1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Guy Lafleur Jersey

The Montreal Canadiens were founded in 1909 as members of the brand new National Hockey Association in order to provide the French fans of Montreal a team to rival the Anglophone Montreal Wanderers.

The first player to ever score a goal for the Canadiens was future Hall of Famer Newsy Lalonde, who would lead the club with 16 goals despite only appearing in 6 games before being traded to the Renfrew Creamery Kings (also known as the Millionaires). Lalonde would add another 22 goals for Renfrew in just five games to lead the NHA in scoring with 38 goals, as assists were not awarded back then. Lalonde would return to Montreal for the 1910-11 season and again led the club with 19 goals in 16 games.

The first goal scorer in Canadiens history, Newsy Lalonde,
picture here in the first ever Canadiens sweater

With Lalonde lured out west by the Vancouver Millionaires for the 1911-12 season, Didier Pitre became the first Canadiens player to reach the 20 point mark when he finished as the runner up in the NHA scoring race with 27 goals in an 18 game schedule.

In 1914-15, Pitre became the first Canadiens player to reach the 30 point mark when he totaled 34 points from 30 goals and 4 assists, which were now credited as of 1913-14. Pitre barely missed out being the first 40 point scorer in 1915-16 when his 24 goals and 15 assists, but his 39 points made him the first Canadien to lead the league in scoring.

Pitre was the first Canadiens player with both 20 and 30 points

For the 1917-18 season, the NHA was disbanded and a new league rose to take it's place, the National Hockey League, of which the Canadiens were charter members. The brand new NHL was led in scoring by Joe Malone, who was on loan from the dormant Quebec Bulldogs. Malone was teamed with Lalonde and Pitre and the trio put on a scoring display unlike any ever seen before, as Malone became the first Canadiens player to top 40 points when he blitzed the league for 44 goals and 4 assists for 48 points in just 20 games. Malone's 44 goals in 1917-18 would stand as the league record for 46 years until 1943-44!

Joe Malone's 44 goals stood as the NHL record for 46 years

Such was the dominance of Malone's season, it would take until the 1927-28 season for Howie Morenz to become the first for Montreal to reach the 50 point barrier when his 33 goals and 16 assists game him 51 points to not only lead the club, but the entire NHL.

Howie Morenz was the first to 50 points

While Toe Blake came oh-so-close to hitting 60 points in 1942-43 with 59, the honors went to teammate Elmer Lach the following season when he vaulted past the 60 point barrier on his way to 72! While it took 16 years for Lach to hit both 60 points and 70 for the first time in team history, it took him just 12 months to become the first member of the Canadiens with 80 when he scored 26 goals and 54 points for exactly 80 in 1944-45, leading a 1-2-3 Canadiens sweep of the NHL scoring race, as Lach's 80 led Maurice Richard's 73 and Blake with 67.

Lach rewrote the Montreal record book in the 1940's,

as he was the first to 60, 70 and 80 points in two seasons

While Jean Beliveau came close with 88 points in 1955-59, it would be left winger Dickie Moore to first reach the 90 point plateau with 41 goals and 55 assists for 96 points, with Beliveau close behind at 91 to finish 1-2 in the league.

Dickie Moore pushed the mark to 90 points

While both Frank Mahovlich (96 in 1972) and Jacques Lemaire (95 in 1973) would take runs to become the first to reach the century mark, it would be Guy Lafleur who would take the honors as the first Canadien in the then 58 year history of the club to ever reach 100 points in a single season when he scored twice and added two assists on this date in 1975 in an 8-4 Montreal win over the Washington Capitals in Montreal.

Lafleur would go on to surpass 110 points later that season as he finished with 53 goals and 66 assists for a total of 119 points.

Just one season later, Lafleur eclipsed the 120 point mark with 125 from 56 goals and 69 points to win the NHL scoring race, a feat he repeated the very next season of 1976-77 as he amassed 136 points from 56 goals and 80 assists to set a team record which still stands to this day.

Guy Lafleur was the first to 100, as well as 110, 120 and

130 points in the span of just three seasons during the 1970's

To put Lafleur's 136 point season into perspective, Max Pacioretty led Montreal in scoring in the 2013-14 season with 60 points, less than half of Lafleur's record setting total.

Today's featured jersey is a 1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Guy Lafleur jersey as worn during the season Lafleur became the first player in franchise history to score 100 points in a single season.

