WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.940 Welcome in. It's fantastic to have you joining 00:00:02.940 --> 00:00:05.599 us today. Absolutely. Great to be here. We are 00:00:05.599 --> 00:00:09.439 jumping right into a pretty massive premise right 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:11.400 out of G8 today. I mean, what does it actually 00:00:11.400 --> 00:00:14.300 take for a sports team to become more than just 00:00:14.300 --> 00:00:16.980 a franchise? Right. Like, how does an organization 00:00:16.980 --> 00:00:21.000 transcend the whole business of selling tickets 00:00:21.000 --> 00:00:24.559 and winning games to become an actual undeniable 00:00:24.559 --> 00:00:27.820 pillar of a culture? It is a phenomenal question 00:00:27.820 --> 00:00:30.890 to start with. Because it is exceedingly rare 00:00:30.890 --> 00:00:33.609 that a team achieves that kind of status, you 00:00:33.609 --> 00:00:35.630 know, globally. Yeah, totally. We are talking 00:00:35.630 --> 00:00:38.530 about a cultural footprint that goes far beyond 00:00:38.530 --> 00:00:40.549 the box scores. It's about identity. It's about 00:00:40.549 --> 00:00:44.229 history. And it's really about what a logo means 00:00:44.229 --> 00:00:45.969 to the people who wear it. And to figure out 00:00:45.969 --> 00:00:48.250 how that happens, we are looking at an absolute 00:00:48.250 --> 00:00:50.670 masterclass in sports history. We really are. 00:00:51.079 --> 00:00:53.359 Today's source material is a highly comprehensive 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.039 Wikipedia article on the Montreal Canadiens. 00:00:56.179 --> 00:00:59.259 Exactly. So whether you are a diehard hockey 00:00:59.259 --> 00:01:03.340 fan who paints your face on game day, or you 00:01:03.340 --> 00:01:06.060 are just someone who loves a fascinating story 00:01:06.060 --> 00:01:09.420 about history, regional identity, and the weight 00:01:09.420 --> 00:01:12.480 of legacy, this deep dive is going to be your 00:01:12.480 --> 00:01:15.079 ultimate shortcut. For sure. Our mission today 00:01:15.079 --> 00:01:18.480 is to unpack... the wild history, the staggering 00:01:18.480 --> 00:01:21.500 records, and the cultural heartbeat of the legendary 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:25.219 hams. And to really grasp the scale of what we 00:01:25.219 --> 00:01:27.299 are dealing with here, we have to set the stage 00:01:27.299 --> 00:01:29.939 properly regarding their timeline. Because the 00:01:29.939 --> 00:01:32.439 Montreal Canadiens do not just have a long history 00:01:32.439 --> 00:01:35.299 within their league. They actually predate the 00:01:35.299 --> 00:01:37.280 founding of the National Hockey League itself. 00:01:37.519 --> 00:01:39.680 Wait, hold on. How does a team predate its own 00:01:39.680 --> 00:01:42.120 league? Well, they were founded in 1909 as a 00:01:42.120 --> 00:01:43.920 charter member of an organization called the 00:01:43.920 --> 00:01:46.890 National Hockey Association. which was essentially 00:01:46.890 --> 00:01:49.409 the forerunner to the NHL. The NHL, as we know 00:01:49.409 --> 00:01:51.909 it, didn't even come around until 1917. That 00:01:51.909 --> 00:01:54.829 is wild to think about. That makes them the oldest 00:01:54.829 --> 00:01:57.310 continuously operating professional ice hockey 00:01:57.310 --> 00:01:59.709 team in the entire world. In the world, yes. 00:02:00.069 --> 00:02:02.030 I mean, they were lacing up skates and playing 00:02:02.030 --> 00:02:04.090 professional hockey before the Titanic sank. 00:02:04.310 --> 00:02:06.950 It's a massive timeline. They're older than the 00:02:06.950 --> 00:02:09.819 Arizona Cardinals in the NFL. They are older 00:02:09.819 --> 00:02:12.340 than almost every North American sports franchise 00:02:12.340 --> 00:02:16.340 outside of like a few early baseball clubs. Which 00:02:16.340 --> 00:02:19.360 means their identity has had well over a century 00:02:19.360 --> 00:02:22.300 to weave itself into the fabric of the city of 00:02:22.300 --> 00:02:25.139 Montreal and the province of Quebec. Right. And 00:02:25.139 --> 00:02:28.120 that wasn't an accident. The team was explicitly 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.919 founded with a specific demographic in mind. 00:02:31.120 --> 00:02:33.319 Interesting. Yeah. They were created to be the 00:02:33.319 --> 00:02:36.280 team. of the Francophone community, Francophone 00:02:36.280 --> 00:02:39.580 players, Francophone