The Montreal Canadiens, officially le Club de hockey Canadien and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference. Since 1996, the team has played its home games at Bell Centre, originally known as Molson Centre. The Canadiens previously played at the Montreal Forum, which housed the team for seven decades and all but their first two Stanley Cup championships.
Game between the Canadiens and the New York Rangers in 1962.
The Bell Centre with banners celebrating the Montreal Canadiens centennial.
The Canadiens mascot, Youppi!, poses for photographs at a Rogers Media event
Some of the retired numbers at Bell Centre, photographed in 2010
Montreal Forum is a historic building located facing Cabot Square in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Called "the most storied building in hockey history" by Sporting News, it was an indoor arena which served as the home of the National Hockey League's Montreal Maroons from 1924 to 1938 and the Montreal Canadiens from 1926 to 1996. The Forum was built by the Canadian Arena Company in 159 days. Today most of the Forum building is now a multiplex cinema known as Cineplex Cinemas Forum operated by Cineplex Entertainment. Additionally, a large portion of the building's upper floors are used as campus expansion for Dawson College.
Interior of the arena (c.1972)
The Montreal Forum under construction in 1924.
Canadiens vs. Chicago Blackhawks at the Forum