page_title: Howie Morenz
section_title: Final game and death
hierarchical_section_title: Howie Morenz / Playing career / Chicago, New York and Montreal (1934–37) / Final game and death
caption_attribution_description: English: Howie Morenz, centre of the Montreal Canadiens of the and NHL from 1923 to 1934 and again from 1936 to 1937. This photo is after he broke his leg in a January 28, 1937 game. He would ultimately die on March 8, 1937 from complications relating to the injury.
context_page_description: Howard William "Howie" Morenz was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1923, he played centre for three National Hockey League teams: the Montreal Canadiens, the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers. Before joining the NHL, Morenz excelled in the junior Ontario Hockey Association, where his team played for the Memorial Cup, the championship for junior ice hockey in Canada. In the NHL, he was one of the most dominant players in the league and set several league scoring records. A strong skater, Morenz was referred to as the "Stratford Streak" and "Mitchell Meteor" in reference to his speed on the ice.
  Considered one of the first stars of the NHL, Morenz played 14 seasons in the league. He was a member of a Stanley Cup–winning team three times, all with the Canadiens. During his NHL career he placed in the top 10 leading scorers ten times. For seven straight seasons, Morenz led the Canadiens in both goals scored and points. He was named the winner of the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player of the league three times, and he led the league once in goals scored and twice in points scored.
context_section_description: The Canadiens played the Chicago Black Hawks in Montreal on January 28, 1937. In the first period, Morenz went after the puck in the Chicago end while being chased by Black Hawks defenceman Earl Seibert. Morenz lost his balance and fell to the ice, crashing into the boards and catching his left skate in the wooden siding. Seibert, unable to stop, landed on him with full force. The resulting impact snapped Morenz's left leg, creating a noise heard throughout the rink. Helped to the Canadiens bench by his teammates, Morenz was taken to Hôpital St-Luc, where it was found that his leg was fractured in four places.
  While recovering in the hospital, Morenz received many get-well cards and visits from his teammates and players from other NHL teams. So many of them brought drinks that a teammate remarked that "the whisky was on the dresser and the beer was under the bed." Though there were many visitors, Morenz often found himself alone in the hospital room, unable to move off his bed. To pass the time, he read newspapers to stay up to date with the Canadiens as they finished the season. Since his injury, the team had dropped in the standings, causing Morenz to worry. He began to think he would never play hockey again and became depressed.
  The Canadiens' team doctor, Dr. J.A. Hector Forgues, visited Morenz in late February and determined that he had suffered a nervous breakdown. To help Morenz, Dr. Forgues banned all visitors to his room, except for family and Canadiens officials. Mary, Morenz's wife, and their oldest son, Howie Jr., visited on most days, and William Morenz, his father, travelled from Stratford during the first week of March and stayed through March 5. On March 8, Morenz began complaining of chest pains, which doctors attributed to a heart attack. Mary Morenz and Cecil Hart were called to the hospital; around 11:30 pm, Morenz tried to get out of bed to use the washroom but collapsed on the floor and died from a coronary embolism caused by blood clots from his damaged leg, minutes before his wife and coach arrived. He was 34.
  The Canadiens were scheduled to play the Montreal Maroons the evening of March 9, a game the NHL offered to cancel in honour of Morenz's death. However Mary insisted the game be played, saying that Morenz would have wanted the game to continue. The players on the Canadiens and Maroons wore black armbands for the game, and prior to the start, two minutes of silence were observed in his honour. A similar event happened in New York, where the New York Rangers and New York Americans had a moment of silence before the start of their game.
  A funeral was held on March 11, at the Montreal Forum, the arena where the Canadiens played. Fans were allowed to file past the casket, laid at centre ice, and 50,000 people paid their respects. A rotating guard of honour of four Canadiens stood around the casket which was covered in flowers including a large wreath from Aurèle Joliat that was shaped like the number 7, Morenz's number, and a note from Morenz's three children. The entire service was broadcast on the radio, and after its conclusion he was buried in Mount Royal Cemetery in Montreal.
caption: After breaking his leg, Morenz was unable to move from his hospital bed.
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