Do You Know the History of the Montreal Canadiens?

Despite only playing 961 games for the Habs, no one has scored more points in a Canadiens sweater than Guy Lafleur. In those games, he scored 1246 points, which also makes him one of the highest scorers ever.

The Montreal Canadiens have won a whopping 24 Stanley Cups in their over 100 years in the NHL. That is more than 10 more than the second place team, which is the Toronto Maple Leafs.

While the NHL didn't officially become a league until 1917, the Canadiens were actually around since 1909. Before the NHL, they were a member of the NHA (the National Hockey Association), which ceased operations in 1918.

Shea Weber is currently the captain for the Montreal Canadiens. He is also a fairly new member of the team, as he was only traded to the team in the summer of 2016. He has previously served as the captain of the Nashville Predators.

Since the start of the 1996 NHL season, the Montreal Canadiens have played their home games at the Bell Centre. Before that, their home was the Montreal Forum, which they played in from 1926 to 1996.

The last time the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup is way back in 1993. The team was led by the likes of Patrick Roy and Vincent Damphousse. Interesting enough, 1993 is the last time that a Canadian team won the Cup.

That's right, before they moved down south and became the Washington Nationals, Youppi was the mascot for the Montreal Expos of the MLB. He made the transition to the Canadiens once the team moved.

The Montreal Canadiens and Toronto Maple Leafs have one of the biggest rivalries in the NHL. The teams first met way back in 1917 and have played many games against one another. Also, from 1938 and 1970, they were the only two Canadian teams in the NHL.

Carey Price is the most recent Canadiens players to win the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player. He won it back in 2014-15 and was the first goalie to win the award in over a decade.

Many great players have suited up for the Canadiens, but none have scored more goals wearing a Canadiens jersey than Maurice "Rocket" Richard. He scored 544 goals in his near-1000 games with the team.

Saku Koivu spent 14 years with the team, serving as captain for 10 of those years. He was the first European player to be captain for the team and is tied for the longest tenure as a Canadiens captain.

Because of their long and storied history, it shouldn't be surprising that the Montreal Canadiens have retired 15 different numbers to honor 18 players. This is more than any other team in league history.

It is no surprise that the Canadiens have won more NHL games than any other team with how long they've been around. As of the end of the 2018-2019 season, they have won 3,418 games.

Many great defenders have played for the Montreal Canadiens, but arguably none have been better than Doug Harvey. He won seven total James Norris trophies, including six straight for the Canadiens.

While winning a single Stanley Cup is difficult, the Canadiens won four straight cups on two separate occasions. The won five straight from 1956 to 1960 and another four straight from 1976 to 1979.

The player with the longest tenure for the Canadiens is Henri Richard. While he is not as well-known as his brother, Richard played a total of 1256 games with the team, over his 20 years with the club.

While he wasn't the first ever goalie to wear a mask during a hockey game, Jacques Plante was the very first to wear it regularly. Of course, many goalies soon began to follow suit and it would be crazy to imagine goalies playing without a helmet today.

Patrick Roy was a star goalie for the Canadiens for a long time before they suffered a terrible break up. After his coaches kept him in a game where he allowed nine goals, he claimed he would never play for the team again. On bad nights, it is common for teams to take out their star goalies, and Roy believed the team kept him in to spite him and embarrass him.

Back in the 1954-55 NHL season, Richard struck a ref during a game, which is a big problem. He was suspended for the remainder of the season, which led Canadiens fans to riot, causing $100,000 in property damage.

Overtime is without a doubt one of the most exciting times during an NHL game. While anyone can win during an overtime period, don't tell that to the Montreal Canadiens in the 1993 playoffs. They won 10 straight overtime games in one playoffs, which is unheard of.

Another record that Henri Richard has over his goal-scoring brother is the number of Stanley Cups he's won as a player. While winning one Stanley Cup is a huge milestone, Richard won it an astonishing 11 times as a player.

Chris Nilan was a grinder and a fighter through and through. He had over 2248 penalty minutes in only 523 games, to go along with 175 points. His nickname was "Knuckles" as he liked to drop the gloves and fight.

While there have been nearly 100 different people to score 50, it all began back in 1944-45 when Maurice "Rocket" Richard did it for the first time. Not only that, but he did it in 50 games.

1993 was full of record-breaking moments for the Canadiens. One of the coolest came in Game 2 of the Finals. Eric Desjardins became the first and only defenseman to score a hat trick in a Stanley Cup Finals game.

Back in 2010, the Montreal Canadiens hobbled into the playoffs as the 8 seed in the East. Most people thought they would be bounced in round one, but they actually managed to make it within a few games of making the Stanley Cup Final.

Ever since coming to the team in 2017, Claude Julien has been the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. This is actually his second stint coaching the team, as he coached them from 2003-2006 as well.

The Montreal Canadiens have not had a first overall pick since way back in 1980. They used this pick to select Doug Wickenheiser, who played his junior hockey for the Regina Pats in the WHL.

Back in 1928, George Hainsworth set the NHL record for shutouts in a season with 22. Not only does this record still stand, but Hainsworth only had 22 wins that season, which means every one of his wins was a shutout.

Doug Jarvis has played the most consecutive games for the Montreal Canadiens, with 560. Not only that, but he actually played 964 straight, which is a record. He never missed a regular season game during his entire career.

The number 11 jersey is currently worn by Brendan Gallagher. He has been on the team since 2012 and is currently an alternate captain for the team. He has scored over 30 goals in the last two seasons.

Despite the NHL not beginning until 1917-18, the Canadiens actually won the Stanley Cup before it was only given to NHL teams. Their first of 24 Stanley Cups came way back in 1915-16.

The season points leader for the Montreal Canadiens is Guy Lafleur. He scored 136 points in a season back in 1976-77. The next season, he scored 60 goals which is tied for the most goals scored in a Canadiens season.

The Canadiens have had many great regular seasons in their history, but none better than their 1976-77 season. The team got 60 wins, to go along with only 8 regulation losses. They would go on to win the Stanley Cup.

While many people in Canada speak English, French is incredibly common in Montreal and the rest of Quebec. As a result, the Canadiens operate in both English and French. In fact, many of the coaches of the team must know French to be accepted by the fans.

Despite only winning 6 more games than he lost, Jose Theodore won the Hart and the Vezina in 2001-02. It was a relatively low scoring season, so no positional player ran away with the award, that left Theodore to win it with his good GAA.