Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens ( ) is a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal , Quebec , Canada . They are members of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . The club ' s official name is . French nicknames for the team include " Les Canadiens " ( or " Le Canadien " ) , " Le Bleu - Blanc - Rouge " , " La Sainte - Flanelle " , " Le Tricolore " , " Les Glorieux " ( or " Nos Glorieux " ) , " Les Habitants " , " Le CH " and " Le Grand Club " . The team ' s main English nickname is the " Habs " , an abbreviation of " Les Habitants " . Founded in 1909 , the Canadiens are the longest continuously operating professional ice hockey team 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 of football as well as every American franchise outside of baseball . 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 championships , 22 of them since 1927 , when NHL teams became the only ones to compete for the Stanley Cup . On a percentage basis , as of 2014 , the franchise has won 25 . 3 % of all Stanley Cup championships contested after the Challenge Cup era , making it the second most successful professional sports team of the traditional four major sports of Canada and the United States , behind only the Boston Celtics . Since 1996 , the Canadiens play their home games at the Bell Centre , originally the Molson Centre . The team previously played at the Montreal Forum which housed the team for seven decades and all but their first two Stanley Cup championships . History . The Canadiens were founded by J . Ambrose O ' Brien on December 4 , 1909 , as a charter member of the National Hockey Association , the forerunner to the National Hockey League . It was to be the team of the francophone community in Montreal , composed of francophone players , and under francophone ownership as soon as possible . The team ' s first season was not a success , as they placed last . After the first year , ownership was transferred to George Kennedy of Montreal and the team ' s fortunes improved over the next seasons . The team won its first Stanley Cup championship in the 1915 – 16 season . In 1917 , with four other NHA teams , the Canadiens formed the NHL , and they won their first NHL Stanley Cup during the 1923 – 24 season , led by Howie Morenz . The team moved from the Mount Royal Arena to the Montreal Forum for the 1926 – 27 season . In the 1930s , the club started the decade successfully with Stanley Cup wins in 1930 and 1931 . However , the club and its then Montreal rival , the Montreal Maroons , declined both on the ice and economically during the Depression . Losses grew to the point where the team owners considering selling the team to Cleveland , Ohio interests . However , local investors were found and instead it was the Maroons that suspended operations , and several of the Maroons players moved to the Canadiens . Led by the " Punch Line " of Maurice " Rocket " Richard , Toe Blake and Elmer Lach in the 1940s , the Canadiens enjoyed success again atop the NHL . From 1953 to 1960 , the franchise won six Stanley Cups , including a record five straight from 1956 to 1960 , with a new set of stars coming to prominence : Jean Beliveau , Dickie Moore , Doug Harvey , Bernie " Boom Boom " Geoffrion , Jacques Plante , and Richard ' s younger brother , Henri . The Canadiens added ten more championships in fifteen seasons from 1965 to 1979 , with another dynastic run of four straight Cups from 1976 to 1979 . In the 1976 – 77 season , the Canadiens set a modern - day record for fewest losses by only losing eight games in an 80 - game season . The next season 1977 - 78 , they had a 28 - game unbeaten streak , the second - longest in NHL history . The next generation of stars included Guy Lafleur , Yvan Cournoyer , Ken Dryden , Pete Mahovlich , Jacques Lemaire , Pierre Larouche , Steve Shutt , Bob Gainey , Serge Savard , Guy Lapointe and Larry Robinson . Scotty Bowman , who would later set a record for most NHL victories by a coach , was the team ' s head coach for its last five Stanley Cup victories in the 1970s . The Canadiens won Stanley Cups in 1986 , led by rookie star goaltender Patrick Roy , and in 1993 , continuing their streak of winning at least one championship in every decade from the 1910s to the 1990s ( this streak ended in the 2000s ) . In 1996 , the Habs moved from the Montreal Forum , their home during 70 seasons and 22 Stanley Cups , to the Molson Centre ( now the Bell Centre ) . On December 29 , 2008 the Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers by a score of 5 – 2 , becoming the first team in NHL history to reach 3 , 000 victories . Centennial celebrations . The Montreal Canadiens retired various uniform numbers as part of its leadup to its celebrations during the 2008 – 09 and 2009 – 10 seasons . As part of the scheduled events for 2009 , Montreal hosted the 2009 NHL All - Star Game , and the 2009 NHL Entry Draft . " Pour toujours , les Canadiens ! " is a 2009 Quebec feature film about the centennial celebrations , written by Jacques Savoie and directed by Sylvain Archambault . The film debuted in theatres on December 4 , 2009 , the Canadiens ' centennial . Team identity . Logo and jersey design . One of sport ' s oldest and most recognizable logos , the classic ' C ' and ' H ' of the Montreal Canadiens was first used together in the 1917 – 18 season , when the club changed its name to " Club de hockey Canadien " from Club athlétique Canadien , before evolving to its current form in 1952 – 53 . The " H " stands for " hockey " , not " Habs " or " Habitants " , a popular misconception . According to NHL . com , the first man to refer to the team as " the Habs " was American Tex Rickard , owner of the Madison Square Garden , in 1924 . Rickard apparently told a reporter that the " H " on the Canadiens ' sweaters was for " Habitants " . The current team colours are red , blue and white . These colours have been used in combination since 1914 . The Canadiens ' colours are an important part of French Canadian culture . In the short story " The Hockey Sweater " , Roch Carrier described the influence of the Canadiens and their jersey within rural Quebec communities during the 1940s . The story was later made into an animated short , " The Sweater " , narrated by Carrier . A