Long time home of the
Montreal Canadiens of the
NHL. Situated on Sainte-Catherine, it served as their home from 1926*-1996. Seating 10,000, the Forum was originally built to house the new
Montreal Maroons hockey team, the rival to the
Canadiens. However, the Canadiens outlasted the Maroons in the
NHL and took over the building officially in 1926.
Despite being intended to house the
Maroons, the Canadiens were actually the team to play the inagural game. Due to a problem with the
ice at their home rink (
Mont-Royal Arena) they were forced to play their game against the
Toronto St. Pats. The game was a 7-1 win for Montreal.
In 1993 contruction began on the new
Molson Centre. In 1996 the Canadiens moved to their new home.
There are many legends and stories about the old Forum. From the 'Ghosts of teams past' helping the Canadiens to win an astonishing 24
Stanley Cups, to the locker room. Actually you can now see their locker room at the
Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. They moved it piece by piece to the
HHoF, including the classic phrase, "To you from failing hands we throw The torch; be yours to hold it high". The phrase was inscribed above the lockers of the players, and comes from "
In Flanders Field" by
John McCrae.