history to switch leagues.

  7. The Canadiens have inducted the second-highest amount of Hockey Hall of Famers with forty-two. All of these were from Canada, with the exception of former defensemen Joe Hall who was from England.

  8. Homesickness forced Montreal to say goodbye to Ted Kennedy, who would go on to become what many consider to be the best player in Toronto Maple Leaf history.

  9. It cost $1,000 to form the Montreal Canadiens as a team, as well as $5,000 to guarantee the player’s salaries. Today the team is worth $334 million, and last season’s player salary total was $43,496,666.

  10. Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden was originally drafted fourteenth overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1964 NHL Amateur Draft. He is still the only NHL player to win the most valuable playoff player award before winning the rookie of the year award.

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