ownership, explicitly representing 00:02:39.580 --> 00:02:42.120 French -speaking Canada. Okay, let's unpack this. 00:02:42.240 --> 00:02:44.419 Because you cannot talk about the Canadians' 00:02:44.580 --> 00:02:46.580 identity without talking about their logo. Oh, 00:02:46.599 --> 00:02:49.340 absolutely not. The logo is everything. And reading 00:02:49.340 --> 00:02:51.620 through these sources, I realized there is a 00:02:51.620 --> 00:02:54.159 massive misconception here that even I fell for. 00:02:54.340 --> 00:02:56.919 A lot of people do. You see that classic CNH 00:02:56.919 --> 00:03:00.879 logo on their sweaters, right? Most people, even 00:03:00.879 --> 00:03:04.159 casual hockey fans, assume the H stands for habitants, 00:03:04.280 --> 00:03:06.219 which is where the famous nickname Habs comes 00:03:06.219 --> 00:03:08.680 from. But the source material points out that 00:03:08.680 --> 00:03:11.300 the H actually just stands for hockey. Just hockey. 00:03:11.419 --> 00:03:13.539 The official name is Club de Hockey Canadian. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:17.379 That iconic logo with the C and the H intertwined 00:03:17.379 --> 00:03:20.520 was first introduced way back in the 1917 -18 00:03:20.520 --> 00:03:23.919 season. What's fascinating here is how the Habs 00:03:23.919 --> 00:03:26.419 myth actually started and took on a life of its 00:03:26.419 --> 00:03:29.139 own. Right. Because if the H doesn't stand for 00:03:29.139 --> 00:03:31.889 habitants. Where did the nickname even come from? 00:03:32.030 --> 00:03:34.229 So historically, the term habitants referred 00:03:34.229 --> 00:03:36.889 to the Francophone settlers who farmed the land 00:03:36.889 --> 00:03:39.610 along the St. Lawrence River. OK. As a nickname 00:03:39.610 --> 00:03:41.810 for the hockey team, it actually shows up in 00:03:41.810 --> 00:03:45.530 print as early as February 1914. Wow, that early. 00:03:45.689 --> 00:03:48.129 Yeah. It was in a French report in the newspaper 00:03:48.129 --> 00:03:51.370 Le Devoir covering a game where they beat Toronto 00:03:51.370 --> 00:03:54.729 9 to 3. But the myth about the logo. The idea 00:03:54.729 --> 00:03:57.370 that the H on the chest proudly stood for habitants. 00:03:57.449 --> 00:03:59.210 Yeah. That wasn't started by a French Canadian 00:03:59.210 --> 00:04:02.129 at all. It was popularized by an American. It 00:04:02.129 --> 00:04:04.370 really is one of those bizarre twists of history. 00:04:04.610 --> 00:04:06.710 Tex Rickard, the owner of Madison Square Garden. 00:04:06.909 --> 00:04:10.389 Right. In 1924, Ricard apparently told a reporter 00:04:10.389 --> 00:04:13.930 that the H on the Montreal sweaters stood for 00:04:13.930 --> 00:04:17.850 habitants. And it just stuck. People just believed 00:04:17.850 --> 00:04:19.850 the guy from New York. The public ran with it. 00:04:20.029 --> 00:04:23.350 So. Montreal Canadiens, the ultimate symbol of 00:04:23.350 --> 00:04:25.829 French Canadian pride, had their most famous 00:04:25.829 --> 00:04:29.529 myth cemented by an American arena owner who 00:04:29.529 --> 00:04:32.189 just misunderstood their logo. Pretty much. That 00:04:32.189 --> 00:04:34.689 is incredibly ironic. It is a great piece of 00:04:34.689 --> 00:04:37.290 historical trivia, but it also speaks to how 00:04:37.290 --> 00:04:41.029 deeply their image is scrutinized and really 00:04:41.029 --> 00:04:43.430 apologized by everyone around them. For sure. 00:04:43.740 --> 00:04:46.339 Take the jersey itself. The basic design of the 00:04:46.339 --> 00:04:48.560 home sweater, predominantly red with that bold 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:50.819 blue and white stripe across the chest and arms, 00:04:50.939 --> 00:04:55.319 has been in use since 1914. Over 100 years. Culturally, 00:04:55.439 --> 00:04:58.160 it is referred to as la sainte flanelle. Which 00:04:58.160 --> 00:05:00.459 translates to the holy flannel sweater. Exactly. 00:05:00.459 --> 00:05:02.980 The holy flannel. I mean, you don't call a piece 00:05:02.980 --> 00:05:05.519 of clothing holy unless it means something profound 00:05:05.519 --> 00:05:07.439 to the people wearing it. It's treated with almost 00:05:07.439 --> 00:05:09.560 religious reverence. And looking at the notes 00:05:09.560 --> 00:05:12.139 here, that cultural significance literally reached 00:05:12.139 --> 00:05:14.439 the national currency. This is one of my favorite 00:05:14.439 --> 00:05:16.220 details. There's a famous short story by the 00:05:16.220 --> 00:05:18.540 author Roped Carrier called The Hockey Sweater. 