Curiosities of Montreal Canadians

The Canadiens transitioned to the NHL by retaining playing rights to four players after the dissolution of the National Hockey Association. The Habs began the 1917-18 season with Didier Pitre, Georges Vezina, Joe Malone and Newsy Lalonde in the lineup. Three “Jersey Crests” have appeared on the Montreal Canadiens uniform. The original uniform featured the “Simple C” crest. The second was “CA” – it stood for Club Atletique. In 1917-18, the more familiar “CH” shield was adopted. CH stands for “Canadian Hockey Club”. The first colors of the Canadian uniform were white, blue and red. Joseph Cattarinich, Leo Dandurand and Louis Letourneau bought the Montreal Canadiens for $11,000. After George Kennedy’s death, his widow sold the Habs to “The Three Musketeers” on November 3, 1921. Making a huge profit, the trio sold to the Canadians in 1935 for $165,000.

CANADIANS FOUNDATION – HOWIE MORENZ: September 30, 1923 – $1,000 was the signing bonus awarded to Morenz to join the Canadiens for the 1923-24 season. Howie was the first NHL player to score 50 points during regular time. Morenz won the league scoring championship in the 1927-28 season with 33 goals – 18 assists – 51 points. Howie was also known as “The Stratford Streak”. Due to his outstanding skating ability and being born in Stratford, Ontario…he was a natural nickname for the Hall of Fame legend. Throughout his career, he was also nicknamed “The Mitchell Meteor” and “The Canadian Comet”.

ROCKET RICHARD: Maurice Richard played left back when he began his hockey career. Paul Haynes, who was coaching the senior QSHL Canadiens, decided to put Richard on the right side. Richard was the first NHL player to score the magic number “50 on 50.” Previously, the Rocket were 49 in 48. In the season finale of the 1944-45 season, Maurice scored number 50 against Harvey Bennett. The Habs defeated Boston 4 – 2. Also to their credit, the Rocket became the first NHL player to score 500 goals. Richard’s glittering hockey career officially came to an end on September 15, 1960. After captaining the Habs to 5 straight Stanley Cup championships, the “Rocket” announced his retirement at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal. .

BILL DURNAN: Bill started his NHL career in impressive fashion. Durnan began the 1943-44 season with a 14-game unbeaten streak. On December 4, 1943, the Canadiens defeated the Red Wings 8 – 2…extending their record to 12 – 0 – 2. Bill would suffer 5 losses throughout the 50-game schedule. Bill Durnan was the only NHL goaltender to be listed in a team directory media guide as “ambidextrous.” Durnan’s obvious athleticism was also enhanced by his ability to catch the puck and shoot left or right. He would try to confuse the scorers by changing hands at the last second. A natural “right”, Bill used to hold his stick depending on which side the attacking players shot the puck. He never used the blocking glove…preferring to use a catching glove for both hands.

REALITY OR FICTION? The Canadiens are the only NHL team to have 2 goaltenders as team captains. George Hainsworth was captain of the Habs team during the 1932-33 season. The second time was during 1947-48 due to Toe Blake’s season-ending injury. By midseason, Bill Durnan had the “C” on his uniform. The Montreal Canadiens were the first NHL team to have 5 players named to the All-Star First Team for the season. Habs receiving the honor in 1944-45 were Vezina Trophy winner Bill Durnan and defenseman Butch Bouchard. Also named were left winger Punch Line Toe Blake, center Elmer Lach and right winger Rocket Richard. All 5 Habs made it into the Hockey Hall of Fame. The only one who wasn’t Hab was Detroit linebacker Flash Hollett.