Why are the Montreal Canadiens Nicknamed The Habs?

C stands for "Canadien" and "Club," and H stands for "Hockey" in Montreal Canadiens.

It depicts the team's official name, " The Canadian Hockey Club," a literal translation of "le Club de Hockey Canadien."

Over the year, the logo of the oldest NHL franchise has changed a lot. The present logo has an outer C, inner C, and capital H. Outer C represents Club, inner C denotes Canadien, and H stands for hockey.

During the inception year, the franchise came as Club Canadien in 1909. Later it was renamed Club Athletique Canadian and used the short-form CAC in the logo.

Once again in 1914, the team logo shifted from CAC to "A" located between two Cs. Now the logo has a large C, a small, inner C, and H in the middle. The "H" always stood for hockey.

However, many people mistake it for "Habitants." The confusion arose because of the former owner of Madison Square Garden. Once in an interview, he misspoke that the alphabet meant "Habitants."

The Montreal Canadiens are playing their home games at the Bell Center since 1996. It is formerly known as Molson Centre.

Molson family owns the Montreal-based multi-purpose arena. Not to forget, it is the largest ice hockey arena worldwide. Covered an area of 168,800 square feet, the stadium has a seating capacity of 21,105.

Nonetheless, Bell Centre is not the first home arena of the Habs. Their first house rink was the Montreal Arena which was destroyed by fire in 1918.

They moved to Jubilee Arena, that too burned down the subsequent year. Then, the Canadiens played in the Mount Royal Arena for seven years.

The oldest "Original Six" played most of their NHL games in Montreal Forum, counted 72 years. They moved to the stadium in 1926 and shared it with the Montreal Marrons until 1938. They won 22 Silver Cups during 70 seasons in the Forum.

After the world's largest ice hockey stadium was ready on March 16, 1996, the NHL franchise adopted it as its home arena. Furthermore, it hosted the 2009 NHL Entry Draft and one in 2022. The Centre hosted its first Stanley Cup Final in 2021.

TSN, RDS, and TVA Sports are the channel the Montreal Canadiens game is on tonight on Bell.

Sportsnet, ESPN, TNT, ABC, TBS, Hulu, and NHL Network also broadcast the Habs games.Montreal Canadiens games are broadcasted both in French and English languages.

Bell Media has the team's regional television broadcast rights in both languages.

Similarly, Reseay des Sports (RDS), a Canadian French language channel owned by CTV Specialty Television Inc., has regional television rights in Frech. They dealt with the club for 12 years, starting with the 2014-2015 NHL season.

On the other side, those who want to enjoy listening to the game of the Habs can tune in to TSN 690 and 98.5FM. Dan Robertson updates the play-by-play with former forward of the Canadiens, Sergio Momesso.

Likewise, on television, TSN sportscaster Bryan Mudryk has been the play-by-play announcer for Montreal since 2018. Mike Johnson, Dave Poulin and Craig Button are the color analysts.

Montreal Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, last marked in the 1992-1993 season. Their first victory was the 1916 finals defeating the Portland Rosebuds.

Until 1927, the NHA, PCHA, WCHL, and a few other league champions used to compete for the Silver Cup. For instance, Montreal defeated the Western Canada Hockey League champion Calgary Tigers in the 1923-1924 victory.

That means the Habs have won 22 Cups since only NHL franchises became the only ones to compete for the trophy in 1927. The teams are the highest-winning club in the Stanley Cup championship history since its inauguration award in 1893.

Following is the checklist of years the Montreal brought the Stanley Cup home and the team they won over:

1. 1916 defeated Portland Rosebuds with a 3-2
2. 1924 defeated Calgary Tigers with a 2-0
3. 1930 defeated the Boston Bruins with a 2-0 ( first victory after the NHL took over the Stanley Cup)
4. 1931 defeated Chicago Black Hawks with a 3-2
5. 1944 defeated Chicago Black Hawks with a 4-0
6. 1946 defeated Boston Bruins with a 4-1
7. 1953 defeated Boston Bruins with a 4-1
8. 1956 defeated Detroit Red Wings with a 4-1
9. 1957 defeated Boston Bruins with a 4-1
10. 1958 defeated Boston Bruins with a 4-2
11. 1959 defeated Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-1
12. 1960 defeated Toronto Maple Leafs with a 4-0
13. 1965 defeated Chicago Black Hawks with a 4-3
14. 1966 defeated Detroit Red Wings with a 4-2
15. 1968 defeated St. Louis Blues with a 4-0
16. 1969 defeated St. Louis Blues with a 4-0
17. 1971 defeated Chicago Black Hawks with a 4-3
18. 1973 defeated Chicago Black Hawks with a 4-2
19. 1976 defeated Philadelphia Flyers with a 4-0
20. 1977 defeated Boston Bruins with a 4-0
21. 1978 defeated Boston Bruins with a 4-2
22. 1979 defeated New York Rangers with a 4-1
23. 1986 defeated Calgary Flames with a 4-1
24. 1993 defeated Los Angeles Kings with a 4-1  

Former ice hockey player Kent Hughes is the general manager of the Montreal Canadiens. Hughes became the 18th GM of the franchise on January 18, 2022.

The Montreal native played ice hockey during his college days. He previously played Namtam AA hockey for the West Island Royals and midget AAA for the Lac St-Louis Lions.

After enrolling at Middlebury College, he led the team for the college ice hockey 1991-1992 season. Moreover, he played with the Cegep de Saint-Laurent Patriotes and won the league championship.

Prior to becoming a hockey executive, Hughes began his career as a player agent. That was right before he completed his doctorate from Boston College in 1996.

The Molson family explained Hughes' recruitment as the inception of the team rebuild process.

On the personal front, Kent is married to the love of his life Deena Hughes. The couple is a parent to three kids. Their eldest son Riley Hughes was the seventh-round pick of the Rangers' 2018 Entry Draft.

The Los Angeles Kings picked his youngest son in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft. Jack playes for Northeastern University in NCAA Dicision I collgege ice hockey.

The Molson family owns the Montreal Canadiens. Geoffrey Molson is the president and chief executive officer of the franchise.

In December 2009, the group led by Geoff, Justin, and Andrew Molson became the new owners of the hockey club. Previously, Canadian industrialist John Ambrose O'Brien was the founding owner of the club.

Later, American businessman George N. Gillett Jr. got control over the franchise from 2001 to 2009. Since then, the Molson family has been the sole owner of the club.

On Tuesday, Goeff and his team received the approval of ownership from the National Hockey League. The transaction also consisted of Bell Centre and Gillett Entertainment Group.

Mr. Molson stated the transaction was a proud moment for the whole family. He said, "As owners, we will be right there with management and the team, building and battling toward our next Stanley Cup."

Geoff, the current chairman of the team, is the son of billionaire businessman Eric Herbert Molson and Jane M. Molson. The other two co-owners, Andrew Molson and Justin Molson, are also their children.

Andrew is the eldest son of the family. They are members of one of the most prominent business families in Canada.