Montreal Canadiens' 100th Anniversary Is Finally Here

Montreal's 100-year anniversary celebration which finally culminates Friday night with official Centennial Game against the Boston Bruins. I know it has drawn on for far too long, but Montreal holds such a special place in hockey heritage. And no one parties like Montrealers.

The world wide web is full of great Canadiens content. Don't forget to visit Habs Legends, where I profile over 100 of the greatest players in Montreal Canadiens history. Plus, earlier this week I debated who was better - Beliveau vs Richard, and recounted Montreal's very first game way back on January 5th, 1910, a 6-5 OT win over the mighty Cobalt Silver Kings.

And over at HockeyBookReviews.com I countdown the top 10 books about the Montreal Canadiens, and offer up a photo collection of some of the more rare titles.

Elsewhere, the Montreal blogosphere is one of the strongest communities in all of sport. Here's some highlights:

First and foremost, you have to visit the online museum created by the Montreal Canadiens themselves at ourhistory.canadiens.com. With features ranging from Rocket Richard's 50 goals in 50 games, to a look at the Montreal's greatest goalies to how Gordie Howe almost became a Hab, this is the most amazing stop for Montreal Canadiens history.

The next stop has to be Robert Lefebvre's equally amazing Eyes On The Prize. His historical content rivals even that of the Habs. Search his archives for anything Habs history related. He also offers a special YouTube case of 24 to celebrate the birthday party, a look back at game one 100 years ago, and looks at how hockey's greatest franchise came from such humble beginnings.
UPDATE: The Habs have planned a surprise number retirement tonight for Elmer Lach and Butch Bouchard and looks at the 100 most memorable games in Habs history.

Habs Inside/Out has an exclusive feature on Carey Price's centennial mask he will wear in tonight's game.

CBC has opened up a special Canadiens centennial website, with such features as 100 Facts For 100 Seasons, favorite memories of Dick Irvin and Red Fisher, 90 year old Elmer Lach's reflections, and memories of the Montreal Forum, plus a ton of video and photos.

Not to be out done, TSN also has their Century Club website up, with tributes to Guy Lafleur, a look at the ultimate Canadiens dream team, and a checklist of nicknames.

Speaking of Red Fisher, he shares more of his treasured memories at the Montreal Gazette.

Puck Daddy has a begrudging but interesting tribute to Les Habitants. Ya The Habs Rule is running a trivia contest with a nice prize pack, plus 100 photos for 100 years. Lions In Winter breaks down the top Habs players by the decade. CanadiensMemorabilia.com has a special top ten of their amazing Canadiens collection.

When he's not busy doing radio shows, Dennis Kane is always sharing some very special memories. I'm a fan of Kane's website, especially when he writes like this!

Montreal Mystique share some memories with their unique "diachronic barber pole observations."

Third String Goalie looks also looks at Montreal's sweater evolution.

I will be updating this post over the course of the day on Friday. If you know of a link you think should be collected here, please email me.