WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.399 Unpacking the Montreal Canadiens, NHL history, 00:00:02.680 --> 00:00:05.960 Stanley Cup dynasties, and the Habs legacy PPL 00:00:05.960 --> 00:00:08.759 pod. Dive into the rich history of the Montreal 00:00:08.759 --> 00:00:11.460 Canadiens, the oldest continuously operating 00:00:11.460 --> 00:00:14.500 professional ice hockey team in the world. From 00:00:14.500 --> 00:00:17.480 their founding in 1909, before the NHL even existed, 00:00:17.780 --> 00:00:20.280 to their record 24 Stanley Cup championships, 00:00:20.660 --> 00:00:23.519 this deep dive explores the cultural impact of 00:00:23.519 --> 00:00:26.019 La Saint -Flenel, legendary players like Maurice 00:00:26.019 --> 00:00:28.239 Rocket Richard, and the modern -day rebuild. 00:00:28.829 --> 00:00:31.050 Perfect for hockey fans and history buffs looking 00:00:31.050 --> 00:00:33.890 to understand the enduring legacy of the Habs. 00:00:34.030 --> 00:00:37.450 Keywords, Montreal Canadiens, NHL history, Stanley 00:00:37.450 --> 00:00:40.609 Cup champions, original six, Habs, ice hockey, 00:00:40.789 --> 00:00:44.780 Maurice Richard, PPL pod. Welcome in, and thank 00:00:44.780 --> 00:00:46.759 you so much for joining us today. Whether you're 00:00:46.759 --> 00:00:48.780 prepping for a sports trivia night, trying to 00:00:48.780 --> 00:00:50.619 catch up on the landscape of pro sports, or you're 00:00:50.619 --> 00:00:52.479 just curious about legendary institutions, you 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:55.240 are in the exact right place. Absolutely. If 00:00:55.240 --> 00:00:57.340 you saw the title of today's Deep Dive, you already 00:00:57.340 --> 00:00:59.460 know we are catering to hockey fans and history 00:00:59.460 --> 00:01:01.799 buffs alike. Today, we're taking a massive stack 00:01:01.799 --> 00:01:05.219 of sources, specifically a comprehensive, encyclopedic 00:01:05.219 --> 00:01:07.560 overview of the Montreal Canadiens. Right, the 00:01:07.560 --> 00:01:10.560 Habs. Exactly. We're covering their entire franchise 00:01:10.560 --> 00:01:13.689 history, their records, and... their cultural 00:01:13.689 --> 00:01:16.290 footprint. And we are extracting the core insights 00:01:16.290 --> 00:01:19.409 just for you. And our mission today goes far 00:01:19.409 --> 00:01:22.049 beyond just rattling off a list of, you know, 00:01:22.069 --> 00:01:25.269 sports stats or dry dates. We're going to explore 00:01:25.269 --> 00:01:28.769 how a single professional ice hockey team became 00:01:28.769 --> 00:01:31.269 inextricably linked to the cultural identity 00:01:31.269 --> 00:01:34.099 of an entire city. And a people, really. Yeah, 00:01:34.180 --> 00:01:35.879 a whole province. We're talking about a franchise 00:01:35.879 --> 00:01:38.700 that has survived well over a century, navigating 00:01:38.700 --> 00:01:42.480 unparalleled triumphs, and, well, more recently, 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:45.359 some deeply humbling modern -day struggles. Okay, 00:01:45.420 --> 00:01:47.579 let's unpack this. Because to really understand 00:01:47.579 --> 00:01:49.439 this team, we need to start at the very beginning. 00:01:49.680 --> 00:01:52.120 And looking at our notes, the beginning for this 00:01:52.120 --> 00:01:54.340 franchise actually predates the National Hockey 00:01:54.340 --> 00:01:56.120 League itself. It does. I mean, I know they've 00:01:56.120 --> 00:01:57.459 been around for a long time, but can you walk 00:01:57.459 --> 00:02:00.930 us through those early days? Gladly. So the Montreal 00:02:00.930 --> 00:02:03.810 Canadiens were founded on December 4th, 1909. 00:02:04.109 --> 00:02:06.310 They were established by a man named J. Ambrose 00:02:06.310 --> 00:02:08.930 O 'Brien. But they weren't founded as an NHL 00:02:08.930 --> 00:02:11.229 team. Because the NHL didn't exist yet. Right. 00:02:11.270 --> 00:02:13.530 They were a charter member of the National Hockey 00:02:13.530 --> 00:02:16.349 Association, the NHA, which basically served 00:02:16.349 --> 00:02:19.610 as the forerunner to the NHL. Okay. Because of 00:02:19.610 --> 00:02:22.469 that 1909 start date, they hold a really unique 00:02:22.469 --> 00:02:24.889 distinction. They are the oldest continuously 00:02:24.889 --> 00:02:27.750 operating professional ice hockey team anywhere 00:02:27.750 --> 00:02:30.370 in the world. Anywhere in the world. That's crazy. 