While the first red Canadiens sweater with a blue band across the chest can be traced back to the 1912-13 season, it underwent a period of evolution, which included a "CA" crest before adopting to the "CH" logo in 1916, until arriving at the today's featured jersey for the 1966-67 season when the sleeve numbers were relocated inside the arm stripes. The 1974-75 season would be the final one for this variation with the lace up collar, which arrived back in 1941, as it would be replaced by a modern v-neck for 1975-76.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's video section is a career retrospective of Lafleur in his native French.

The History of the NHL Single Season Scoring Record

The National Hockey League made it's debut in 1917 with a 22 game schedule. Joe Malone of the Montreal Canadiens (on loan from the dormant Quebec Bulldogs) set the standard by leading the league in scoring with 44 goals and 4 assists for 48 points, an average of two goals per game!

Joe Malone set the first NHL scoring record in 1917-18

Two seasons later in 1919-20, Malone would raise the bar by a point following his 39 goal, 10 assist effort for 49 points in a now 24 game schedule while back with the revived Quebec franchise.

The NHL had changed dramatically by the 1927-28 season, expanding from four clubs to now ten with the additions of the Montreal Maroons, New York Americans, Boston Bruins, New York Rangers, Pittsburgh Pirates, Detroit Cougars and Chicago Black Hawks to the Canadiens, Ottawa Senators and Toronto Maple Leafs. This necessitated a now longer 44 game schedule and Howie Morenz of the Canadiens took over the league record for single season point scoring with 33 goals and 18 assists for 51 points, bettering Malone's eight year old mark of 49.

Howie Morenz

Morenz's record would be obliterated two seasons later when rule changes allowed forward passing in the offensive zone and temporarily removed the offside rule. Players camping out in front of the opponents goal led to the rule being reinstated by mid-season. The Boston Bruins Cooney Weiland was the biggest beneficiary of the new offensive freedom and scored 43 goals and 30 assists in 44 games for a new league record of 73 points, 22 more than Morenz just two seasons earlier.

Cooney Weiland brought the scorning record to the United States

Weiland's mark would remain the standard for over a decade. By the time World War II arrived, the NHL had contracted back to what is now known as the Original 6, while the season schedule had expanded to 50 games. Doug Bentley of the Chicago Black Hawks tied Weiland's record of 73 in 1942-43 with 33 goals and 40 assists.

Doug Bentley equalled the scoring record in 1943

One season later, Herb Cain of the Bruins put together the season of his life with a 36 goal, 46 assist campaign for 82 total points after just 36 the season before and never exceeded 45 in the final two seasons of his career. Despite breaking Weiland's 14 year old record, Cain remains the only eligible former NHL scoring champion not inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Herb Cain

Cain's stellar season would remain the record for seven seasons until Gordie Howe of the Detroit Red Wings, playing in his fifth NHL season, raised the mark to 86 points with 43 goals and 43 assists in 1950-51 in what was now a 70 game schedule, finishing a clear 20 points ahead of second place Maurice Richard,

Howe equalled his 86 points the following year with 47 goals and 39 assists in 1951-52 before beating his own league record with a 49 goal, 46 assist season for 95 points, a dominant 24 points clear of Detroit teammate Ted Lindsay. Howe would lead the league in points again the next season for four consecutive scoring titles and once more in 1957 for five in seven years.

The legendary Gordie Howe raised the scoring record twice

Six seasons after Howe set the record at 95 points, Dickie Moore would return the league record to the Canadiens when his 41 goals and 55 assists in 1958-59 eclipsed Howe by a single point with 96 in what was still a 70 game schedule.

Dickie Moore was the last of three Canadiens to hold the record

Moore's record would stand the test of time for a decade until the game saw it's first 100 point scorer in 1968-69. While Bobby Hull of Chicago set a new goal scoring record with 58, it was Phil Esposito of the Bruins who destroyed the old mark with his record shattering 126 points from 49 goals and 77 assists in a 76 game schedule. Both Hull (107) and Howe (103) also surpassed the 100 point mark that season to usher in a new era of offense in the NHL.

Phil Esposito was the first man to reach 100 points in an NHL season

Esposito easily broke his own record in 1970-71 when he set new records for goals and points with 76 goals and 76 assists for 152 points in a 78 game schedule, 13 clear of teammate Bobby Orr, who took away the MVP honors despite Esposito's scoring record.

