Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre: From My First Guy Lafleur Jersey to the Chase for No. 25 🏒
Somewhere in my collection is where this story really begins: the 1982–83 Montreal Canadiens season, a Guy Lafleur No. 10 jersey and a kid who had no idea he was beginning a relationship with a hockey club that would follow him for the rest of his life.
Lafleur was my hero. “The Flower.” No. 10. The hair flying behind him. The speed. The shot. That red Canadiens sweater coming down the wing at the Montreal Forum. My first hockey jersey carried his #. Back then, the Forum wasn’t a monument to Montreal Canadiens history. It was where history was still happening.
More than four decades later, when Groupe CH invited Best Kept MTL behind the scenes at the Bell Centre and actually onto the Canadiens ice it meant considerably more to me than another media invitation. I was standing on that CH logo carrying over 40 years of Canadiens memories with me. And somewhere in the back of my mind, I couldn’t help thinking The hockey gods owe this building one.
It Started With Guy Lafleur and the Montreal Forum
Guy Lafleur, No. 10, the player who defined my earliest Montreal Canadiens memories.
My Canadiens souvenirs started piling up during the 1982–83 season, but my connection to the team had already been sealed by Guy Lafleur. There was something about The Flower that captured what the Canadiens represented. Lafleur wasn’t simply a hockey player to a kid watching him. He seemed larger than the game itself. And he was part of a lineage.
Before him came Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Jean Béliveau, Jacques Plante and Henri Richard. Around Lafleur came names like Larry Robinson, Bob Gainey, Steve Shutt and Serge Savard. Then my generation got its own heroes. Most importantly, we got to experience winning.
I Remember 1986. I Remember 1993.
In 1986, a 20-year-old Patrick Roy helped bring Stanley Cup No. 23 back to Montreal. Then came 1993. Roy and the Canadiens defeated Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings to win Stanley Cup No. 24. I lived through both. That’s an important distinction for me.
These aren’t championships I discovered through old highlight packages or stories from another generation. I remember what it felt like when Montreal won. I remember when winning the Stanley Cup wasn’t some distant idea. It was something the Canadiens did. Maybe that’s why the wait feels so long now.
The Montreal Canadiens’ 1992–93 Stanley Cup championship — No. 24 and the last time the Cup came home to Montreal. Photo: Alistar Mac.
When the Forum Closed, the Ghosts Came With Us
The Canadiens left the Montreal Forum in 1996, and Montreal hockey changed forever. The building changed. The experience changed. Eventually, even the generations of fans changed. But the ghosts didn’t stay behind. The banners came with us. The retired numbers came with us. The torch came with us. And most importantly, the expectations came with us.
The Bell Centre ice beneath the banners that tell generations of Montreal Canadiens history. Photo: Edmond Chung.
The Montreal Canadiens Bell Centre has now been home to the Canadiens for three decades. We’ve witnessed great players there. We’ve experienced playoff runs, unforgettable nights and another generation of Canadiens memories. But there is still something this building has never experienced. A Stanley Cup championship.
Twenty-four Cups belong to Canadiens history. Not one has been won since the move from the Forum. For this hockey club, that feels almost unnatural. Hockey gods, are you listening?
The Sweater Gets Passed Down
That’s what struck me while walking through the Canadiens spaces during our Groupe CH experience. This organization doesn’t hide its history. It’s everywhere.
Generations of Montreal Canadiens history on display, a reminder of the legacy behind the CH crest. Photo: Edmond Chung.
The Stanley Cups. The photographs. The retired numbers. The jerseys. The names. Eventually every generation has to hand the sweater to the next one. For me, it started with Lafleur. Then came players like Patrick Roy. Later generations had Saku Koivu and Carey Price.And now kids are walking around Montreal wearing Nick Suzuki and Cole Caufield jerseys.
The sweater gets passed down. Cole Caufield and Nick Suzuki represent the next generation carrying the Montreal Canadiens tradition forward. Photo: Alistar Mac.
Maybe one of those jerseys is someone’s first, just as Lafleur’s No. 10 was mine. That’s how this works in Montreal. The players change.The sweater doesn’t.
The Bell Centre Experience Has Come a Long Way
One thing I can say after following this team for more than four decades: going to a Canadiens game today is a very different experience.
I’m too old to help them win No. 25 now—my scouting report isn’t particularly encouraging—but I’m certainly old enough to appreciate how far the Bell Centre fan experience has come since we left the Forum.
Youppi! joins Best Kept MTL behind the scenes at the Bell Centre. Photo: Edmond Chung.
Today, the history is still there, but everything surrounding the game has evolved: the hospitality, presentation, food, entertainment and the way fans interact with the Canadiens brand. Even dinner at the rink has changed considerably.
Ribs and mac & cheese, part of the evolving Bell Centre food experience. Photo: Edmond Chung.
We sampled ribs, mac & cheese and some of the newer Bell Centre food offerings at the M2 Marché Montréal. And then there’s the Montreal hockey institution that may be almost as fiercely defended as the CH itself: the hot dog. 🌭
The Bell Centre hot dog gets an upgrade while keeping the classic game-night spirit. Photo: Edmond Chung.
A bigger dog, an updated bun, ketchup, mustard and a little relish. Nothing ridiculous. It’s still a hockey hot dog. As it should be.
More Than a Media Invitation
That’s ultimately what made this invitation from Marie-Claude and her team at Groupe CH so memorable for me. Best Kept MTL gets invited to plenty of experiences around Montreal. This one was different.
Standing on the Bell Centre ice, seeing the Canadiens’ history up close and experiencing how the organization presents that heritage today brought me straight back to the kid wearing Guy Lafleur’s No. 10.
A little CH spirit to take home. Photo: Edmond Chung.
The Forum is gone. Guy Lafleur is gone. The NHL has changed enormously. But that feeling hasn’t disappeared. And perhaps that’s why I still want to see one more.
Not because 24 Stanley Cups aren’t enough to establish what this franchise represents. Few sports organizations anywhere can match that tradition. But because I remember what this city feels like when the Canadiens win.
I remember 1986. I remember 1993. And I want another generation of Montreal kids to have their year. Maybe one of them is wearing his or her first Suzuki or Caufield jersey today, the same way I once wore Lafleur’s No. 10. Twenty-four Stanley Cups tell us where we’ve been. No. 25 is about where we’re going. Different players. Different generations. Different building. Same crest. Same city. They’re our team.
And after three decades at the Bell Centre, it’s time for the hockey gods to finally give this building what the Forum knew so well. Bring Stanley home. No. 25. 🏆
Special thanks to Marie-Claude and her team at Groupe CH for welcoming Best Kept MTL behind the scenes and onto the Bell Centre ice. For someone whose Canadiens memories stretch back to Guy Lafleur, the Forum and the 1982–83 season, this one was personal.
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