00:02:30.830 --> 00:02:33.389 Yeah, they're the only existing NHL club to predate 00:02:33.389 --> 00:02:35.870 the founding of the league itself. That longevity 00:02:35.870 --> 00:02:38.289 is just it's hard to wrap your head around. I 00:02:38.289 --> 00:02:39.990 mean, they predate almost every professional 00:02:39.990 --> 00:02:42.349 sports team in North America outside of a handful 00:02:42.349 --> 00:02:45.710 of baseball clubs and maybe the NFL's Arizona 00:02:45.710 --> 00:02:49.050 Cardinals. It is a totally rare tier of sports 00:02:49.050 --> 00:02:52.030 history. But what is truly essential to understand 00:02:52.030 --> 00:02:55.229 about their genesis in 1909 is their core purpose. 00:02:55.409 --> 00:02:58.419 Right. The cultural aspect. Exactly. This team 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:00.680 was purposefully built to represent Montreal's 00:03:00.680 --> 00:03:03.560 francophone community. The original mandate dictated 00:03:03.560 --> 00:03:05.300 that the team should be composed of francophone 00:03:05.300 --> 00:03:08.340 players and be under francophone ownership as 00:03:08.340 --> 00:03:10.620 quickly as possible. So it was baked into their 00:03:10.620 --> 00:03:14.360 DNA from day one. Completely. Even the very name, 00:03:14.400 --> 00:03:17.120 Les Canadiens, was a term specifically identified 00:03:17.120 --> 00:03:19.500 at the time with French speakers in the region. 00:03:19.639 --> 00:03:22.039 They weren't just a sports team. They were an 00:03:22.039 --> 00:03:25.400 assertion of cultural identity on the ice. Which 00:03:25.400 --> 00:03:28.020 brings us to a piece of trivia from our sources 00:03:28.020 --> 00:03:30.560 today that completely caught me off guard. And 00:03:30.560 --> 00:03:32.939 it has to do with their iconic logo and their 00:03:32.939 --> 00:03:36.550 famous nickname. Oh, the H. Yes, the H. If you 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:38.969 picture the Montreal Canadiens logo, it's that 00:03:38.969 --> 00:03:42.250 classic universally recognized C with an H inside 00:03:42.250 --> 00:03:44.949 of it. Now, if you ask a casual hockey fan what 00:03:44.949 --> 00:03:47.349 that H stands for, they will confidently tell 00:03:47.349 --> 00:03:50.469 you it stands for Habs or Habitons. And they 00:03:50.469 --> 00:03:53.389 would be entirely wrong. Exactly. According to 00:03:53.389 --> 00:03:55.409 our research, they are entirely wrong. What's 00:03:55.409 --> 00:03:57.710 fascinating here is how that misconception actually 00:03:57.710 --> 00:04:01.340 became cemented in global sports lore. To clarify 00:04:01.340 --> 00:04:04.240 the logo first, the CNH logo was first used together 00:04:04.240 --> 00:04:07.659 in the 1917 -1918 season when the club formally 00:04:07.659 --> 00:04:10.120 changed its name to Club de Hockey Canadian. 00:04:10.460 --> 00:04:12.520 So the H just stands for hockey. The H simply 00:04:12.520 --> 00:04:14.479 stands for hockey. It is as straightforward as 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:16.339 that. So how did everyone start calling them 00:04:16.339 --> 00:04:18.899 the Habs then? Well, the term Habitants originally 00:04:18.899 --> 00:04:21.720 referred to the Francophone settlers who farmed 00:04:21.720 --> 00:04:23.420 the land along the shores of the St. Lawrence 00:04:23.420 --> 00:04:26.839 River in early Quebec history. Okay, so a historical 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:29.319 term. Right. It was occasionally used in the 00:04:29.319 --> 00:04:32.920 French press as early as 1914 to playfully describe 00:04:32.920 --> 00:04:35.879 the team. But the real turning point for the 00:04:35.879 --> 00:04:38.120 nickname becoming a permanent fixture came a 00:04:38.120 --> 00:04:43.019 decade later in 1924. And it came from an American. 00:04:43.300 --> 00:04:45.819 An American arena owner, right? Yeah. Tex Ricker, 00:04:45.920 --> 00:04:48.100 the owner of Madison Square Garden in New York, 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:51.199 falsely told a reporter that the H on the Canadian 00:04:51.199 --> 00:04:54.040 sweaters stood for habitants. He just guessed. 