passage from the short story appears on the 2002 issue of the Canadian five dollar bill . The home sweater is predominantly red in colour . There are four blue and white stripes , one across each arm , one across the chest and the other across the waistline . The main road sweater is mainly white with a red and blue stripe across the waist , red at the end of both arm sleeves red shoulder yokes . The basic design has been in use since 1914 , with the current version dating from 1952 . Because of the team ' s lengthy history and significance in Quebec , the sweater has been referred to as ( the holy flannel sweater ) . The Canadiens used multiple designs prior to adopting the aforementioned design in 1914 . The original shirt of the 1909 - 1910 season was blue with a white C . The second season had a red shirt featuring a green maple leaf with the C logo , and green pants . Lastly , the season before adopting the current look the Canadiens wore a " barber pole " design jersey with red , white and blue stripes , and the logo being a white maple leaf reading " CAC " , " Club Athlétique Canadien " . All three designs were worn during the 2009 - 10 season as part of the Canadiens centennary . Motto . " Nos bras meurtris vous tendent le flambeau , à vous toujours de le porter bien haut . " " To you from failing hands we throw the torch . Be yours to hold it high . " The motto is from the poem " In Flanders Fields " by John McCrae which was written in 1915 , the year the Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup championship . The motto appears on the wall of the Canadiens dressing room , originally at the Montreal Forum and currently at the Bell Centre . Mascot . Beginning in the 2004 – 05 NHL season , the Canadiens adopted Youppi as their official mascot , the first costumed mascot in their long history . Youppi was the longtime mascot for the Montreal Expos baseball team , but was dropped from the franchise when they moved to Washington , D . C . in 2004 and became the Washington Nationals . With the switch , Youppi became the first mascot in professional sports to switch leagues . Broadcasting . Montreal Canadiens games are broadcast locally in both the French and English languages . On radio , Canadiens games are broadcast in French by CHMP 98 . 5 , and in English by CKGM , " TSN Radio 690 " , who acquired the English broadcast rights under a 7 - year deal which began in the 2011 - 12 season . Regional television rights in French are currently held by Réseau des sports under a 12 - year deal , effective as of the 2014 - 15 NHL season . A sister to the English - language network TSN , RDS was the only French - language sports channel in Canada until the 2011 launch of TVA Sports . Prior to 2014 , the team ' s deal with RDS also included national French - language rights to the NHL , which allowed the network to air non - Habs games and the playoffs . In November 2013 , Rogers Communications announced a 12 - year , $ 5 . 2 billion deal to acquire exclusive national rights to the NHL as a whole ; Rogers sub - licensed French - language rights to Quebecor Media and TVA Sports in a $ 1 . 5 billion deal of its own . RDS parent company Bell Media subsequently announced an extension of its relationship , which sees RDS continue to broadcast Canadiens games not shown on TVA on a regional basis ; games are now subject to blackout outside of the Canadiens ' home market of Quebec , Atlantic Canada and parts of Ontario . 22 Canadiens games per season will be televised nationally by TVA Sports , primarily through its Saturday night " La super soirée LNH " . Regional television rights in English are held by Sportsnet East in a 3 - year deal announced by Rogers on September 2 , 2014 . Three games will be broadcast regionally by CJNT " City Montreal " , and the remaining games will be aired nationally through Rogers ' aforementioned NHL rights deal ( which will include additional games on Sportsnet and City , along with CBC Television through the revamped " Hockey Night in Canada " ) , thus giving Rogers control over all English - language telecasts of the Canadiens . TSN previously held regional , English - language television rights to the Canadiens from 2010 through 2014 . They were broadcast on a part - time TSN feed with Dave Randorf on play - by - play ; these rights were not renewed by Bell Media past the 2013 - 14 season . Sportsnet ' s games are called by John Bartlett and Jason York . Seasons and records . Season by season results . " This is a list of the last five seasons completed by the Canadiens . For the full season - by - season history , see List of Montreal Canadiens seasons . " " Note : GP = Games played , W = Wins , L = Losses , T = Ties , OTL = Overtime Losses , Pts = Points , GF = Goals for , GA = Goals against , PIM = Penalties in minutes " Franchise individual records . Franchise scoring leaders . These are the top - ten point - scorers in franchise history . Figures are updated after each completed NHL regular season . " Note : Pos = Position ; GP = Games Played ; G = Goals ; A = Assists ; Pts = Points ; P / G = Points per game Records – skaters . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Indicates a league record . Records – goaltenders . < nowiki > * < / nowiki > Indicates a league record . Honoured members . Retired numbers . The Canadiens have retired fifteen numbers in honour of eighteen players , the most of any team in the National Hockey League , and the third highest total of any of the four major professional sports leagues of the United States and Canada . All of the honourees were born in Canada . Howie Morenz was the first honouree on November 2 , 1937 . Hockey Hall of Fame . Sixty - two people associated with the Canadiens have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame . Thirty - six of these players are from three separate notable dynasties : 12 from 1955 – 1960 , 11 from 1964 – 1969 and 13 from 1975 – 1979 . Howie Morenz and Georges Vezina were the first Canadiens given the honour in 1945 , while Chris Chelios was the most recently inducted , in 2013 . The following are members of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the Builders category . The first inductee was Vice President William Northy in 1945 . The most recent inductee was coach Pat Burns in 2014 .