00:05:18.600 --> 00:05:21.199 A classic. It is entirely about the cultural 00:05:21.199 --> 00:05:23.740 influence of the Canadians in rural Quebec in 00:05:23.740 --> 00:05:28.079 the 1940s. Basically about a kid who accidentally 00:05:28.079 --> 00:05:30.680 gets sent a Toronto maple leaf sweater in the 00:05:30.680 --> 00:05:33.519 mail. A total disaster for him. Right, the absolute 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:36.379 social catastrophe that causes his village. A 00:05:36.379 --> 00:05:38.519 passage from that story was actually printed 00:05:38.519 --> 00:05:42.480 on the Canadian $5 bill issued in 2002. On the 00:05:42.480 --> 00:05:44.800 actual money? Think about that for a second. 00:05:45.279 --> 00:05:48.160 You don't see the Dallas Cowboys or the Los Angeles 00:05:48.160 --> 00:05:51.079 Lakers? getting quoted on American money. No, 00:05:51.160 --> 00:05:53.459 you certainly don't see sports bleeding into 00:05:53.459 --> 00:05:55.819 national infrastructure like that very often. 00:05:55.980 --> 00:05:58.920 No. And the organization fiercely maintains that 00:05:58.920 --> 00:06:01.899 pride in their French Canadian heritage to this 00:06:01.899 --> 00:06:04.540 day. It is in the modern details. Like what? 00:06:04.680 --> 00:06:06.939 If you look at their home red sweater right now, 00:06:06.959 --> 00:06:10.180 as of 2015, they are the only team in the entire 00:06:10.180 --> 00:06:13.060 NHL to feature the French language version of 00:06:13.060 --> 00:06:16.329 the NHL shield on the collar. Yeah. So instead 00:06:16.329 --> 00:06:19.769 of NHL, it says LNH. Their road white sweaters 00:06:19.769 --> 00:06:22.430 keep the standard English shield. But at home 00:06:22.430 --> 00:06:24.790 in Montreal, they make that very specific distinction. 00:06:25.250 --> 00:06:28.209 It's those granular details that build a mythos. 00:06:28.310 --> 00:06:30.269 Definitely. But let's be real. A mythos doesn't 00:06:30.269 --> 00:06:32.370 survive for over a century just because you have 00:06:32.370 --> 00:06:34.850 nice sweaters and a cool nickname. No, you have 00:06:34.850 --> 00:06:37.129 to back it up on the ice. You have to win. And 00:06:37.129 --> 00:06:39.110 the sources make it clear that this team didn't 00:06:39.110 --> 00:06:42.269 just win. They absolutely dominated. We are talking 00:06:42.269 --> 00:06:47.759 about sheer. unprecedented dominance. 24 Stanley 00:06:47.759 --> 00:06:50.500 Cups. To put 24 championships into perspective 00:06:50.500 --> 00:06:52.779 across the broader sports landscape. Me too. 00:06:53.149 --> 00:06:55.930 Until the New York Yankees won their 25th World 00:06:55.930 --> 00:06:59.269 Series in 1999, the Montreal Canadiens held the 00:06:59.269 --> 00:07:01.790 record for the most championships of any team 00:07:01.790 --> 00:07:04.750 in any major North American sports league. That 00:07:04.750 --> 00:07:07.129 is staggering. More than the Celtics, more than 00:07:07.129 --> 00:07:09.550 the Packers, anyone. And they didn't just win 00:07:09.550 --> 00:07:11.649 a bunch early on when there were only a few teams 00:07:11.649 --> 00:07:14.149 and then fade away. They sustained it. They really 00:07:14.149 --> 00:07:17.990 did. From the 1910s all the way through the 1990s, 00:07:17.990 --> 00:07:21.050 the Canadiens won at least one Stanley Cup in 00:07:21.050 --> 00:07:23.990 every single decade. That is an 80 -year street 00:07:23.990 --> 00:07:27.769 of relevance. 80 years. That requires successfully 00:07:27.769 --> 00:07:30.730 rebuilding and reinventing your roster through 00:07:30.730 --> 00:07:32.930 multiple entirely different eras of the game. 00:07:33.069 --> 00:07:34.629 Yeah, completely different styles of hockey. 00:07:34.810 --> 00:07:37.129 They survived World Wars. They survived the Great 00:07:37.129 --> 00:07:39.629 Depression, where they actually struggled economically 00:07:39.629 --> 00:07:42.329 so much they nearly sold an interest to owners 00:07:42.329 --> 00:07:45.069 in Cleveland. Wow, the Cleveland Canadiens just 00:07:45.069 --> 00:07:47.410 doesn't sound right. It really doesn't. And they 00:07:47.410 --> 00:07:50.129 survived Major League expansions, where the talent 00:07:50.129 --> 00:07:53.170 pool was heavily diluted. Through all of that, 00:07:53.250 --> 00:07:55.430 they still put together dynastic runs that are 00:07:55.430 --> 00:07:58.149 hard to comprehend today. Like the 50s. Right. 