Esposito was the third Bruin to set the scoring record

It would be another 10 years before the arrival of The Great One, Wayne Gretzky, would seize the record, first with a 164 point season from 55 goals and 109 assists in his second season in the NHL, 1980-81, in an 80 game schedule. Gretzky's 109 assists broke Orr's record of 102 set back in 1970-71.

Wayne Gretzky rewrote the record books

Gretzky broke his own record the following season of 1981-82. He announced his intentions of setting a new record when he scored 50 goals in just 39 games! He eventually finished the season by defeating Esposito's record of 76 goals with a new mark of 92 goals, which still stands to this day and remains the only 90 goal season in NHL history. Gretzky also blew away his record of 109 assists with 120 for a total of 212 points, shattering his own record for single season points by an amazing 47 points and becoming the first, and still only, player to ever reach 200 points.

Gretzky led the Oilers to four Stanley Cups

After two more 200 point seasons, Gretzky then set the NHL record on this date in 1986 when the Oilers defeated the Vancouver Canucks 3-2 with Gretzky picking up an assist, his 163rd of the season to break his own single season assist record. He also added 52 goals for a combined 215 points, a single season points scoring record which remains unbeaten now 29 seasons later, as the wide open, firewagon hockey of the 1980's has given way to improved goaltending and defensive systems, which has resulted in no player leading the league with even 130 points since 1996 and as few as 94 points in a full 82 game season in 2003-04.

Gretzky with the Art Ross Trophy (left) as the scoring champion

along with the Stanley Cup and Hart Trophy as league MVP

**********

The Evolution of the NHL Single Season Scoring Record

Joe Malone - 1917-18 - 48 points

Joe Malone - 1919-20 - 49

Howie Morenz - 1927-28 - 51

Cooney Weiland - 1929-30 - 73

Doug Bentley - 1942-43 - 73

Herb Cain - 1943-44 - 82

Gordie Howe - 1950-51 - 86

Gordie Howe - 1951-52 - 86

Gordie Howe - 1952-53 - 95

Dickie Moore - 1958-59 - 96

Phil Esposito - 1968-69 - 126

Phil Esposito - 1970-71 - 152

Wayne Gretzky - 1980-81 - 165

Wayne Gretzky - 1981-82 - 212

Wayne Gretzky - 1985-86 - 215

Today's featured jersey is a 1985-86 Edmonton Oilers Wayne Gretzky jersey as worn the season Gretzky set the NHL single season scoring record, which has now stood the test of time for nearly 30 years.

The Oilers changed the colors of their crest to a higher contrast and much more pleasing blue letters on a white background, rather than the orange background of their final WHA jerseys, in 1979-80 when they entered the NHL. In 1981-82 the shade of blue became lighter and the jerseys remained unchanged through the 1995-96 season, which included the team's dynasty of five Stanley Cups in seven seasons.

1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Guy Lafleur Jersey

The Montreal Canadiens were founded in 1909 as members of the brand new National Hockey Association in order to provide the French fans of Montreal a team to rival the Anglophone Montreal Wanderers.

The first player to ever score a goal for the Canadiens was future Hall of Famer Newsy Lalonde, who would lead the club with 16 goals despite only appearing in 6 games before being traded to the Renfrew Creamery Kings (also known as the Millionaires). Lalonde would add another 22 goals for Renfrew in just five games to lead the NHA in scoring with 38 goals, as assists were not awarded back then. Lalonde would return to Montreal for the 1910-11 season and again led the club with 19 goals in 16 games.

The first goal scorer in Canadiens history, Newsy Lalonde,
picture here in the first ever Canadiens sweater

With Lalonde lured out west by the Vancouver Millionaires for the 1911-12 season, Didier Pitre became the first Canadiens player to reach the 20 point mark when he finished as the runner up in the NHA scoring race with 27 goals in an 18 game schedule.

In 1914-15, Pitre became the first Canadiens player to reach the 30 point mark when he totaled 34 points from 30 goals and 4 assists, which were now credited as of 1913-14. Pitre barely missed out being the first 40 point scorer in 1915-16 when his 24 goals and 15 assists, but his 39 points made him the first Canadien to lead the league in scoring.

