After 100 years, 197 consecutive sold-out games and 24 Stanley Cups, perhaps the most lasting influence the team has had on the city of Montreal has been its ability to unite French and English, east and west, all in the name of the CH, said legendary left winger Dickie Moore.
Moore helped the Habs win six Stanley Cups in a career than spanned from 1951 to 1963, and said fan sentiment often mimicked politics at that time. Times were tough for an Anglophone player, said Moore.
"Here I was English, you know who my fans were? French Canadiens," said the Hall of Famer, explaining that management was especially mindful of his English-sounding name.
Politics off the ice faded away once his skates hit the ice, said Moore, who knew the fans appreciated the five-straight Cups he helped bring to the city in the late 50s.
No matter what language you spoke, he said, there was one name on everyone's lips those days: Rocket.
"What a man, what a man... I was so fortunate to start my career playing with him," said Moore.
The first player to achieve 50 goals in 50 games, Maurice Richard was so influential, some believe the 1955 Richard Riot stemmed a political revolution.
"If Maurice Richard did not exist in the 50's, there wouldn't have been the Quiet Revolution in the 60's," said Habs superfan Daniel Bigras.
It would be difficult to find a fan bigger than Bigras. With one tattoo of the Habs' logo, and another of Richard hoisting the Stanley Cup, the superfan moved out of his apartment next the Bell Centre to relocate to Brossard, and closer to the team practice rink.
Bigras said the Habs have long been integral players in shaping French Canadian culture.
"They helped create who we are today," he said.
And while in the past century the Beliveaus, Lafleurs and Robinsons have given way to the Koivus, Kostitsyns and Markovs, the pride of playing for a legendary team hasn't changed.
"We're a big family. When you play for the Montreal Canadiens, you play for the family, you don't play for yourself," said former Habs great Yvan Cournoyer. Hall of Famer Cournoyer was part of the Habs family from 1963 to 1979, and is remembered for his 15-goal, 10-assist postseason in 1973, bringing the Cup back to Montreal with a game-winning goal in the third against the Chicago Black Hawks. Another triumph for the team - and for the city.
In the end, said Moore, it's the fans that make the franchise great.
"It's the people of Montreal that make the Montreal Canadiens," said Moore.
Players - past and present - share their favourite memories
CTV Montreal: What is your favourite memory of playing with the Montreal Canadiens?
Yvan Cournoyer: Jacques Lemaire and myself, in the snow storm, we were leaving from Baie D'Urfe in Beaconsfield. We came to a hockey game on a snowmobile. There were 5000 people in the stands, and Jacques and I didn't want to miss the game.
CTV Montreal: Who was your favourite Montreal Canadien when you were a child?
Maxim Lapierre: I think growing up it was all about Patrick Roy. We were all trying to be the goalie in the street, and when we were playing pond hockey, he was the player.
CTV Montreal: What does it mean to wear the CH in this 100th year?
Ryan White: It's great, it's a huge thing. I was watching something on TV last night, going over the best leaders in Montreal, and the players... and there's so much history here. Every time I put (the CH) on, I get excited and a big smile on my face.
CTV Montreal: Do you have a favourite moment of one of the early Habs games you attended?
Georges Laraque: Probably my best moment is when I went to the game at the Forum for the first time, especially considering it no longer exists. But the best souvenir I have from that... I actually have a chair from the forum. It's #9, signed by Rocket Maurice Richard.
