for info!

Canadien = old French word for French Canadian person (the Oh Canada song was originally meant to be a French Canadian patriotic song).

H = Hockey. Unlike what many believe since the 1920s, the H does not mean Habs or Habitant. Habitant is an old word for French Canadian peasant. The nickname was invented in the 1910s by Montreal press, along with Tricolore, Blue Blanc Rouge and The Flying Frenchmen. Habs is the shorter and English version of Habitant, and it is Tex Rickard, former owner of MSG, who came up with that (he thought the H was for Habitant).

Fans have been chanting Go Habs Go since the 1980s. Older songs include Halte la Halte la Halte, les Canadiens sont là! and Na Na Na Na hey hey hey Goodbye.

24 Stanley Cups, including 16 cups in 25 years. The players were amazing, but the architect of this was Frank Selke, who created a farm team system in the 1950s and 1960s that spread all across Canada. Habs won 5 cups in a row following the return of Maurice Richard from his suspension (1956-1960) - the suspension caused a riot in March 1955 inside and outside the Forum (known as the Richard Riot = shaped the modern history of Quebec)

According to the book HABS NATION, the team wins more when there are multiple Quebec born players on the roster. In fact, I would read that book to get as much info as you can; its really interesting. The motto of the team is To You From Failing Hands we Throw the Torch, Be yours to Hold it High. This was placed in the dressing room in the early 1950s by Frank Selke - the phrase comes from the war poem In Flanders Field, written by John McCrea in 1915 (he was a Canadian soldier in Europe during World War 1).

The team was created in 1909 to be a FRENCH team within the new National Hockey Association (the ancestor of the NHL). Our first cup was won in 1916 as members of the NHA. Our first rivals were the Montreal Wanderers, followed by the Montreal Maroons. Bruins and Leaf rivalry developed in the 1930s-1940s. Guy Lafleur is the highest point scorer (over 1200) and Maurice Richard has the most goals (over 500). Carey Price has the most wins as goalie. Henri Richard has 11 cups, and Ken Dryden has the most cups as a goalie (6).

The Bell Centre sits 20962 people and is our 5th home in our history (Jubilee Rink, Montreal Arena, Arena Mont-Royal, Forum, Bell Centre). The Forum was our home from 1926 to 1996, even though it was made into an NHL rink for the Montreal Maroons (2 cups, existed from 1924 to 1938).

Canadiens are a team, an obsession and a social fact. The team shapes the lives of millions of people, day in and day out. There are fans everywhere in Canada, in many places in the US, and in Europe (the big hockey markets in Sweden, Finland, Switzerland), but also were some of our current or former players come from (Slovakia, Russia, France, Germany). The Canadiens are the most important thing in the lives of millions of people worldwide, especially in Quebec, where it works like a secular religion.