00:04:54.360 --> 00:04:56.019 It was a complete error on his part, but the 00:04:56.019 --> 00:04:58.720 reporter printed it. And the nickname stuck permanently. 00:04:58.980 --> 00:05:01.439 A misunderstanding by an arena owner in New York 00:05:01.439 --> 00:05:03.939 forever solidifies the nickname of the most storied 00:05:03.939 --> 00:05:06.680 franchise in Canada. That is the kind of historical 00:05:06.680 --> 00:05:09.759 accident you just can't write. Truly. And speaking 00:05:09.759 --> 00:05:11.819 of things that have endured, we have to talk 00:05:11.819 --> 00:05:14.500 about the sweater itself. The home sweater is 00:05:14.500 --> 00:05:16.759 predominantly red with blue and white stripes 00:05:16.759 --> 00:05:20.040 across the arms and chest. Our sources note it 00:05:20.040 --> 00:05:22.759 has basically looked the exact same since 1925. 00:05:23.139 --> 00:05:25.610 Yeah. Nearly 100 years of the same design. But 00:05:25.610 --> 00:05:27.470 it's more than just a uniform, right? It has 00:05:27.470 --> 00:05:30.649 a specific cultural nickname. Yes, it is affectionately 00:05:30.649 --> 00:05:32.910 called La Saint -Flenel, which translates to 00:05:32.910 --> 00:05:35.189 the Holy Flannel. The Holy Flannel. And the cultural 00:05:35.189 --> 00:05:37.029 weight of that sweater cannot be overstated. 00:05:37.629 --> 00:05:40.730 It is a readily identifiable symbol of French 00:05:40.730 --> 00:05:43.709 -Canadian culture. Our sources point to a famous 00:05:43.709 --> 00:05:47.610 short story written by Roquerier in 1979 called 00:05:47.610 --> 00:05:49.779 The Hockey Sweater. Have you ever read it? I 00:05:49.779 --> 00:05:51.779 actually haven't, but our notes emphasize how 00:05:51.779 --> 00:05:54.399 significant it is. What is the core premise? 00:05:54.740 --> 00:05:58.339 It perfectly captures the almost religious reverence 00:05:58.339 --> 00:06:00.720 for the Canadians within rural Quebec communities 00:06:00.720 --> 00:06:04.319 during the 1940s. Okay. The story is about a 00:06:04.319 --> 00:06:07.300 young boy who outgrows his beloved Canadian sweater. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:10.220 His mother orders a new one from the Eden's department 00:06:10.220 --> 00:06:12.680 store catalog, but they accidentally send him 00:06:12.680 --> 00:06:15.699 a Toronto maple leaf sweater. Oh, no. Their bitter 00:06:15.699 --> 00:06:18.519 rival. Their absolute worst rival. When the boy 00:06:18.519 --> 00:06:20.759 is forced to wear it to the local rink, he is 00:06:20.759 --> 00:06:23.579 ostracized by his peers and eventually told by 00:06:23.579 --> 00:06:25.459 the parish priest to go to the church and pray 00:06:25.459 --> 00:06:28.560 for forgiveness. Wow. Pray for forgiveness for 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:31.420 wearing a Leafs jersey. Exactly. It highlights 00:06:31.420 --> 00:06:33.639 how wearing that specific red, white, and blue 00:06:33.639 --> 00:06:36.920 sweater was tied to community belonging and identity. 00:06:37.649 --> 00:06:40.889 The story is so culturally significant that it 00:06:40.889 --> 00:06:43.350 was adapted into an animated short by the National 00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:45.389 Film Board of Canada. And didn't it end up on 00:06:45.389 --> 00:06:48.930 currency? Yes. An excerpt from it was even printed 00:06:48.930 --> 00:06:52.230 on the Canadian $5 bill back in 2002. A sports 00:06:52.230 --> 00:06:54.610 team's jersey featured on national currency. 00:06:54.910 --> 00:06:56.870 You really don't see that anywhere else. No, 00:06:56.870 --> 00:06:59.430 you don't. But to understand why the sweater 00:06:59.430 --> 00:07:02.370 is considered holy to the fan base, we need to 00:07:02.370 --> 00:07:04.839 look at the championship pedigree. I know they 00:07:04.839 --> 00:07:07.480 have won a lot, but can you put their success 00:07:07.480 --> 00:07:10.439 into historical context for us? We are talking 00:07:10.439 --> 00:07:12.220 about a franchise that has won the Stanley Cup 00:07:12.220 --> 00:07:15.860 24 times. 24. That is more than any other franchise 00:07:15.860 --> 00:07:19.019 in professional hockey history. 