Les Canadiennes de Montréal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Les Canadiennes de Montréal
City	Montreal, Quebec
League	Canadian Women's Hockey League
Founded	2007
Home arena	Centre Étienne Desmarteau
Colours	Red, blue, white
General manager	Meg Hewings
Head coach	Caroline Ouellette and Danièle Sauvageau
Captain	Marie-Philip Poulin
Franchise history
2007–2015	Montréal Stars
2015–2019	Les Canadiennes
Championships
Playoff championships	4 (2008–09, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2016–17)

The Montreal Stars team that won the 2012 championship.

Les Canadiennes de Montréal was a professional women's ice hockey team from Montréal, Quebec, Canada. The team started in 2007 as the Montreal Stars. They played in the Canadian Women's Hockey League (CWHL) every season until the league closed.

This team was very successful! They won the Clarkson Cup four times, which is more than any other CWHL team. The Clarkson Cup is like the Stanley Cup for women's hockey.

In 2015, the team partnered with the Montreal Canadiens, a famous men's team in the National Hockey League. This partnership helped the women's team get more support and attention. Because of this, the team changed its name to Les Canadiennes for the 2015–16 season. They also started wearing jerseys that looked like the Canadiens' jerseys.

In December 2015, Les Canadiennes and the Boston Pride made history. They played the first-ever outdoor professional women's hockey game! This exciting event was part of the fun leading up to the 2016 NHL Winter Classic. Sadly, in 2019, the CWHL stopped operating, and all its teams, including Les Canadiennes, also closed down.

Team History

The original team logo for the Montreal Stars.

How the Team Started

The Montreal Stars joined the CWHL when the league first began in 2007. Many players on the Stars came from the Montreal Axion, a team that played in an older women's hockey league.

In their very first season (2007–08), the Montreal Stars were amazing! They won 23 out of 30 regular season games and finished first. However, they lost in the playoffs that year.

Winning the Clarkson Cup

The Stars quickly bounced back. In 2008–09, they won their first Clarkson Cup! This was a big deal because it was the first time the Clarkson Cup was played for by professional women's hockey clubs. They beat the Minnesota Whitecaps 3–1 in the final game.

Adrienne Clarkson, who used to be Canada's Governor General, presented the trophy. She hoped the Clarkson Cup would become as important for women's hockey as the Stanley Cup is for men's hockey.

Many Stars players won awards early on:

• Kim St-Pierre was named the top goaltender two years in a row (2007–08 and 2008–09).
• Caroline Ouellette was the CWHL MVP (Most Valuable Player) in 2008–09.
• Marie-Philip Poulin was the CWHL's Rookie of the Year in 2007–08 when she was only 16!
• Sabrina Harbec led the league in scoring in 2009–10.

The team continued to do well. In 2009–10, they finished first in the regular season again. They won the Clarkson Cup two more times in 2011 and 2012.

During the 2013–14 season, three Stars players reached 100 career points. This was a first for the CWHL! Lisa-Marie Breton, Vanessa Davidson, and Emmanuelle Blais all hit this milestone.

Partnering with the Montreal Canadiens

In March 2015, the Montreal Stars teamed up with the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL. This partnership meant the Canadiens would help the Stars with money and marketing. Geoff Molson, the Canadiens' CEO, said it was important to support women's professional hockey. Brenda Andress, the CWHL commissioner, also said it was a great chance to grow women's hockey with a famous team.

In September 2015, the team changed its name to Les Canadiennes. They got a new logo and wore red, white, and blue jerseys, just like the Canadiens.

On December 10, 2016, Les Canadiennes played a regular season game at the Bell Centre, the home of the Montreal Canadiens. They won 1–0 against the Calgary Inferno in front of nearly 6,000 fans! This was a huge success for women's hockey.

Caroline Ouellette also reached a big milestone in 2016. She became the league's all-time leader in points and assists. She even tied the league record for goals!

In 2018, Les Canadiennes moved some of their games to Place Bell, which is where the Canadiens' minor league team plays.

Outdoor Women's Winter Classic

On December 31, 2015, Les Canadiennes played in a special outdoor game called the 2016 Outdoor Women's Classic. They played against the Boston Pride from another league, the NWHL. This game happened at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. It was a warm-up for the men's NHL Winter Classic the next day. This was the first time professional women's hockey was played outdoors!

Olympics

Caroline Ouellette with the Clarkson Cup in 2011.

Many players from Les Canadiennes (and the Montreal Stars) were also Olympic stars!

• For the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, Caroline Ouellette, Sarah Vaillancourt, and Kim St-Pierre won gold medals with Team Canada.
• At the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, Caroline Ouellette, Haley Irwin, Charline Labonté, and Catherine Ward played for Team Canada. Julie Chu played for Team USA.
• After the 2018 Winter Games, famous player Hilary Knight joined Les Canadiennes.

Giving Back to the Community

Les Canadiennes were also involved in helping their community. They supported the fight against breast cancer by holding a special fundraising event. For this game, they even wore pink jerseys!

The team also cared a lot about supporting young girls who play hockey. They wanted to be good role models. They held "Canadiennes Camps" where they taught young players. They also met with fans after games and were involved in many community events and school hockey teams.

Season Records

Les Canadiennes won eight regular season championships and four Clarkson Cups in their 12 seasons. From 2012 to 2019, the Clarkson Cup was given to the CWHL playoff champion.

Season-by-Season Results

Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, OTL = Overtime losses, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against, Pts = Points.

Awards and Honours

Many players and the team itself won awards for their great play:

• CWHL Chairman's Trophy: 2007–08, 2008–09, 2009–10, 2010–11, 2011–12, 2013–14, 2015–16.
• Jayna Hefford Trophy: Marie-Philip Poulin (2015–16, 2016–17)
• CWHL Most Valuable Player:

* Caroline Ouellette (2008–09, 2010–11) * Sabrina Harbec (2009–10) * Meghan Agosta (2011–12) * Ann-Sophie Bettez (2013–14) * Marie-Philip Poulin (2015–16, 2016-17)

• Angela James Bowl (Top Scorer):

* Sabrina Harbec (2009–10) * Caroline Ouellette (2010–11) * Meghan Agosta (2011–12, 2012-13) * Ann-Sophie Bettez (2013–14) * Marie-Philip Poulin (2015–16, 2016–17)

• CWHL Coach of the Year: Dany Brunet (2014–15)
• CWHL Top Goaltender:

* Kim St-Pierre (2007–08, 2008–09, 2010–11) * Charline Labonté (2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17)

• CWHL Outstanding Rookie:

* Marie-Philip Poulin (2007–08) * Sarah Vaillancourt (2010–11) * Ann-Sophie Bettez (2012–13)

• Humanitarian of the Year Award: Lisa-Marie Breton-Lebreux (2015–16)

Team Captains

The Stars discussing strategy during a game.

The team had several great captains who led them on the ice:

Images for kids

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  Jenny Lavigne, a long-time goaltender for the Stars, later became an assistant coach.