Though this celebration has inevitably lost some steam due to relentless marketing and pre-game ceremonies for all of living memory, it would be a shame to let it pass unnoticed just because Mr. Gillett wanted to cash in before he cashed out.
1909-1919
From humble beginnings, the Canadiens grew over this first decade to be the only club standing in Montreal and a perennial threat for the Stanley Cup championship. They even managed to choose a uniform (more or less) after far too much time at the drawing board.
This first decade, like the 1990s and 1920s only encompasses one Cup victory. But we cut them some slack for those first years where they really never had a chance at winning anyway. To be up and running (and running rivals out of town), competing for the Cup after 4 years, and then winning a championship after only 6 years is quite impressive.
The 10 players from this first decade are quite well known, due to their mythical standing in the Canadiens lore – they all after all helped to kindle this unhealthy obsession with this new game on ice that pervades Montreal 100 years later.
[Note: Each player only appears in one decade's top 10 – sorry Brisebois fans]
10. Donald Smith (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Season) | 1912-15 | 51 | 39 | 15 | 54 | 18 | |
| Decade best (Season) | 1913-14 | 20 | 18 | 10 | 28 | 0 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1913-14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1913-14 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
Top-line offense for two extremely prolific seasons, along with two more seasons of service.
9. Joe Hall (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1917-19 | 38 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 189 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1917-18 | 21 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 100 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1917-19 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 38 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1918-19 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 26 |
Perhaps more famous for his Quebec Bulldogs days, where he led team to Cups. Joe was a solid producer for Montreal in the post-war years, helping the team to capture the NHL title in 1918 and then to the cusp of a second Cup in 1919. Unfortunately, Joe Hall succumbed to pneumonia that was a complication of the flu which led to the cancellation of the finals that year.
8. Bert Corbeau (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1914-22 | 167 | 52 | 32 | 84 | 541 | |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1917-18 | 21 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 41 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1916-19 | 18 | 6 | 3 | 9 | 85 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1916-17 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 22 |
Rugged stalwart of the Canadiens blueline from the earliest years.
7. Howard McNamara (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1915-20 | 34 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 123 | |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1915-16 | 24 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 119 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1915-16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1915-16 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 24 | SC |
The first Cup-winning captain of the Canadiens.
6. Jimmy Gardner (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1913-15 | 17 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 0 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1913-14 | 15 | 10 | 9 | 19 | 0 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | N/A | ||||||
| Decade best (Playoffs) | N/A |
Combined coach and captain of two early editions of the team, including the first to compete for the O'Brien Cup.
5. "Phantom" Joe Malone (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1917-24 | 58 | 52 | 6 | 58 | 35 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1917-18 | 20 | 44 | 4 | 48 | 30 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1918-23 | 9 | 6 | 2 | 8 | 6 | |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1918-19 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 3 |
Brought his incredible Bulldogs scoring rate to Montreal for one record setting season (2.2 G/GP!?!)
4. Jack Laviolette (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1909-18 | 155 | 48 | 19 | 67 | 174 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1913-14 | 20 | 7 | 9 | 16 | 0 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1914-18 | 14 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 15 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1915-16 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | SC |
Captained and coached the first edition of the Habs.
3. Georges Vezina (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | W | L | T | GAA | SO | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1910-26 | 328 | 175 | 146 | 6 | 3.42 | 15 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1924-25 | 30 | 17 | 11 | 2 | 1.81 | 5 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1914-25 | 26 | 16 | 10 | 0 | 3.19 | 3 | 2 SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1923-24 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.00 | 1 | SC |
16 years synonymous with the Canadiens. Hardly a person saw anyone else play goal for the Canadiens until the late 1920s.
2. Didier "Cannonball" Pitre (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1909-23 | 254 | 220 | 59 | 279 | 218 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1915-16 | 24 | 24 | 15 | 39 | 42 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1916-23 | 20 | 13 | 4 | 17 | 66 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1915-16 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 18 | SC |
Original team scoring machine from the home turf.
1. Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde (Top 100 all-time, Profile)
| Years(s) | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | Awards* | |
| Habs career (Regular season) | 1909-22 | 200 | 266 | 62 | 328 | 440 | HOF |
| Decade best (Regular season) | 1916-17 | 18 | 28 | 7 | 35 | 61 | |
| Habs career (Playoffs) | 1914-19 | 18 | 20 | 5 | 25 | 122 | SC |
| Decade best (Playoffs) | 1918-19 | 5 | 11 | 2 | 13 | 15 |
The original Canadiens superstar. Added captain and Stanley Cup winning coach to the CV by the end of the decade.
* Awards: HOF = Hall of Fame; SC = Stanley Cup.
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