Pitre was the first Canadiens player with both 20 and 30 points

For the 1917-18 season, the NHA was disbanded and a new league rose to take it's place, the National Hockey League, of which the Canadiens were charter members. The brand new NHL was led in scoring by Joe Malone, who was on loan from the dormant Quebec Bulldogs. Malone was teamed with Lalonde and Pitre and the trio put on a scoring display unlike any ever seen before, as Malone became the first Canadiens player to top 40 points when he blitzed the league for 44 goals and 4 assists for 48 points in just 20 games. Malone's 44 goals in 1917-18 would stand as the league record for 46 years until 1943-44!

Joe Malone's 44 goals stood as the NHL record for 46 years

Such was the dominance of Malone's season, it would take until the 1927-28 season for Howie Morenz to become the first for Montreal to reach the 50 point barrier when his 33 goals and 16 assists game him 51 points to not only lead the club, but the entire NHL.

Howie Morenz was the first to 50 points

While Toe Blake came oh-so-close to hitting 60 points in 1942-43 with 59, the honors went to teammate Elmer Lach the following season when he vaulted past the 60 point barrier on his way to 72! While it took 16 years for Lach to hit both 60 points and 70 for the first time in team history, it took him just 12 months to become the first member of the Canadiens with 80 when he scored 26 goals and 54 points for exactly 80 in 1944-45, leading a 1-2-3 Canadiens sweep of the NHL scoring race, as Lach's 80 led Maurice Richard's 73 and Blake with 67.

Lach rewrote the Montreal record book in the 1940's,

as he was the first to 60, 70 and 80 points in two seasons

While Jean Beliveau came close with 88 points in 1955-59, it would be left winger Dickie Moore to first reach the 90 point plateau with 41 goals and 55 assists for 96 points, with Beliveau close behind at 91 to finish 1-2 in the league.

Dickie Moore pushed the mark to 90 points

While both Frank Mahovlich (96 in 1972) and Jacques Lemaire (95 in 1973) would take runs to become the first to reach the century mark, it would be Guy Lafleur who would take the honors as the first Canadien in the then 58 year history of the club to ever reach 100 points in a single season when he scored twice and added two assists on this date in 1975 in an 8-4 Montreal win over the Washington Capitals in Montreal.

Lafleur would go on to surpass 110 points later that season as he finished with 53 goals and 66 assists for a total of 119 points.

Just one season later, Lafleur eclipsed the 120 point mark with 125 from 56 goals and 69 points to win the NHL scoring race, a feat he repeated the very next season of 1976-77 as he amassed 136 points from 56 goals and 80 assists to set a team record which still stands to this day.

Guy Lafleur was the first to 100, as well as 110, 120 and

130 points in the span of just three seasons during the 1970's

To put Lafleur's 136 point season into perspective, Max Pacioretty led Montreal in scoring in the 2013-14 season with 60 points, less than half of Lafleur's record setting total.

Today's featured jersey is a 1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Guy Lafleur jersey as worn during the season Lafleur became the first player in franchise history to score 100 points in a single season.

While the first red Canadiens sweater with a blue band across the chest can be traced back to the 1912-13 season, it underwent a period of evolution, which included a "CA" crest before adopting to the "CH" logo in 1916, until arriving at the today's featured jersey for the 1966-67 season when the sleeve numbers were relocated inside the arm stripes. The 1974-75 season would be the final one for this variation with the lace up collar, which arrived back in 1941, as it would be replaced by a modern v-neck for 1975-76.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Today's video section is a career retrospective of Lafleur in his native French.

12/12/12

This being 12/12/12 we at Third String Goalie are taking a look at the best players to have ever worn the #12.

Notable players to have worn #12 include Wayne Cashman, Gary Dornhoefer, Simon Gagne, Bill Guerin, Tim Kerr, Tom Lysiak, Don Maloney, Patrick Marleau, Adam Oates, Pat Stapleton, Ron Stewart and Johnny Upton.

One active player we anticipate will have his number retired is the Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla, who has played every one of his 16 NHL seasons with the Flames. Iginla was the Art Ross Trophy winner in 2002 as the NHL's leading scorer and is a member of the 500 goal club, having won the Rocket Richard Trophy as the league's leading goal scorer twice, in 2002 (52) and 2004 (41) as well as another 50 goal season in 2008. He also was named the winner of the Lester Pearson Award in 2002, given to the most outstanding player as voted by the players association. Iginla has been the Flames captain since the 2003-04 season and has also won the King Clancy Trophy for leadership qualities on and off the ice and making a significant contribution to his community.