23 of those championships 00:07:19.019 --> 00:07:22.019 came after the NHL was officially founded, and 00:07:22.019 --> 00:07:24.939 one was won in 1916 during their NHA days. So 00:07:24.939 --> 00:07:26.720 they were winning before the league even properly 00:07:26.720 --> 00:07:29.959 started. Right. They are part of what hockey 00:07:29.959 --> 00:07:32.769 fans call the original six era. a period from 00:07:32.769 --> 00:07:37.449 1942 to 1967, when the NHL only had six teams, 00:07:37.589 --> 00:07:41.250 creating intense, concentrated rivalries. But 00:07:41.250 --> 00:07:44.029 their winning spanned far beyond that era. Give 00:07:44.029 --> 00:07:46.930 us a sense of scale for those 24 Cups. To give 00:07:46.930 --> 00:07:49.009 you a sense of scale, the Montreal Canadiens 00:07:49.009 --> 00:07:50.910 held the record for the most championships by 00:07:50.910 --> 00:07:53.009 a team in any major North American sports league 00:07:53.009 --> 00:07:55.269 until the New York Yankees finally won their 00:07:55.269 --> 00:07:58.560 25th World Series title in 1999. And looking 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:00.579 at the timeline, they didn't just win a championship 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:02.420 every few years. They had these concentrated 00:08:02.420 --> 00:08:05.600 waves of dominance. Precisely. In the 1950s, 00:08:05.600 --> 00:08:07.939 they won six Stanley Cups, including a record 00:08:07.939 --> 00:08:10.680 -breaking five straight championships from 1956 00:08:10.680 --> 00:08:14.860 to 1960. Five straight? Then from 1955 to 1979, 00:08:15.139 --> 00:08:18.040 they added 10 more championships in just 15 seasons. 00:08:18.100 --> 00:08:20.379 That included another dynastic run of four straight 00:08:20.379 --> 00:08:23.699 cups from 1976 to 1979. Here's where it gets 00:08:23.699 --> 00:08:25.600 really interesting, especially for you if you 00:08:25.600 --> 00:08:27.720 love statistical anomalies. I'm looking at the 00:08:27.720 --> 00:08:30.759 numbers for the 1976 -77 season, and they almost 00:08:30.759 --> 00:08:33.399 look like typos. You do. In an 80 -game regular 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:35.799 season, the Montreal Canadiens lost exactly eight 00:08:35.799 --> 00:08:38.799 games. Just eight regulation losses. They finished 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:42.940 with 132 points. They had a 34 -game home unbeaten 00:08:42.940 --> 00:08:45.039 streak. But the stat that jumps out the most 00:08:45.039 --> 00:08:47.740 is their goal differential. Our sources highlight 00:08:47.740 --> 00:08:51.399 a plus -216 goal differential. It's absurd. For 00:08:51.399 --> 00:08:53.139 someone who might not follow sports statistics 00:08:53.139 --> 00:08:55.279 closely, what does that actually mean on the 00:08:55.279 --> 00:08:57.820 ice? Goal differential is simply the difference 00:08:57.820 --> 00:09:01.000 between the number of goals a team scores and 00:09:01.000 --> 00:09:03.139 the number of goals they allow their opponents 00:09:03.139 --> 00:09:07.000 to score over a season. A plus 216 means the 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:10.659 Canadians scored 216 more goals than the teams 00:09:10.659 --> 00:09:13.230 they played against. Wow. That is an astronomical 00:09:13.230 --> 00:09:16.429 figure. It means they weren't just winning close, 00:09:16.549 --> 00:09:19.789 hard -fought games. They were routinely dismantling 00:09:19.789 --> 00:09:21.889 professional opponents. That's a huge gap in 00:09:21.889 --> 00:09:25.029 talent. It is. That 132 -point record stood for 00:09:25.029 --> 00:09:27.210 almost half a century until the Boston Bruins 00:09:27.210 --> 00:09:30.289 finally surpassed it during the 2022 -23 season. 00:09:30.470 --> 00:09:32.889 So they completely controlled the 1970s. Did 00:09:32.889 --> 00:09:35.110 that success carry over into the subsequent decades? 00:09:35.190 --> 00:09:37.029 Because if we jump straight to the modern era, 00:09:37.110 --> 00:09:38.590 it seems like a completely different landscape. 