00:07:58.230 --> 00:08:01.569 They won five straight cups from 1956 to 1960. 00:08:01.949 --> 00:08:06.110 They won four straight from 1976 to 1979. Okay. 00:08:06.170 --> 00:08:07.930 Here's where it gets really interesting. Let's 00:08:07.930 --> 00:08:11.829 talk about that 1976 -77 team. Oh, boy. Because 00:08:11.829 --> 00:08:14.370 if you want to talk about a super team, the source 00:08:14.370 --> 00:08:16.769 material suggests this might be the greatest 00:08:16.769 --> 00:08:18.889 roster ever assembled in professional hockey. 00:08:19.029 --> 00:08:20.610 It's certainly in the conversation for the best 00:08:20.610 --> 00:08:23.360 ever. They played an 80 -game season that year. 00:08:24.120 --> 00:08:27.600 How many times did they lose? Eight. Eight? They 00:08:27.600 --> 00:08:29.660 lost eight games in an 80 -game season. That 00:08:29.660 --> 00:08:31.699 doesn't even sound mathematically possible in 00:08:31.699 --> 00:08:33.399 a professional sports league. To put that in 00:08:33.399 --> 00:08:36.000 perspective, imagine playing professional hockey 00:08:36.000 --> 00:08:37.980 every other night for six months against the 00:08:37.980 --> 00:08:40.059 best players in the world and going home defeated 00:08:40.059 --> 00:08:42.659 only eight times. It's absurd. And if you were 00:08:42.659 --> 00:08:45.419 scheduled to play them in Montreal, forget about 00:08:45.419 --> 00:08:48.820 it. They set a record for the longest home unbeaten 00:08:48.820 --> 00:08:53.179 streak. With 34 games. 34 games. They just refused 00:08:53.179 --> 00:08:55.860 to lose in their own building. Completely. And 00:08:55.860 --> 00:08:57.840 it wasn't just that they were squeaking out tight 00:08:57.840 --> 00:09:01.100 wins. The stat that really jumped out at me from 00:09:01.100 --> 00:09:03.519 the source notes is their goal differential. 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:06.000 The differential is crazy. They finished the 00:09:06.000 --> 00:09:09.340 season at a plus 216. Which means they didn't 00:09:09.340 --> 00:09:12.779 just win, they dismantled the opposition. A plus 00:09:12.779 --> 00:09:16.740 216 goal differential across 80 games means... 00:09:17.120 --> 00:09:19.200 On average, they were beating their opponents 00:09:19.200 --> 00:09:22.019 by almost three goals every single night. Every 00:09:22.019 --> 00:09:24.220 night. They held the record for the most points 00:09:24.220 --> 00:09:29.139 in a season, 132 points, for almost half a century 00:09:29.139 --> 00:09:31.539 until the Boston Bruins finally edged it out 00:09:31.539 --> 00:09:36.460 recently in the 2022 -23 season. And looking 00:09:36.460 --> 00:09:39.360 at this roster of legends in our notes, there 00:09:39.360 --> 00:09:43.620 are 15 retired numbers here representing 18 different 00:09:43.620 --> 00:09:47.080 players. The most in the NHL. The most. And I 00:09:47.080 --> 00:09:49.360 see a note that every single one of these honored 00:09:49.360 --> 00:09:52.139 players was born in Canada and was part of at 00:09:52.139 --> 00:09:54.419 least two Stanley Cup winning teams for Montreal. 00:09:54.700 --> 00:09:56.860 It's an exclusive club. But for someone who doesn't 00:09:56.860 --> 00:09:59.539 study hockey history every day, who are the absolute 00:09:59.539 --> 00:10:01.919 pillars we need to know about? The names on that 00:10:01.919 --> 00:10:04.240 list are royalty. You have to start with Maurice 00:10:04.240 --> 00:10:07.059 Rocket Richard. The Rocket? Right. He was so 00:10:07.059 --> 00:10:09.700 prolific, so intense, and meant so much to the 00:10:09.700 --> 00:10:12.460 culture that the NHL literally named their annual 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:14.700 goal -scoring trophy after him. Wow. He scored 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:17.899 544 goals for the franchise. Then you have Guy 00:10:17.899 --> 00:10:20.659 Lafleur, who is the team's all -time points leader 00:10:20.659 --> 00:10:24.340 with an incredible 1 ,246 points. Incredible 00:10:24.340 --> 00:10:27.120 numbers. And their history of goaltenders is 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:30.159 unparalleled. You have legends like Jacques Plante, 00:10:30.340 --> 00:10:34.059 Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, and more recently, Carey 00:10:34.059 --> 00:10:36.659 Price. Carey Price. Yeah, he holds the modern 00:10:36.659 --> 00:10:40.379 team records for