Howie Morenz Howard William Morenz ( September 21 , 1902 – March 8 , 1937 ) was a Canadian professional player in the National Hockey League . He played for the Montreal Canadiens ( in two stints ) , the Chicago Black Hawks , and the New York Rangers . Prior to joining the NHL , Morenz excelled in the Ontario Hockey Association . Once in the NHL , he became one of the most dominant players in the league . Morenz died from complications of a broken leg , an injury he suffered in a game . Considered one of the first stars of the NHL , Morenz played fourteen seasons in the league . He was a member of a Stanley Cup winning team three times , all with the Canadiens . Morenz consistently finished in or near the top of league scoring , placing in the top ten leading scorers ten times in his fourteen seasons . For seven straight seasons , Morenz led the Canadiens in both goals scored and points . Three times in his career Morenz was named the most valuable player of the league and led the league in goals scored once and total points scored twice . When the NHL introduced All - Star selections in 1930 , he was named to the NHL All - Star Team three times . After his death , the Canadiens removed his jersey number from circulation , the first time the team had done so . When the Hockey Hall of Fame opened in 1945 , Morenz was one of the original twelve inductees . In 1950 the Canadian Press named Morenz the best ice hockey player of the first half of the twentieth century . Early life . Morenz was born in Mitchell , Ontario . Howie learned his hockey playing shinny on the nearby Thames River . At the age of eight , he played his first organised game as a goaltender , where he allowed twenty - one goals . After that game , a coach switched Morenz to rover . Morenz became a forward after it became apparent his speed was much more suitable for an offensive role . After starting in goal for the 1916 – 17 season , Howie helped the Mitchell ice hockey team reach the Western Ontario juvenille championship . The Morenz family then moved to Stratford , a nearby community , in May , 1917 . Howie tried enlisting in the Canadian Army , but was refused when it was learned he was only fifteen years old . He joined the Stratford Midgets junior team , leading the Ontario Hockey Association in assists and points during the regular season , and goals , assists and points in the playoffs during the 1920 – 21 season . The Midgets won the league title and played in the 1921 Memorial Cup Final against the Winnipeg Falcons . While Morenz scored a hat trick ( three goals ) in each of the two games in the series , the Midgets lost the total - goals series 11 – 9 . After reaching the Memorial Cup , Morenz was asked to play for the Stratford Indians , a senior team . Morenz split the 1921 – 22 season with the junior and senior teams . During the playoffs , he led both leagues in goals , assists , points , and led the senior league in penalty minutes . Playing exclusively in the senior league in the 1922 – 23 season , he led it for regular season assists , and playoff goals , points and penalty minutes . In 1926 he married Mary Stewart ; they had three children together , two sons and a daughter . Howie , Jr . was born in 1927 , Donald in 1933 and Marlene in 1934 . In 1952 Marlene married Bernie Geoffrion , who played for both the Canadiens and Rangers from 1950 to 1968 . Their son , Howie ' s grandson , Dan , would briefly play for the Canadiens in the 1979 - 80 NHL Season . During a Canadian National Railway ice hockey tournament held December , 1922 in Montreal , Morenz scored nine goals in a game for Stratford . A friend of Léo Dandurand , the owner of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League , refereed the game , and told Dandurand how good Morenz was . Dandurand went to Stratford in January , 1923 to watch Morenz play , and decided he wanted to sign him to the Canadiens . In April he met with William Morenz , Howie ' s father , because at the age of twenty , Howie was still legally a minor . Willam told Dandurand that he wanted Howie to finish his apprenticeship at the CN factory , which would take another two years . However in July , Danduarnd learned that Morenz and his father had been in contact with the Toronto St . Patricks , a rival team in the NHL . Fearing that Morenz would sign in Toronto , Dandurand sent his friend , Cecil Hart , to Stratford with instructions to sign Morenz at any cost . On July 7 , 1923 , Howie Morenz signed a contract with the Canadiens for three years , with a salary of $ 3 , 500 per year and a $ 1 , 000 signing bonus . Immediately after signing the contract with the Canadiens , Morenz began to reconsider joining the Canadiens . Stratford residents , as well as his senior team , wanted him to stay , and Morenz yielded to the pressure . He wote a letter in August to Dandurand , explaining that he could not leave Stratford , and included the cheque given to him as a signing bonus . Upon receiving the letter , Dandurand phoned Morenz and told him to come to Montreal to talk in person . In Montreal , Morenz began explaining his reasons for not signing to Dandurand , but began crying . In response , Dandurand told him that if Morenz did not join the Canadiens , his professional hockey career would be over . Hearing this , Morenz relented and agreed to report to the Canadiens training camp later in the year . Montreal Canadiens ( 1923 – 34 ) . Morenz arrived at his first Canadiens training camp on December 3 , 1923 , and quickly impressed his new teammates . He made his NHL debut on December 26 , 1923 in Ottawa against the Ottawa Senators , scoring a goal against the home team . He finished the 1923 – 24 season , his first in the NHL , with thirteen goals and three assists in twenty - four games . The Canadiens finished first in the league that season for the first time in five years , and reached the NHL playofs , facing the Senators for the league championship . Morenz scored the only goal in the first game of the two game , total goals series , and added another goal in the second game as the Canadiens won the series , five goals to two . The Canadiens then played two teams from Western Canada for the Stanley Cup . They defeated the Vancouver Maroons of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association ( PCHA ) in the two games of a playoff series , and then faced the Calgary Tigers of the Western Canada Hockey League ( WCHL ) . In the first game against Calgary , the Canadiens won by a score of 6 – 1 , with Morenz scoring a hat trick . He would score another goal in the second game , as Montreal won 3 – 0 and