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:41.200 They did maintain a high standard, winning two 00:09:41.200 --> 00:09:44.799 more Stanley Cups in 1986 and 1993. In fact, 00:09:44.860 --> 00:09:47.879 that 1993 championship remains the last time 00:09:47.879 --> 00:09:50.600 any Canadian team has won the Stanley Cup. The 00:09:50.600 --> 00:09:53.179 last Canadian team to win it all. Right. But 00:09:53.179 --> 00:09:55.379 you are right to point out the shift. When you 00:09:55.379 --> 00:09:57.440 synthesize that level of historical dominance, 00:09:57.700 --> 00:10:01.600 those 1950s and 1970s dynasties, you start to 00:10:01.600 --> 00:10:03.639 understand the psychological environment surrounding 00:10:03.639 --> 00:10:06.139 the organization. The pressure. It created an 00:10:06.139 --> 00:10:09.139 expectation of excellence that defines the franchise 00:10:09.139 --> 00:10:12.860 to this day. When a team wins 24 times, anything 00:10:12.860 --> 00:10:14.899 short of a championship feels like a failure 00:10:14.899 --> 00:10:17.620 to uphold a sacred tradition. Which is the perfect 00:10:17.620 --> 00:10:19.860 transition into the legends of the ice and how 00:10:19.860 --> 00:10:22.340 that heavy tradition is literally passed down 00:10:22.340 --> 00:10:25.370 to new players. There is a famous motto painted 00:10:25.370 --> 00:10:27.110 on the wall of the Canadians' dressing room. 00:10:27.210 --> 00:10:29.669 Yes. It comes from the World War I poem in Flanders 00:10:29.669 --> 00:10:33.070 Fields by John McRae. It reads, To you from failing 00:10:33.070 --> 00:10:36.289 hands we throw the torch. Be yours to hold it 00:10:36.289 --> 00:10:38.830 high. Such a powerful phrase. Think about the 00:10:38.830 --> 00:10:41.570 psychology of that for a second. You are a 19 00:10:41.570 --> 00:10:43.490 -year -old rookie. You walk into the professional 00:10:43.490 --> 00:10:45.929 locker room to lace up your skates. And you are 00:10:45.929 --> 00:10:49.110 staring at a solemn war poem demanding perfection. 00:10:49.629 --> 00:10:52.370 It is an immense psychological burden. But it 00:10:52.370 --> 00:10:55.309 serves a distinct purpose. It's a constant visual 00:10:55.309 --> 00:10:57.909 reminder to every player who puts on the holy 00:10:57.909 --> 00:11:00.889 flannel that they are part of a continuum. Right. 00:11:00.990 --> 00:11:03.350 They are inheriting the greatness of the past, 00:11:03.450 --> 00:11:06.009 and it is their duty to maintain it. And the 00:11:06.009 --> 00:11:08.090 physical evidence of that legacy hangs in the 00:11:08.090 --> 00:11:10.230 rafters of the Bell Center, their home arena. 00:11:11.039 --> 00:11:13.720 The franchise has retired 15 numbers in honor 00:11:13.720 --> 00:11:16.940 of 18 different players, as a few legendary players 00:11:16.940 --> 00:11:19.259 actually wore the same numbers over the decades. 00:11:19.419 --> 00:11:21.519 Which is the most retired numbers of any team 00:11:21.519 --> 00:11:24.110 in the NHL. And a fascinating detail from our 00:11:24.110 --> 00:11:27.230 sources, all 18 of those honorees were born in 00:11:27.230 --> 00:11:29.289 Canada. Let's look at a few of the key figures 00:11:29.289 --> 00:11:31.830 who successfully carried that torch, because 00:11:31.830 --> 00:11:34.090 their individual play styles really define their 00:11:34.090 --> 00:11:36.490 respective eras. You have to start with Maurice 00:11:36.490 --> 00:11:39.529 Rocket Richard in the 1940s and 50s. The Rocket. 00:11:39.789 --> 00:11:42.750 Yes. He remains the franchise's all -time leader 00:11:42.750 --> 00:11:46.529 in goals with 544. And he was such a prolific 00:11:46.529 --> 00:11:49.269 goal scorer that the NHL actually named their 00:11:49.269 --> 00:11:51.470 annual goal scoring trophy after him, correct? 00:11:51.649 --> 00:11:54.690 Yes, the Maurice Rocket Richard Trophy. He played 00:11:54.690 --> 00:11:58.029 with a fiery, relentless intensity that deeply 00:11:58.029 --> 00:12:00.110 resonated with the working class Francophone 00:12:00.110 --> 00:12:03.309 fan base. He wasn't just a player. He was a cultural 00:12:03.309 --> 00:12:06.240 icon. And after him. Well, if you pass the torch 00:12:06.240 --> 00:12:09.059 down the line to that 1970s juggernaut we discussed, 00:12:09.340 --> 00:12:12.320 you find Guy Lafleur. How did Lafleur's game 00:12:12.320 --> 00:12:14.980 differ from Richard's? If Richard was the relentless 00:12:14.980 --> 00:12:18.299 goal scorer, Lafleur was the ultimate free -flowing 00:12:18.299 --> 00:12:21.279 offensive engine. He holds the franchise record 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:25.899 as the all -time points leader with 2 ,246 points. 