Iginla's featured jersey is a 1998-99 Calgary Flames Jarome Iginla jersey as worn in Tokyo, Japan during the Flames game on October 10, 1998 against the San Jose Sharks, commemorated with the Game ONe 98 Japan patch on the upper right chest. This game was the debut of the Flames new black alternate jerseys with the horse head logo, worn in recognition of the famous Calgary Stampede rodeo.

One of our favorite features of the jersey is the use of the old Atlanta Flames logo as the alternate captain's "A", in recognition of the franchise's origins in Atlanta.

aa

While we are confident the Flames will retire Iginla's number #12 someday, we wonder why the Washington Capitals have yet to retire Peter Bondra's #12?

Bondra is the Capitals franchise leader in goals with 472, ranks sixth in assists with 353 and remains their all-time leading scorer with 825 points. He also still holds nine team scoring records, including power play, shorthanded and game-winning goals in both a single season as well as in a career.

He played for the Capitals for 14 seasons, third most in franchise history, and led them in scoring for five of those seasons. His goals, points and years of service are greater than all four of the players who have had their jerseys retired by the Capitals, and honoring him is now overdue, something which needs to be corrected.

Bondra's featured jersey is a 1998-99 Washington Capitals Peter Bondra jersey. The Capitals comprehensively rebranded themselves in 1995 when they introduced an entirely new color scheme and logo, replacing their original red, white and blue colors with blue, bronze and black. Two seasons later they debuted a new third jersey, which promoted their secondary logo to the front of their new black jersey. Note the arched treatment for the name on the back, which also employed a single white outline to encapsulate the entire name.

1999-00 was the final season of use as an alternate, notable for the NHL 2000 patch worn by all the players that season. For the 2000-01 season, this jersey replaced The Capitals blue road jersey with the black jersey, which saw the names on the back become straight across and each letter now separate from the others.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Of the four players to have had the number 12 retired in their honor in the NHL, Stan Smyl of the Vancouver Canucks was the first when the Canucks raised his jersey to the rafters on November 3, 1991, the first number retired in Canucks history. After winning two Memorial Cups with the Westminster Bruins in 1977 and 1978, including being named the MVP in 1978, Smyl was drafted by the Canucks in 1978.

While with the Canucks he would become the franchise's leading goal scorer while scoring 60 or more points for seven straight seasons and 20 or more goals for eight straight. He captained the Canucks for eight seasons and would close out his career as the Canucks leader in goals (262), assists (411), points (673) and games (896). While his offensive numbers would decrease dramatically near the end of his career, he was still a valuable player thanks to his defensive skills and relentless checking as well as his leadership.

Today's featured Smyl jersey is a 1987-88 Vancouver Canucks Stan Smyl jersey. His rookie season was the first for the Canucks new black, orange and yellow "flying V" jerseys, which lasted until 1985, when today's featured style was introduced. These jerseys took on a somewhat more traditional approach, with the team logo as the main crest and a return to classic arm and waist striping following the controversial departure of the previous style.

Still, the Canucks bold colors still remained, standing out against a sea of reds and blues in the NHL, and they were one of only two teams, with the Kings being the other, to have yellow/gold home jersey rather than the traditional white.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

Next to have the #12 retired in their honor was Sid Abel of the Detroit Red Wings. Abel first joined Detroit in 1938 and eventually played 12 years for the Red Wings, winning Stanley Cups in 1943, 1950 and 1952, the latter two as a member of "The Production Line" with Ted Lindsay and Gordie Howe.

Abel won the Hart Trophy as MVP of the NHL in 1949 and finished his career with 189 goals and 472 points in 612 games. He later coached the Red Wings from 1957 through 1968 and was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1969.

Today's featured Abel jersey is a 1949-50 Detroit Red Wings Sid Abel jersey from Abel's second Stanley Cup winning season. Note the lack of sleeve numbers on this old sweater, which did not arrive until 1961.

This design originated in 1932 when the Detroit Falcons changed their name to the Red Wings and has remained essentially unchanged ever since.

