Go Habs Go!. Almost every visitor to Montreal is familiar with the city’s obsession with hockey. Not only do many of the city’s residents regularly don the blades to play this game, be it in pick up games or highly competitive organized leagues, but the Montreal Canadiens are the most successful franchise in National Hockey League history. The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, given to the NHL champions at the end of each season. This places them amongst the upper echelons of all sports franchises in any league in North America.
The Canadiens were founded in 1909, and are one of the Original Six hockey teams that formed the NHL in 1917. The team is also known as ‘Les Habitants’ or the Habs. The Habs were most dominant in the 1950’s and 1970’s, winning 5 straight Stanley Cups between 1956 and 1960 and 8 cups in the 9 seasons between 1968 and 1978. The most recent Stanley Cup victory for the Canadiens came in 1993, but that has done little to cool the passion that this city’s fans feel for their team.
Where do the Habs play?
The Canadiens moved from the Montreal Forum, located on the corner of Atwater and St-Catherines to the Bell Center in March of 1996. The Bell Center was initially named the Molson Center and is located on Rue de la Gauchetiere, which is closer to the downtown core. While the Bell Center is the largest arena in the NHL in terms of seating capacity, the decision to move the team was controversial and many fans believe that the new building does not capture the magic of the Canadiens as well as the Forum did. The Bell Center can seat 21 273 people for an NHL hockey game.
How can I get tickets?
While the Bell Center is conveniently connected to the city’s public transit infrastructure, and parking is not difficult to find, actually going to see a game is no easy task due to the scarcity of tickets. The Montreal Canadiens routinely sell out every home game, and the waiting list for season tickets is extremely long. While the team does release a few hundred tickets an hour before game time to the general public, these are quickly snatched up. The only real way for most people to get tickets to a Canadiens game is to buy them from a scalper, a website like StubHub.com or from EBay.
Where can I buy a Canadiens jersey?
The short answer is: pretty much anywhere! Canadiens memorabilia is ubiquitous in Montreal, and almost every souvenir shop, sports shop and hockey store will be able to sell you as many flags, pucks, sticks, jerseys, shirts and jackets as you can carry. There is also an official souvenir shop inside of the Bell Center that carries exclusively licensed Canadiens apparel and merchandise.
Is it worth going to a game?
Whether you are a hockey fan or not, experiencing a Montreal Canadiens game at the Bell Center is something you should definitely do if you are spending any time in the city during the hockey season, which runs from October to April. The atmosphere, crowd noise and the energy are not often duplicated anywhere else on the continent. With a little bit of planning, you should be able to secure yourself tickets to a night you will never forget.
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