00:12:26.039 --> 00:12:29.070 Wow. Over a thousand points. He was known for 00:12:29.070 --> 00:12:31.169 his smooth skating, flying down the wing with 00:12:31.169 --> 00:12:33.490 his hair blowing behind him, perfectly capturing 00:12:33.490 --> 00:12:36.269 the flair of 1970s hockey. And skipping ahead 00:12:36.269 --> 00:12:39.169 to the modern era, our sources highlight goaltender 00:12:39.169 --> 00:12:41.889 Carey Price. If we connect this to the bigger 00:12:41.889 --> 00:12:44.570 picture, Carey Price serves as a modern anchor 00:12:44.570 --> 00:12:46.990 for the franchise. He didn't secure a Stanley 00:12:46.990 --> 00:12:48.850 Cup, which shows how difficult winning has become 00:12:48.850 --> 00:12:51.529 in the contemporary NHL, but his individual impact 00:12:51.529 --> 00:12:54.090 is historic. What are his records? He holds the 00:12:54.090 --> 00:12:56.090 franchise records for the most games played by 00:12:56.090 --> 00:12:59.529 a goaltender, with 712, and the most wins by 00:12:59.529 --> 00:13:02.970 a goaltender, with 361. Those numbers carry a 00:13:02.970 --> 00:13:04.789 lot of weight when you realize he had to surpass 00:13:04.789 --> 00:13:07.590 absolute legends like Jacques Plante and Patrick 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:10.490 Roy to get those records. Precisely. These individual 00:13:10.490 --> 00:13:13.110 players act as cultural touchstones. They link 00:13:13.110 --> 00:13:15.370 completely different eras of fans together. They're 00:13:15.370 --> 00:13:17.570 the thread connecting the generations. Exactly. 00:13:17.730 --> 00:13:20.850 A grandfather might revere Maurice Richard, a 00:13:20.850 --> 00:13:23.429 father might idolize Guy Lafleur, and a child 00:13:23.429 --> 00:13:26.389 might grow up wearing a Carey Price jersey. but 00:13:26.389 --> 00:13:29.110 they are all united by that single crest and 00:13:29.110 --> 00:13:31.850 the shared understanding of what that torch represents. 00:13:32.190 --> 00:13:34.389 But holding that torch high has proven to be 00:13:34.389 --> 00:13:37.070 a struggle in recent years, which brings us to 00:13:37.070 --> 00:13:40.129 the modern roller coaster. The Whiplash, this 00:13:40.129 --> 00:13:42.049 franchise and its fans have experienced over 00:13:42.049 --> 00:13:43.889 the last few seasons, is really unprecedented. 00:13:44.389 --> 00:13:46.450 It really is. Let's start with the extreme high. 00:13:46.840 --> 00:13:49.980 Look at the 2020 -21 NHL season, which was heavily 00:13:49.980 --> 00:13:53.059 altered by the COVID -19 pandemic. To avoid cross 00:13:53.059 --> 00:13:55.539 -border travel issues, the NHL put all seven 00:13:55.539 --> 00:13:57.639 Canadian teams into a single North division. 00:13:58.080 --> 00:14:00.720 Right. And despite a turbulent regular season, 00:14:00.879 --> 00:14:03.120 where Montreal barely scraped into the playoffs, 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:04.940 finishing fourth in that temporary division, 00:14:05.200 --> 00:14:07.919 their post -season run was captivating. They 00:14:07.919 --> 00:14:10.139 played Toronto first, didn't they? They faced 00:14:10.139 --> 00:14:12.519 their oldest rival, the Toronto Maple Leafs, 00:14:12.519 --> 00:14:15.200 in the first round and fell behind three games 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.009 to one. It looked like a swift exit. But they 00:14:18.009 --> 00:14:20.250 came back. They rallied to win three straight, 00:14:20.409 --> 00:14:23.090 taking the series. Then they swept the Winnipeg 00:14:23.090 --> 00:14:25.970 Jets. In the semifinals, they beat the Vegas 00:14:25.970 --> 00:14:28.409 Golden Knights, clinching it with an overtime 00:14:28.409 --> 00:14:31.190 victory to reach the Stanley Cup final. It felt 00:14:31.190 --> 00:14:33.690 like destiny. They reached their first final 00:14:33.690 --> 00:14:36.690 in 28 years. They were the first Canadian team 00:14:36.690 --> 00:14:40.149 to make it that far since 2011. Now, they eventually 00:14:40.149 --> 00:14:42.210 lost to