most games played and most wins 00:10:40.379 --> 00:10:44.019 by a goalie. Go back even further to Georges 00:10:44.019 --> 00:10:46.620 Vazina, another player who was so foundational 00:10:46.620 --> 00:10:49.460 that the league named the annual best goaltender 00:10:49.460 --> 00:10:51.899 trophy after him. It's just a factory of Hall 00:10:51.899 --> 00:10:54.340 of Famers. Truly. The source says they have 37 00:10:54.340 --> 00:10:56.700 players in the Hall of Fame just from their three 00:10:56.700 --> 00:11:00.059 main dynastic periods. It's wild. With that much 00:11:00.059 --> 00:11:02.220 talent and that much winning. It creates this 00:11:02.220 --> 00:11:05.299 atmosphere where the ghosts of past legends are 00:11:05.299 --> 00:11:07.639 always present. Oh, heavily present. And that 00:11:07.639 --> 00:11:10.320 level of success breeds some incredibly intense 00:11:10.320 --> 00:11:13.600 rivalries. It does. And the rivalries often reflect 00:11:13.600 --> 00:11:15.860 much larger societal dynamics. Let's talk about 00:11:15.860 --> 00:11:18.159 the Toronto Maple Leafs. The big one. They have 00:11:18.159 --> 00:11:20.000 been playing each other since Toronto was called 00:11:20.000 --> 00:11:23.279 the Arenas back in 1917. They have met in the 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:26.399 playoffs 16 times, including five Stanley Cup 00:11:26.399 --> 00:11:29.100 finals. But reading the cultural background here. 00:11:29.519 --> 00:11:31.740 this isn't just about two cities wanting to win 00:11:31.740 --> 00:11:34.799 a hockey game not at all it goes way deeper The 00:11:34.799 --> 00:11:37.559 source material notes that this rivalry, featuring 00:11:37.559 --> 00:11:41.480 the two largest cities in Canada, is often dramatized 00:11:41.480 --> 00:11:43.720 as being emblematic of the country's English 00:11:43.720 --> 00:11:46.820 and French linguistic and cultural divide. Right. 00:11:46.899 --> 00:11:50.820 For a long stretch from 1938 to 1970, Montreal 00:11:50.820 --> 00:11:53.100 and Toronto were the only two Canadian teams 00:11:53.100 --> 00:11:55.659 in the NHL. So you had to pick a side. Exactly. 00:11:55.679 --> 00:11:58.120 So if you were a hockey fan in Canada, you picked 00:11:58.120 --> 00:12:00.799 a side, and that choice often aligned very closely 00:12:00.799 --> 00:12:02.539 with your cultural background and the language 00:12:02.539 --> 00:12:05.320 you spoke at home. the two solitudes of Canada 00:12:05.320 --> 00:12:07.659 playing out on the ice. And you can see how the 00:12:07.659 --> 00:12:10.779 Canadians organization absolutely embraces its 00:12:10.779 --> 00:12:13.639 bilingual reality today as a point of pride. 00:12:13.860 --> 00:12:16.700 Very much so. Like during their home games, the 00:12:16.700 --> 00:12:18.659 public address announcements are in both English 00:12:18.659 --> 00:12:21.080 and French. Right. Their social media does both. 00:12:21.279 --> 00:12:23.600 Even the national anthem is a bilingual experience. 00:12:23.919 --> 00:12:26.779 It is. During home games, the first stanza of 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:29.419 O Canada is sung in French and the chorus is 00:12:29.419 --> 00:12:32.179 sung in English. It's a very clear signal of 00:12:32.179 --> 00:12:34.649 who they are. But while Toronto might be the 00:12:34.649 --> 00:12:37.759 major cultural rival, On the ice, their most 00:12:37.759 --> 00:12:40.639 frequent antagonist is actually another original 00:12:40.639 --> 00:12:43.679 six team. Meaning one of the foundational franchises 00:12:43.679 --> 00:12:46.279 that made up the league for 25 years before it 00:12:46.279 --> 00:12:48.879 expanded. Exactly. And that is the Boston Bruins. 00:12:49.139 --> 00:12:52.100 Since Boston entered the league in 1924, they 00:12:52.100 --> 00:12:54.059 have played the Canadians more than any other 00:12:54.059 --> 00:12:57.039 team. The numbers on this are staggering. They 00:12:57.039 --> 00:13:01.139 have faced off in 34 playoff series. 34. Seven 00:13:01.139 --> 00:13:03.059 of those were in the Stanley Cup finals. With 00:13:03.059 --> 00:13:06.080 34 playoff series, that is generations. of bad 00:13:06.080 --> 00:13:09.320 blood. That is, grandfathers, fathers, and sons 00:13:09.320 --> 00:13:12.120 all learning to dislike the same team. It is 00:13:12.120 --> 00:13:14.620 pure on -ice attrition. The Bruins and Leafs 00:13:14.620 --> 00:13:17.820 rivalries really highlight how seriously Montreal 00:13:17.820 --> 00:13:20.259 takes its hockey. It is heavy, heavy history. 