defeated the Tigers to win their second Stanley Cup championship , and Morenz ' s first with the team . The following season , Morenz scored twenty - eight goals and eleven assists for thirty - nine points , placing second on the Canadiens and fourth in the NHL in scoring . He followed that with seven goals and eight points in six playoff games , as Montreal lost in the Stanley Cup Finals to the Victoria Cougars of the WCHL . Howie tied with linemate Aurel Joliat in leading the Canadiens in scoring in 1925 – 26 with twenty - six points , finishing fifth in the league . He finished third in the league in goals , with twenty - five , and points , with thirty - two , in 1926 – 27 , to again lead the Canadiens . The one goal he scored in four playoff games eliminated the Montreal Maroons from playoff contention . Howie , for all practical purposes , had his best season in 1927 – 28 , running away with the scoring championship in an era where forward passing was very restricted , scoring a league - leading 33 goals and leading the league in assists as well with 18 . In the final game of the season , March 24 , 1928 , Morenz earned two assists , tying the then - NHL record for assists in a season with eighteen , and becoming the first player to score fifty points in a season , finishing with fifty - one . He scored 40 goals in 1929 – 30 and led the NHL in scoring in 1930 – 31 . In a March 17 , 1932 game against the New York Americans , Morenz scored his 334th point with an assist , passing Cy Denneny for the NHL record holder for career points . He finished the 1931 – 32 season with twenty - four goals and twenty - five assists for forty - nine points . Morenz set another record during the 1933 – 34 season . Against the Detroit Red Wings on December 23 , 1933 , he scored his 249th career goal , again passing Denneny , to become the leader for career goals . Chicago , New York and Montreal ( 1934 – 37 ) . In 1932 – 33 , Howie sustained some minor injuries - his production started to decline - yet he was still voted onto the second all - star selection . His production declined further in 1933 – 34 - mainly due to a broken ankle sustained in January 1933 . In spite of the injuries , the Montreal Forum fans began to boo their one - time hero . He became frustrated and began resorting to rough play . Finally , Howie showed up in Leo Dandurand ' s office in tears . Perhaps to take some of the pressure off Howie , Leo traded him and Marty Burke along with goaltender Lorne Chabot to Chicago in exchange for Lionel Conacher , Roger Jenkins and Leroy Goldsworthy . Howie never warmed to the trade , but did accept it . He was valuable in helping his linemates Mush March and Johnny Gottselig score in 1934 – 35 and Chicago finished second in the American Division . Their playoff against the Montreal Maroons was evenly matched , as the Maroons scored the only goal in the series to win . Howie fared poorly in 1935 – 36 and caught the wrath of owner Frederic McLaughlin who ordered him benched . He was left out of the lineup next and then was traded to the New York Rangers . The Canadiens had hit the bottom in 1935 – 36 and new owner Ernest Savard wanted Cecil Hart to manage and coach the team . He would only agree if Howie was brought back to the team . The team ' s owners and management expected Howie would be more of a morale booster , but in December 1936 and January 1937 , Howie was starting to produce . He had scored four goals and 16 assists and might be his old self again . Then , tragedy struck . Leg Injury and Subsequent Complications . His career ended on January 28 , 1937 when he suffered a multiple fracture broken leg in an accident along the boards with Earl Seibert , during a home game versus the Chicago Black Hawks . The injury did more than to just end his career , as it eventually took his life as a result of complications on March 8 , 1937 . Things were going flawlessly for Howie at first in St . Luke ' s Hospital as he was recovering nicely . Friends and other players came to see him and brought him alcoholic drinks . Writers kept hearing him rave that he ' d be back the next year , but he was not as optimistic as in the first two weeks . Finally , Howie became upset and suffered a nervous breakdown over reports suggesting a benefit game be played for him . Cecil Hart , Canadiens manager - coach , said the idea should be scrapped and visitors were banned . Phone calls would be restricted to members of Howie ' s family and Hart himself , who knew Howie was against a benefit game . The Canadiens ' physician , Dr . J . A . Hector Forgues , X - rayed his leg and found blood clots on the morning of March 8 , 1937 . He scheduled an operation for the following day . But Howie , after telling a nurse he wanted to rest after eating a light supper , went to sleep , and his pallor suddenly changed . The nurse knew something was wrong . Attempts to revive him failed , and Howie died at the age of only 34 . The cause of death was listed as a pulmonary embolism . The Montreal Forum was turned into a shrine where a memorial was held for his thousands of loyal fans , many in tears , paid their respects to the gallant Canadien . His funeral was held at the Forum , and it was broadcast all over Canada . Thousands later lined the funeral cortege as Howie ' s body was taken for burial . Legacy . Howie was one of the first to be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945 . His jersey number , # 7 , was retired on November 2 , 1937 , the first time the Canadiens honoured a player as such On November 7 , 1937 , the Howie Morenz Memorial Game was played at the Forum , to raise money for the Morenz family . A combined team of Canadiens and Montreal Maroons was defeated 6 – 5 by a team of all - stars from the other six teams then in operation in the NHL ( the Boston Bruins , Chicago Black Hawks , Detroit Red Wings , New York Americans , New York Rangers , and Toronto Maple Leafs ) . In 1950 the Canadian Press named Morenz the best ice hockey player of the first half of the twentieth century . Morenz ' s daughter Marlene is the widow of fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie Geoffrion , who also played for the Canadiens and Rangers . When Geoffrion ' s number was retired on the night of his death on March 11 , 2006 , the team recognized the link between the two men . As Geoffrion ' s banner was being raised to the rafters , Morenz ' banner was lowered halfway to the ice . Once Geoffrion ' s banner reached Morenz ' banner , the two were raised together . In 1998 he was ranked 15th on the List of 100 greatest hockey players by The Hockey News .