Canadiens honor 1970s dynasty teams with pregame ceremony

The Montreal Canadiens honored their dynasty teams of the late 1970’s on Tuesday at the Bell Centre in Montreal.

In a pregame ceremony, the team showed a highlight video of the teams that won four consecutive Stanley Cups from 1976-1979.

Afterwards, 15 members from those teams came out on the ice to acknowledge the crowd, including Hockey Hall of Famers Serge Savard and Ken Dryden.

“To be surrounded by the best, to be the best, almost never happens,” said Dryden during the ceremony. “But it did happen. … For four years we almost never lost. Not during the regular season, not in the playoffs. We needed to win, and we loved to win. We needed to win and loved to win, and we needed and loved to win in the way the Montreal Canadiens win: in the best way hockey is played.”

Other players celebrated during the ceremony were Cam Connor, Doug Risebrough, Murray Wilson, Doug Jarvis, Mark Napier, Pierre Bouchard, Pierre Mondou, Rejean Houle, Mario Tremblay, Yvon Lambert, Guy Lapointe, Bob Gainey and Yvan Cournoyer.

Tuesday marks the 45th anniversary of the Canadiens winning the Stanley Cup against the New York Rangers in five games in 1979.