00:13:20.399 --> 00:13:22.179 Very heavy. But reading through the sources, 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:24.179 I was completely blindsided by something else. 00:13:24.299 --> 00:13:26.299 Oh, yeah. I was surprised to find that a franchise 00:13:26.299 --> 00:13:29.299 this steeped in serious tradition, with the holy 00:13:29.299 --> 00:13:31.879 flannel and the cultural weight, actually has 00:13:31.879 --> 00:13:35.080 a wonderfully chaotic, goofy side. To balance 00:13:35.080 --> 00:13:38.779 it out. Ah, yes. Which brings us to Yuppie. The 00:13:38.779 --> 00:13:42.080 mascot, yes. For the vast majority of their century 00:13:42.080 --> 00:13:45.019 -long history, the Montreal Canadiens did not 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:47.360 have a mascot. They were above it. It wasn't 00:13:47.360 --> 00:13:50.379 until the 2004 -05 season that they finally adopted 00:13:50.379 --> 00:13:52.399 one. And they didn't even create him from scratch. 00:13:52.700 --> 00:13:54.940 No, they basically adopted an orphan. They did. 00:13:55.179 --> 00:13:59.389 Yuppie was the longtime beloved mascot. for the 00:13:59.389 --> 00:14:01.710 Montreal Expos, the Major League Baseball team. 00:14:01.769 --> 00:14:05.029 Right. He's this giant, fuzzy, orange creature. 00:14:05.309 --> 00:14:07.789 But when the Expos left town to become the Washington 00:14:07.789 --> 00:14:12.389 Nationals, they left Yupi behind. So the Canadians 00:14:12.389 --> 00:14:14.710 brought him on board. Which is a brilliant public 00:14:14.710 --> 00:14:16.690 relations move for the city, but it's also a 00:14:16.690 --> 00:14:20.019 historic one. By doing that, Yupi... became the 00:14:20.019 --> 00:14:22.279 first mascot in professional sports history to 00:14:22.279 --> 00:14:24.720 switch leagues. That's amazing. He is also the 00:14:24.720 --> 00:14:27.100 first mascot from a Canadian base club to be 00:14:27.100 --> 00:14:29.620 inducted into the Mascot Hall of Fame. And my 00:14:29.620 --> 00:14:32.379 absolute favorite fun fact about Yuppie from 00:14:32.379 --> 00:14:35.039 the notes. He is the first mascot in professional 00:14:35.039 --> 00:14:37.480 sports to ever get officially ejected from a 00:14:37.480 --> 00:14:39.899 game. Yes. Which happened back during his baseball 00:14:39.899 --> 00:14:43.100 days with the Expos. He's got an edge. He was 00:14:43.100 --> 00:14:45.299 causing trouble. The source notes also briefly 00:14:45.299 --> 00:14:48.830 mention metal. An unofficial blue mascot they 00:14:48.830 --> 00:14:51.950 introduced recently for their reverse retro games. 00:14:52.169 --> 00:14:55.309 Those special alternate jerseys the league introduced 00:14:55.309 --> 00:14:57.809 a few years ago. Right. Though metal was retired 00:14:57.809 --> 00:15:01.610 before the 2024 -25 season. So Yuppie is the 00:15:01.610 --> 00:15:05.000 main guy. He brings this great energy to a franchise 00:15:05.000 --> 00:15:08.179 that otherwise takes itself incredibly seriously. 00:15:08.559 --> 00:15:10.679 Taking themselves seriously has been a bit harder 00:15:10.679 --> 00:15:13.720 in the modern era, though. Yeah. Because as much 00:15:13.720 --> 00:15:15.940 as we have talked about dominance and dynasties, 00:15:16.100 --> 00:15:18.460 the recent history of the Canadians has been 00:15:18.460 --> 00:15:20.559 a completely different story. Yeah, let's bring 00:15:20.559 --> 00:15:22.779 us into the present. Because that incredible 00:15:22.779 --> 00:15:25.080 streak we mentioned earlier, winning a cup in 00:15:25.080 --> 00:15:28.000 every single decade, that died in the 2000s. 00:15:28.000 --> 00:15:30.899 It did. Their last Stanley Cup win was in 1993. 00:15:31.710 --> 00:15:34.269 Since then, it has been a really tough row. They 00:15:34.269 --> 00:15:36.490 entered a long stretch of mediocrity. In the 00:15:36.490 --> 00:15:39.230 late 90s, the situation actually became dire. 00:15:39.769 --> 00:15:42.149 Really? Yeah. The Canadian dollar was at a record 00:15:42.149 --> 00:15:44.570 low, and the financial struggles were so severe 00:15:44.570 --> 00:15:46.909 that fans were genuinely terrified the team might 00:15:46.909 --> 00:15:48.870 be relocated to the United States. That would 00:15:48.870 --> 00:15:51.279 have been unthinkable. The Molson Brewery ended 00:15:51.279 --> 00:15:54.100 up selling control of the team in 2001 to an 00:15:54.100 --> 00:15:56.600 American businessman named George Gillette Jr. 00:15:57.000 --> 00:15:59.419 Go ahead. He helped stabilize their finances 00:15:59.419 --> 00:16:01.860 and eventually sold it back to a consortium led 00:16:01.860 --> 00:16:04.720 by the Molson family in 2009 for more than double 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:08.100 what he paid for it. Wow. Good business. So the 00:16:08.100 --> 00:16:10.720 business side was saved. The business was saved, 00:16:10.860 --> 00:16:13.779 but the on -ice product has been a roller coaster. 