the Tampa Bay Lightning, but for the 00:14:42.210 --> 00:14:45.409 fans, that run felt like the torch was burning 00:14:45.409 --> 00:14:47.690 bright again. It was a magical run. But then, 00:14:47.710 --> 00:14:50.309 looking at the very next season, the bottom completely 00:14:50.309 --> 00:14:53.409 fell out. It was an extreme crash. The narrative 00:14:53.409 --> 00:14:56.190 might have felt like destiny in 2021, but looking 00:14:56.190 --> 00:14:59.009 at the data, that playoff run was heavily reliant 00:14:59.009 --> 00:15:01.929 on a few key players performing at an unsustainable 00:15:01.929 --> 00:15:03.750 physical level. So they just ran out of gas. 00:15:04.110 --> 00:15:06.570 The toll of that run showed immediately. The 00:15:06.570 --> 00:15:10.460 very next season... 2021 -22, the Montreal Canadiens 00:15:10.460 --> 00:15:13.139 finished dead last in the entire National Hockey 00:15:13.139 --> 00:15:15.159 League. Dead last after making the final. Yes. 00:15:15.299 --> 00:15:16.960 It was the first time they finished last since 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:19.799 the 1939 -40 season and the first time they had 00:15:19.799 --> 00:15:22.360 ever finished at the bottom in the league's modern 00:15:22.360 --> 00:15:25.279 expansion era. The expansion era being the period 00:15:25.279 --> 00:15:28.580 following 1967 when the NHL rapidly expanded 00:15:28.580 --> 00:15:31.159 beyond the original six. That's exactly. The 00:15:31.159 --> 00:15:34.120 statistics from that 2021 -22 season paint a 00:15:34.120 --> 00:15:36.700 grim picture. They set franchise records for 00:15:36.700 --> 00:15:39.279 the most goals against with 319, the fewest wins 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:42.080 with just 22, and the most regulation losses 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.669 with 49. Let's clarify that term really quickly 00:15:45.669 --> 00:15:47.830 for our listeners. What is a regulation loss 00:15:47.830 --> 00:15:50.549 compared to a regular loss? In today's NHL, if 00:15:50.549 --> 00:15:52.850 a game goes to overtime and you lose, your team 00:15:52.850 --> 00:15:55.629 still earns one point in the standings. A regulation 00:15:55.629 --> 00:15:57.590 loss means you were defeated within the standard 00:15:57.590 --> 00:16:00.049 60 minutes of play, earning zero points. Oh, 00:16:00.070 --> 00:16:03.029 I see. So suffering 49 regulation losses means 00:16:03.029 --> 00:16:05.149 they were routinely being beaten outright in 00:16:05.149 --> 00:16:07.950 standard time. The emotional toll of that on 00:16:07.950 --> 00:16:10.710 a fan base that is used to 24 championships must 00:16:10.710 --> 00:16:14.659 have been brutal. playing in the final one summer 00:16:14.659 --> 00:16:17.399 to being the worst team in hockey a few months 00:16:17.399 --> 00:16:20.799 later is hard to grasp. And that profound failure 00:16:20.799 --> 00:16:23.980 forced a monumental shift in organizational philosophy. 00:16:24.620 --> 00:16:27.659 As a result of that disastrous season, team owner 00:16:27.659 --> 00:16:30.539 Jeff Molson authorized a complete rebuild of 00:16:30.539 --> 00:16:32.720 the roster. What does a rebuild actually mean 00:16:32.720 --> 00:16:34.980 in the context of modern professional sports? 00:16:35.820 --> 00:16:38.330 Historically, when the Canadiens struggled, They 00:16:38.330 --> 00:16:40.490 would retool on the fly. They'd trade for established 00:16:40.490 --> 00:16:42.570 players to stay competitive because the market 00:16:42.570 --> 00:16:45.389 demanded winning. An intentional rebuild is different. 00:16:45.590 --> 00:16:47.950 How so? It means management actively accepts 00:16:47.950 --> 00:16:49.950 that the team will lose games for several years. 00:16:50.169 --> 00:16:52.429 You strip down the roster, trade away veteran 00:16:52.429 --> 00:16:54.990 talent for future assets and intentionally finish 00:16:54.990 --> 00:16:57.470 low in the standings so you can secure high picks 00:16:57.470 --> 00:16:59.549 in the annual player draft. So you're losing 00:16:59.549 --> 00:17:02.269 on purpose in a way to get better later. It is 00:17:02.269 --> 00:17:04.089 a long term strategy of building through youth. 