Montreal Canadiens: This Date in Habs History: Howie Morenz Becomes NHL Goals Leader

Montreal Canadiens players litter the Hockey Hall of Fame. There have been superstar players suiting up for the Habs for over 100 years.

Recently we have seen Carey Price win the Hart Trophy, Vezina Trophy, William Jennings Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award, but it has not been a rare occurrence for a Canadiens player to have their name etched on an NHL Award over the years.

One of the first true star players in the illustrious history of the Canadiens was Howie Morenz.

He didn’t waste any time making a name for himself at the NHL level. He scored 13 goals in just 24 games as a rookie with the Canadiens in 1923-24. He would finish third in NHL goal scoring the next season as he scored 27 in just 30 games.

The Mitchell, Ontario native would score 33 goals and 51 points in 43 games in 1927-28 and win the first of three Hart Trophy’s. He would win the award again in 1931 and 1932, after the NHL instituted a rule that allowed teams to pass the puck forward in the 1929-30 season.

However, it was the following season that Morenz ensured his name would go down in history. On this day, January 23rd, in 1933 Morenz scored his 249th career NHL goal in a 3-0 win over the Detroit Red Wings at the Montreal Forum. This put Morenz ahead of Cy Denneny and into first all-time in NHL goals.

Morenz would finish that season with 14 goals and 35 points in 46 contests. He finished his career in 1937 with 270 career goals and 467 points in 550 NHL games.

The Stratford Streak, as he was known, was among the first group of 12 people inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1945. He won three Stanley Cups to go with his trio of MVPs with the Canadiens and his number 7 hangs in the rafters of the Bell Centre today.

Morenz played his final game on January 28, 1937 when he broke his leg. He suffered a blood clot on March 8, 1937 and passed away at the young age of 34.