Montreal Canadiens

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The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice Hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National hockey League (NHL). The franchise is officially known as Le Club de Hockey Canadien, but they are usually referred to as "Les Canadiens de Montréal" and their English name. Other French nicknames for the team include Le Canadien, Le Bleu-Blanc-Rouge, La Sainte-Flanelle, Le Tricolore, Les Glorieux, Les Habitants and Le Grand Club. In English, the main nickname is the Habs. Founded in 1909, the Canadiens are the league's oldest franchise and a part of the startup group known as the 'Original Six'. They have won more Stanley Cups (24) than any other NHL team, and are far ahead of the Toronto Maple Leafs' second most total of 13. On a percentage basis, as of 2006, this makes them the third most historically successful major pro sports team in North America, having won 25.3% of all NHL/NHA Stanley Cup championships. Only the Boston Celtics of the NBA (26.7%) and the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball (25.5%) have higher success rates. The Canadiens play their home games at the Bell Centre, which was previously named the Molson Centre up until 2003. Former homes of the team include Jubilee Rink, Montreal Westmount Arena, Mount Royal Arena and the famous Montreal Forum. The Forum was considered a veritable shrine to Hockey fans everywhere, and housed the team for seven decades and all but two of their Stanley Cup championships. The team's Championship season in 1992-93 still marks the last time that a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, in a current span of thifourteen seasons.