March 3, 1875, was a grand old day: that’s when the first game officially recognized by the International Ice Hockey Federation was played in Montréal. It’s an occasion to celebrate, and celebrate we have! The first Saturday of February has been declared the official National Hockey Day, and the Quebec Premier has also made moves to declare hockey the province’s national sport. No doubt about it: Montréal is Hockey City.
Hockey City through history
The modern sport of ice hockey is said to have evolved from a combination of the First Nations sport of lacrosse as well as stick-and-ball games like bandy, hurling and shinty that were played in the 18th and 19th centuries in England, Ireland and Scotland. After a few ice-based winter games — like shinny and ice polo — came to be, the sport was codified and transformed into the ice hockey we know today. And so it was that the first officially sanctioned indoor ice hockey game was famously played in Montréal 150 years ago at the Victoria Skating Rink, right downtown.
The city quickly adopted the sport, as amateur ice hockey leagues formed throughout the 1880s. The Stanley Cup’s ancestor, the Dominion Hockey Challenge Cup, was first awarded in 1893. After the birth of professional hockey, in circa 1900, the cup took its place as the championship trophy of what would become the National Hockey League (NHL) after it was founded in 1917.
Dating back to 1909, the Montréal Canadiens stand as the oldest professional hockey team in the world — one of the Original Six, in fact, active since even before the birth of the NHL. With 24 Stanley Cup championship victories to their name, the Canadiens have won more than any other team.
A tournament in 1902 between Montréal and Trois-Rivières was billed as the first women’s ice hockey championship tournament, as well — and we’re still making history. The attendance record for a professional women’s hockey game was set at Montréal’s Bell Centre on April 20, 2024, when a sold-out crowd of 21,105 people watched Montréal confront Toronto.
Cool venues to this day
The Victoria Skating Rink that hosted the first ever indoor ice hockey game may no longer be standing, but it was extraordinary at its time: it was the first arena in Canada to be electrified and was known to be one of the finest covered rinks in the world. It sat in the heart of downtown Montréal, just about where the Bell Centre now stands.
Going to a Montréal Canadiens game at their home arena, the Bell Centre, is an experience unlike any other, especially thanks to the numerous exciting, exclusive premium packages and rental spaces available for groups and special VIP guests. As one of the largest venues in the city, the arena can be configured into many different formats, covering every possible kind and size of show, from a private centre ice banquet to an intimate 2,000 seat operatic performance to a full-blown rock ’n’ roll concert. Maximum capacity: 21,000.
Located in the heart of the Olympic Park, Aréna Maurice-Richard was named after Montréal Canadiens hockey legend Maurice “Rocket” Richard. After the Bell Centre, it has the largest reception capacity in the metropolitan area, plus an Olympic ice surface to boot. It’s currently used on a regular basis as the training site of the Canadian short track speed skating team. Maximum capacity: 5,666.
While primarily used for hockey, the Auditorium de Verdun has also hosted other sporting events (such as basketball and wrestling) and concerts. Maximum capacity: 4,114.
These and the dozens of other smaller arenas that dot Montréal make it an obvious host city for hockey events — among other winter sports.
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