A few Magnificent Montreal Canadiens snap shots
Montréal – Downtown Montréal: Bell Centre – Place du Centenaire – Maurice “Rocket” Richard
Image by wallyg
This statue of Maurice "Rocket" Richard by Marc André J Fortier stands at La Place du Centenaire. Arguably the greatest goal scorer and most celebrated player in hockey history, Richard spent his entire 18-year career with the Canadiens, from 1942-1960, serving a captain from 1956-1960 and leading the Habs to eight Stanley Cups. A five-time NHL scoring champion, he became the first player to score 50 goals in a season in 1943-44, realizing the feat in 50 games. En route to amassing a club-record 544 career goals, he was the first player in NHL history to reach the 500-goal mark. Richard was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1961. His #9 was retired by the Montreal Canadiens on October 6, 1960.
La Place du Centenaire (Centennial Plaza), located on De La La Gauchetière and corner of De La Montagne outside La Centre Bell, was inaugurated on December 4, 2008, one year to the day of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Montreal Canadiens. The Plaza features three other bronze monuments, all by Fortier, honoring the Canadiens greatest legends, Howie Morenz, Jean Béliveau, and Guy LaFleur. The Royal Canadian Mint created special dollar coins, which are embedded in a commemorative plaque at the foot of each monument along with original five cent circulation coins marking the career of each player.
The Centennial Plaza also includes over 20,000 personalized bricks by Canadiens fans, a plaque describing each of the 24 Stanley Cup Championships, a small monument for each of the 15 Canadiens players who had their jersey retired by the Club, and bricks commemorating the 100 most memorable moments in franchise history.
Montréal Canadiens vs. New Jersey Devils, October 21, 2010
Image by The West End
A shot from the video board during the first of the Canadiens’ two introductory videos.