The Montreal Canadiens last skated with the Stanley Cup on June 9, 1993, defeating Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings at the Montreal Forum.
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Since then, a Canadian-based team has not won the Stanley Cup, despite the best efforts of the Vancouver Canucks (twice), Edmonton Oilers (twice), Calgary Flames, and Ottawa Senators.
The championship drought in Montreal and Canada is now at 31 years, a record for both the franchise and the country.
According to Elite Prospects, the Canadiens will begin 2024-25 as the second youngest lineup in the NHL, with an average age of 25.54, slightly older than the Buffalo Sabres’ average age of 25.38.
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Ultimately, this statistic means that most of this season’s lineup wasn’t even born when the Canadiens raised their 24th Stanley Cup banner in 1993.
However, three skaters were still infants and in their toddler years when Patrick Roy gave the Kings his famous wink and went on to win the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.
Who are these Canadiens players old enough to say they were alive the last time the franchise toasted a championship?
Joel Armia (May 31, 1993)
Joel Armia was born in Pori, Finland, on May 31, 1993, a day before the 1993 Stanley Cup Final began on June 1, 1993. The Kings opened the series with a 4-1 victory, but that was their only win as the Canadiens won the next four (three in overtime) to capture the series on June 9, 1993. Armia was just 10 days old.
Brendan Gallagher (May 6, 1992)
Edmonton, AB native Brendan Gallagher was born on May 6, 1992, and may have been rooting for Gretzky and the Kings in his first Stanley Cup Final.
Since The Great One dominated the game throughout the 1980s with the Oilers, it’s almost a safe bet his family was rooting for him to win a Stanley Cup with Los Angeles. At the time of the Game 5 triumph, Gallagher was one year, one month, and four days old.
David Savard (Oct. 22, 1990)
As the savvy veteran of the Canadiens lineup, David Savard could be the only one in the dressing room who could claim he remembers watching Montreal win the Stanley Cup in June 1993. Born on Oct. 22, 1990, in St. Hyacinthe, QC, there’s a good chance he was a young Canadiens fan at two years, eight months, and 19 days old.
Honorable Mention – Carey Price (Aug. 16, 1987)
It is almost guaranteed that five-year-old Carey Price begged his parents to stay up late to watch the Canadiens win the Stanley Cup in June 1993.
Famously born in the remote Anahim Lake, BC, Price could have had a poster of Roy on his wall, as he would go on to break several of the Hall of Famer’s records in the famous Canadiens sweater. Although the former long-time starting netminder is on payroll, he has yet to skate due to injuries since Apr. 29, 2022.
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