00:17:04.509 --> 00:17:07.529 For a franchise with the motto, be yours to hold 00:17:07.529 --> 00:17:10.089 it high, intentionally rebuilding was traditionally 00:17:10.089 --> 00:17:13.670 considered taboo. But they embraced the reality 00:17:13.670 --> 00:17:16.210 of their situation. And that leads us to their 00:17:16.210 --> 00:17:19.849 current 2025 -26 landscape. They have spent the 00:17:19.849 --> 00:17:22.630 last few years stockpiling youth. Which was desperately 00:17:22.630 --> 00:17:25.029 needed. The rebuild is being guided by head coach 00:17:25.029 --> 00:17:28.069 Martin St. Louis, a former legendary player himself. 00:17:28.750 --> 00:17:31.410 On the ice, the torch has been handed to a young 00:17:31.410 --> 00:17:34.609 captain, Nick Suzuki, who was named the 31st 00:17:34.609 --> 00:17:37.369 captain in franchise history. And through this 00:17:37.369 --> 00:17:40.289 rebuilding phase, they have secured highly touted 00:17:40.289 --> 00:17:42.890 draft picks to build their future around, bringing 00:17:42.890 --> 00:17:45.069 in young talent like Ivan Demidov and Michael 00:17:45.069 --> 00:17:47.829 Haig. They are charting a completely new path, 00:17:48.049 --> 00:17:50.160 building from the ground up. So what does this 00:17:50.160 --> 00:17:52.559 all mean for you, the listener? Whether you are 00:17:52.559 --> 00:17:54.660 brushing up for a sports trivia night or you 00:17:54.660 --> 00:17:56.920 are a student analyzing organizational culture, 00:17:57.299 --> 00:17:59.279 the Montreal Canadiens are the ultimate case 00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:01.920 study. Absolutely. They show us exactly how historical 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:04.539 dominance shapes modern identity. The weight 00:18:04.539 --> 00:18:07.420 of 24 championships creates a brand that is instantly 00:18:07.420 --> 00:18:10.200 recognizable worldwide, but it also creates an 00:18:10.200 --> 00:18:11.960 atmosphere where the pressure of the past is 00:18:11.960 --> 00:18:13.859 constantly breathing down the neck of the present. 00:18:14.200 --> 00:18:16.880 True knowledge comes from seeing multiple perspectives. 00:18:17.690 --> 00:18:20.069 In the case of the Montreal Canadiens, you have 00:18:20.069 --> 00:18:23.130 to balance the awe of their historical achievements, 00:18:23.410 --> 00:18:25.970 those five straight cups, the untouchable stats 00:18:25.970 --> 00:18:28.869 of the 1970s with the deep humility of their 00:18:28.869 --> 00:18:31.230 recent era. It's quite the contrast. It shows 00:18:31.230 --> 00:18:33.670 that even the most immortal institutions eventually 00:18:33.670 --> 00:18:36.690 have to accept reality, tearing their foundation 00:18:36.690 --> 00:18:39.250 down to the studs in order to build something 00:18:39.250 --> 00:18:41.710 sustainable for the future. It leaves you wondering. 00:18:42.400 --> 00:18:45.259 In today's modern sports era of strict salary 00:18:45.259 --> 00:18:47.980 caps and league parity, where the financial rules 00:18:47.980 --> 00:18:50.539 are literally designed by the NHL to prevent 00:18:50.539 --> 00:18:52.599 teams from hoarding talent and dominating year 00:18:52.599 --> 00:18:55.559 after year, will we ever see a dynasty like the 00:18:55.559 --> 00:18:59.119 1970s Canadians again in any sport? It's a great 00:18:59.119 --> 00:19:01.500 question. Or is that level of concentrated greatness 00:19:01.500 --> 00:19:04.859 purely a relic of the past? And further, if a 00:19:04.859 --> 00:19:07.420 franchise's entire identity and holy aura are 00:19:07.420 --> 00:19:09.420 built on a century of unparalleled winning and 00:19:09.420 --> 00:19:16.789 a sacred past torch, how does it mean... That's 00:19:16.789 --> 00:19:19.529 the real challenge they face today. It is. Thank 00:19:19.529 --> 00:19:21.509 you so much for joining us on this deep dive. 00:19:21.609 --> 00:19:24.089 We hope you walk away with a richer understanding 00:19:24.089 --> 00:19:26.589 of not just the Montreal Canadiens, but how history, 00:19:26.730 --> 00:19:29.609 culture, and sports intertwine. Keep exploring 00:19:29.609 --> 00:19:31.930 the fascinating stories behind the world's most 00:19:31.930 --> 00:19:35.109 iconic institutions, and we will catch you on 00:19:35.109 --> 00:19:35.670 the next one.