00:16:14.640 --> 00:16:17.200 The 2020s for the Montreal Canadiens have given 00:16:17.200 --> 00:16:20.580 fans absolute whiplash. If we connect this to 00:16:20.580 --> 00:16:23.279 the bigger picture, you really see the extremes 00:16:23.279 --> 00:16:26.340 of professional sports condensed into a span 00:16:26.340 --> 00:16:29.399 of just two years. Let's look at the 2020 -21 00:16:29.399 --> 00:16:31.559 season. This was during the height of the COVID 00:16:31.559 --> 00:16:34.620 -19 pandemic. Right. The NHL had to realign the 00:16:34.620 --> 00:16:37.240 league, putting all the Canadian teams in a single 00:16:37.240 --> 00:16:39.840 North division to avoid border travel. They were 00:16:39.840 --> 00:16:41.820 playing in empty arenas for much of the year. 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:44.200 And the Canadians were not considered a powerhouse. 00:16:44.879 --> 00:16:47.019 But they sneak into the playoffs, and they go 00:16:47.019 --> 00:16:49.580 on this miraculous run. A total Cinderella story. 00:16:49.840 --> 00:16:52.340 They are down 3 -1 to the Toronto Maple Leafs 00:16:52.340 --> 00:16:54.320 in the first round, and they battle all the way 00:16:54.320 --> 00:16:56.360 back to win it in seven games. Beating their 00:16:56.360 --> 00:16:59.200 biggest rival. Then they sweep the Winnipeg Jets. 00:16:59.399 --> 00:17:02.500 Then they beat the Vegas Golden Knights in overtime 00:17:02.500 --> 00:17:05.680 in Game 6 to advance to the Stanley Cup Final 00:17:05.680 --> 00:17:08.759 for the first time in 28 years. They were the 00:17:08.759 --> 00:17:11.160 first Canadian team to make it that far since 00:17:11.160 --> 00:17:14.089 Vancouver back in 2011. It was a magical run, 00:17:14.190 --> 00:17:16.549 even though they ultimately lost the final to 00:17:16.549 --> 00:17:18.329 the Tampa Bay Lightning in five games. Right. 00:17:18.410 --> 00:17:20.390 You would naturally assume that a trip to the 00:17:20.390 --> 00:17:22.609 final would be the foundation for a new era of 00:17:22.609 --> 00:17:25.150 success. Naturally. But instead, the very next 00:17:25.150 --> 00:17:29.349 season, 2021 -22, was a historic collapse. To 00:17:29.349 --> 00:17:31.549 go from the Stanley Cup final to what happened 00:17:31.549 --> 00:17:35.390 next is jarring. Just how bad did it get? They 00:17:35.390 --> 00:17:38.829 finished dead last in the entire NHL. dead last 00:17:38.829 --> 00:17:41.190 the very bottom of the standings it was the first 00:17:41.190 --> 00:17:44.109 time they'd finished last since the 1939 40 season 00:17:44.109 --> 00:17:47.589 it was their first last place finish ever in 00:17:47.589 --> 00:17:50.089 the modern expansion era since the league doubled 00:17:50.089 --> 00:17:53.069 in size back in 1967 so they were setting records 00:17:53.069 --> 00:17:56.009 in the wrong direction Absolutely awful franchise 00:17:56.009 --> 00:17:58.769 records. The most regulation losses in their 00:17:58.769 --> 00:18:01.970 history with 49, the most goals against, and 00:18:01.970 --> 00:18:04.690 the fewest wins in a minimum 70 game schedule 00:18:04.690 --> 00:18:08.509 with just 22 wins. 22 wins after playing for 00:18:08.509 --> 00:18:10.730 the Cup the year before. That is a free fall. 00:18:10.910 --> 00:18:13.809 And that catastrophic drop forced the organization's 00:18:13.809 --> 00:18:17.289 hand. Team owner Jeff Molson had to authorize 00:18:17.289 --> 00:18:21.369 a true rebuild. Which is huge. Now, for a franchise 00:18:21.369 --> 00:18:23.710 with this much pride, that is a bitter pill. 00:18:24.170 --> 00:18:26.369 In the modern history of the Canadians, they 00:18:26.369 --> 00:18:29.089 had never formally torn down the roster to rebuild 00:18:29.089 --> 00:18:31.670 from scratch over an extended period. Right. 