After not retiring any jerseys for ten years, as part of their Centennial celebrations, the Canadiens announced a series of sweater retirements to take place over the course of five seasons. Having retired just one number in 20 years, the Canadiens began to make up for lost time by unusually retiring the #12 for two men, Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer during the same ceremony on November 12, 2005. 

Moore was a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner who once held the NHL single season scoring record with 96 points. In 12 years with the Canadiens, Moore won six Stanley Cups, including five consecutive, and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1974.

Cournoyer skated for the Canadiens for 16 years, including being named team captain in 1975. He scored 40 goals four times, with a high of 47 in 1972, the same season he won a Conn Smythe Trophy after scoring 15 goals and 25 points in 17 games. Cournoyer won ten Stanley Cups during his career At the time of his retirement in 1978, he was fourth on the all-time Montreal scoring list. He is one of just 44 players to have scored five goals in a game and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1982.

Our final featured #12 jersey is a 1974-75 Montreal Canadiens Yvan Cournoyer jersey. This was the final season in which the Canadiens wore a tie-neck collar and yet to add names on the backs of their sweaters. This exact variation of the Canadiens sweater arrived in 1963 and remained in use through 1975, although the basic design can be traced back to 1912, five years before the formation of the NHL. Note the back numbers are not centered on the blue stripe. While the placement of the numbers on the stripe has varied over the years, some higher and some lower, the numbers seldom, if ever, have been centered on the stripe as many assume.

photo courtesy of Classic Auctions

1934-35 Montreal Canadiens Howie Morenz Jersey

On this date in 1937, the Montreal Canadiens retired the first sweater in club history, the #7 of the late Howie Morenz, who had died at age 34 following a heart attack while hospitalized for a broken leg suffered in a game five weeks earlier. Morenz had played for Montreal for 12 seasons, winning three Stanley Cups, two Art Ross Trophies and three Hart Trophies.

Howie Morenz's #7 jersey hangs in his locker in the Canadiens dressing room following his death in 1937

The Canadiens would not retire another number for 23 years when the iconic #9 of Maurice Richard was raised to the rafters of the Montreal Forum following Richard's great career, which included him becoming the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games, as well as winning eight Stanley Cups and one Hart Trophy.

Richard's game worn #9 jersey

Eleven years on, the Canadiens would honor the great Jean Beliveau by ensuring no one else would wear his #4. Beliveau would play 20 seasons with Montreal, score over 500 goals, retire as the club's all-time leading scorer and the NHL's leading playoff scorer, play in 14 All-Star Games, win an Art Ross Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a pair of Hart Trophies on his way to winning ten Stanley Cups and serve as team captain longer than any other player.

Beliveau wearing his #4 captain's jersey

Henri Richard's #16 was next to be set aside on December 10, 1975 after his career which included his record 11 Stanley Cups, which still stands today, and more than 1,000 career points. He also holds the record for Most Games Played in club history and was also a team captain for the Canadiens.

Henri Richard poses with his home and away #16 sweaters

Both Guy Lafleur and defenseman Doug Harvey had their numbers retired in 1985. Lafleur's #10 received the honor on February 16, 1985 after his career, which included five Stanley Cups, 1,246 points which makes him the all-time leader in Canadiens history, over 500 goals, the club records for most goals in a season with 60 and most points in a season with 136. He was also the first player to have 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons and the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points. He won three Art Ross Trophies, two Hart Trophies, three Pearson Awards and a Conn Smythe trophy while a member of the Canadiens.

Lafleur pictured in front of his #10

#2 Doug Harvey was honored with his sweater retirement early the following season on October 26, 1985. The seven-time winner of the Norris Trophy played 14 seasons with Montreal, winning six Stanley Cups in the process.

Doug Harvey's #2 is retired in 1985

It would be another ten years before Jacques Plante's #1 was raised to the rafters. Plante played for Montreal for ten seasons, winning six Stanley Cups, including five in a row. Plante was a winner of the Hart Trophy once and six Vezina Trophies while a member of the Canadiens. He is also credited for wearing the first modern goalie mask.

Plante's banner hangs in the rafters with the other retired banners

Following Plante's jersey retirement, it would be an additional ten years before the Canadiens would honor another player in the same manner.

As part of their Centennial celebrations, the Canadiens announced a series of sweater retirements to take place over the course of the next five seasons. Having retired just one number in 20 years, the Canadiens began to make up for lost time by retiring the #12 for two men, Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer on November 12, 2005. Moore was a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner who once held the single season scoring record with 96 points. In 12 years with the Canadiens, Moore won six Stanley Cups.

