Here’s an excerpt from the Globesports.com article by Peter Scowan who recounts the Canadiens storied history:

The Canadiens won 16 of their 24 Stanley Cups, and were in the finals three other times, from 1953 to 1979. That sustained burst of success is unparalleled in North American sports history, and it defines the Habs. It certainly created the unrealistic impression in the mind of a boy that winning a major sports championship was a matter of course for one’s home team.

The period also produced three consecutive French-Canadians stars who were not only dazzling 500-goal scorers but who were also remarkable men in their own right: Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau and Guy Lafleur.