00:18:31.730 --> 00:18:33.109 They always just tried to fix it on the fly. 00:18:33.230 --> 00:18:35.390 They always tried to retool on the fly. But the 00:18:35.390 --> 00:18:38.630 2021 -22 failure proved that relying on the ghosts 00:18:38.630 --> 00:18:40.849 of the past wasn't going to work anymore. They 00:18:40.849 --> 00:18:42.849 needed a clean slate. So they brought in a new 00:18:42.849 --> 00:18:44.809 general manager in Kent Hughes. Hughes, and a 00:18:44.809 --> 00:18:47.309 new head coach, Martin St. Louis, to start over. 00:18:47.470 --> 00:18:50.009 And looking at the most recent data and the source 00:18:50.009 --> 00:18:52.549 material, it seems like biting that bullet is 00:18:52.549 --> 00:18:55.009 finally starting to pay off. It really is. In 00:18:55.009 --> 00:18:58.829 the recently completed 2024 -25 season, the rebuild 00:18:58.829 --> 00:19:01.480 is showing real fruit. They bounce back with 00:19:01.480 --> 00:19:05.339 a solid campaign. 40 wins, 91 points, and they 00:19:05.339 --> 00:19:07.480 finally return to the playoffs. They lost in 00:19:07.480 --> 00:19:09.059 the first round, but the trajectory is completely 00:19:09.059 --> 00:19:11.099 different now. The modernization is working. 00:19:11.380 --> 00:19:13.880 It proves that even a team with a century of 00:19:13.880 --> 00:19:16.579 institutional memory has to be willing to evolve. 00:19:16.900 --> 00:19:19.980 You cannot survive in the modern NHL just because 00:19:19.980 --> 00:19:22.359 you wear the holy flannel. You have to adapt 00:19:22.359 --> 00:19:25.140 your approach to team building. So what does 00:19:25.140 --> 00:19:27.799 this all mean? Good question. When we zoom out 00:19:27.799 --> 00:19:30.240 and look at all these sources, the Montreal Canadiens 00:19:30.240 --> 00:19:32.759 are a masterclass in duality. They really are. 00:19:32.859 --> 00:19:35.519 On one hand, they're a team that carries this 00:19:35.519 --> 00:19:38.380 immense weight of historical dominance. The 24 00:19:38.380 --> 00:19:41.220 Cups, the unbeatable records, the Hall of Famers. 00:19:41.339 --> 00:19:44.880 The ghosts. Exactly. On the other hand, they're 00:19:44.880 --> 00:19:47.559 constantly trying to adapt to modern realities, 00:19:47.740 --> 00:19:50.599 rebuilding their roster from the ground up. Right. 00:19:50.920 --> 00:19:53.400 And through it all, they have maintained a profound 00:19:53.400 --> 00:19:56.819 cultural identity that means so much to the Francophone 00:19:56.819 --> 00:19:59.539 community and to hockey fans globally. It really 00:19:59.539 --> 00:20:01.740 is a unique position in the world of sports. 00:20:01.900 --> 00:20:03.900 And this raises an important question, something 00:20:03.900 --> 00:20:06.299 for you to think about long after we sign off 00:20:06.299 --> 00:20:09.920 today. In the Canadiens' dressing room, right 00:20:09.920 --> 00:20:12.420 where the players can see it, there is a famous 00:20:12.420 --> 00:20:15.180 motto painted on the wall. Okay. It is taken 00:20:15.180 --> 00:20:17.839 from the World War I poem in Flanders Fields. 00:20:17.900 --> 00:20:21.140 It says, To you from failing hands we throw the 00:20:21.140 --> 00:20:25.119 torch. Be yours to hold it high. Wow. Imagine 00:20:25.119 --> 00:20:27.779 sitting in your locker stall, taping your stick, 00:20:27.940 --> 00:20:30.519 and reading a poem about fallen soldiers telling 00:20:30.519 --> 00:20:33.720 you to carry the torch. Exactly. When a franchise 00:20:33.720 --> 00:20:36.640 has a history that is so deeply intertwined with 00:20:36.640 --> 00:20:39.839 a specific cultural and linguistic identity and 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:42.539 a motto literally begging future generations 00:20:42.539 --> 00:20:45.940 to live up to the past, does that immense historical 00:20:45.940 --> 00:20:48.660 weight act as an inspiration that elevates the 00:20:48.660 --> 00:20:51.339 current players to greatness? Or does it create 00:20:51.339 --> 00:20:54.079 an impossible shadow that modern rosters simply 00:20:54.079 --> 00:20:56.680 cannot skate out from under? That is the ultimate 00:20:56.680 --> 00:20:58.700 question for anyone putting on that sweater today. 00:20:58.880 --> 00:21:01.210 It really is. Thank you so much for joining us 00:21:01.210 --> 00:21:03.450 on this deep dive into the Montreal Canadiens. 00:21:03.470 --> 00:21:05.589 The next time you catch a game, look at the logos, 00:21:05.730 --> 00:21:08.289 listen to the crowd and keep exploring the incredible 00:21:08.289 --> 00:21:10.950 history hidden in the sports you watch. We will 00:21:10.950 --> 00:21:12.410 catch you next time.