Morenz was arguably the greatest and most beloved athlete in Montreal sports history in addition to being the first true superstar of The Canadiens. He was an incredibly fast player who scored A LOT of goals in an era where not many goals to be had. However Morenz's career abruptly ended one night when he was driven into the boards and shattered his leg. He spent a few weeks in the hospital before he died due to complications from the injury. Some say, however, that he died of a broken heart, knowing he would never play hockey again.

The man was such an icon in Montreal that when his casket lay in state at center ice of The Montreal Forum, the whole city essentially shut down so that every man, woman, and child could pay their final respects to the man they had known as "The Stratford Streak."

In addition to this, he was the father in law of a future Candien great, Bernard "Boom Boom" Geoffrieon, the man credited with inventing the slap shot, and the great-grandfather to another up and comer, Blake Geoffrieon.

wow. thanks for sharing that. there's some interesting facts in there and i'm glad you posted that so we could know and show respect for him.

Yup, no problem. I felt the need to post it after seeing that no one had included Morenz in the "Top 3 Players in Montreal History" thread. To me, that's a travesty.

That's an interesting take on things. My list would be:

Maurice Richard
Jean Believeu
Howie Morenz


However, keep in mind that I'm not exactly a Canadiens historian.

if anybody's interested, here's an article on howie morenz's great grandson blake geoffrion from nhl.com: http://www.nhl.com/features/spotlight/ge...72506.html

I was just reading that a little bit ago. To me it'd be extremely strange knowing that not only your grandfather (Bernard Geoffrion) but also your great grandfather are hockey legends. The pressure on that kid must be palpable!

Yes, but the problem is that most hockey fans you talk to don't know that about him. They see the name Geoffrion and they think he's going to be this great player. Thats' where the pressure is going to come from.