Cournoyer skated for the Canadiens for 16 years, including being named team captain. He won a Conn Smythe Trophy and won ten Stanley Cups while with the Canadiens. At the time of his retirement in 1978, he was fourth on the all-time Montreal scoring list.

Cournoyer holds up a signed #12 Canadiens jersey

Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion's #5 came next on March 11, 2006. Geoffrion's colorful nickname is a result of his invention of the slapshot. He played 14 seasons in Montreal, won the Calder Trophy, two Art Ross Trophies, the Hart Trophy and six Stanley Cups. Sadly, he passed away on the day his number was retired.

The ceremony to retire Geoffrion's #5 just hours after his passing

The 2006-07 season saw the retirements of #18 for Serge Savard and #29 for goaltender Ken Dryden. Savard became the first defenseman to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1969. He also was named the winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1979 and won eight Stanley Cups in 15 seasons with Montreal.

Serge Savard's #18 rests in the rafters in Montreal

Dryden's career was shorter at eight seasons, but during those years he won the Calder Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy (before winning the Calder!), five Vezina Trophies and six Stanley Cups.

Ken Dryden and his family watch is banner being raised in 2007

Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey were honored in 2007-08. Robinson's #19 rose to the rafters in honor of his 17 seasons with Montreal which included two Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe and six Stanley Cups. In 1976-77 he finished the year with a +120 rating, the second highest in history, and one of only two seasons ever over +100.

Robinson's #19 is retired

Bob Gainey's #23 was retired following his 16 seasons with Montreal which saw him capture four Selke Trophies. While his list of awards is not as lengthy and his point totals not as high as his fellow honored Canadiens, his role as a defensive forward was a key component to the five Stanley Cups Montreal won during Gainey's time with the Canadiens.

Gainey's #23 is raised to the rafters

Patrick Roy was welcomed back into the Canadiens family on November 22, 2008. Roy is the youngest winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy at age 20. In 12 seasons in Montreal, Roy won three Vezina Trophies, four Jennings Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies and two Stanley Cups.

Patrick Roy poses with his banner

Finally on the date of the Canadiens centennial, December 4, 2009, the jerseys of both #3 Emile Bouchard and #16 Elmer Lach were surprisingly retired as part of the festivities that evening. Lach played 14 seasons for the Canadiens as part of the famed "Punch Line" with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. He won two Art Ross Trophies and the Hart Trophy as well as three Stanley Cups. At the time of his retirement in 1954, he was the league's all-time leading scorer.

Bouchard, a defenseman, was captain of the Canadiens for eight seasons during his 15 years with Montreal, which included four Stanley Cup titles. He was the first Quebec-born player to wear the "C" for Montreal. The QMJHL's Defenseman of the Year trophy is named in his honor. At the time of Bouchard's sweater retirement, Canadiens player Ryan O'Byrne was wearing #3, but surrendered it as part of the ceremony, permanently changing to #20.

Lach and Bouchard have their numbers retired in 2009

With the recent run of sweater retirements, the Canadiens have now taken 15 numbers out of circulation in honor of 17 players. Only numbers 6 and 8 remain in the single digits, resulting in an unprecedented number of Canadiens wearing non-traditional jersey numbers higher than #30.

In keeping with the current trend of wearing a patch on the occasion of a jersey retirement, the Canadiens have worn special patches on the players jerseys during the game following their recent jersey retirements.

Alexi Kovalev wearing a patch on the occasion of the retirement of Bob Gainey's #23

Today's featured jersey is a 1934-35 Montreal Canadiens Howie Morenz jersey. This jersey is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. His was the first of 15 numbers retired by the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens first wore their "CH" logo back in 1916 and it appeared on the sleeves for the first time in 1924 when the club wore a globe on the front of their jerseys to symbolize their status as world champions. The following season the logo returned to the chest, but the smaller version of the logo remained on the left sleeve through 1935.

In a wonderful ceremony on the occasion of the clubs 100th Anniversary, many of the men who have had their jerseys retired by the Canadiens took part in a special pre-game warmup and then participated in the remainder of the celebrations that evening, which included the unexpected retirement of Bouchard's #3 and Lach's #16.