Who owns the Montreal Canadiens?
THE Montreal Canadiens are one of the oldest teams in the National Hockey League, with a history dating back to the early 1900s.
Over the years, the team has been a staple among Canadian sports, causing many fans to wonder who owns them.
Who owns the Montreal Canadiens?
The Montreal Canadiens, also known as le Club de hockey Canadien, are based in Montreal, Canada.
A member of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference, the team was ranked third among the richest hockey teams in the NHL with its current value being listed by Forbes as $1.85 billion, which fell just below No. 2 Toronto Maple Leafs ($2 billion) and No. 1 New York Rangers ($2.2 billion).
That evaluation is more than double the price that Geoff Molson paid for the team and Bell Centre back in June 2009.
That year, Molson paid roughly $575 million for the team, which at the time, was a "big price" for any hockey team.
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“It was a big, big price that was paid at the time,” Molson said, via the National Post.
"But I truly believed that I was doing the right thing. I believed that our family were the right people to be owners of this institution and to represent it.
"We’ve had a long, long history doing it. A lot of the acquisition partners that decided to join my team joined for that very reason, because they felt like they were joining something that was the right thing for the team," he added.
"...Having that confidence was important going in, even though it’s scary because you’re borrowing money and you’re buying a big team.”
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The Molson family previously owned the Canadiens from 1957 to 1971, then reacquired it in 1978 for $20 million before selling it and the arena to Gillett in 2001 for $275 million, the National Post notes.
“I think it’s a supply-and-demand thing,” Molson continued when asked about the team's $1.85 billion valuation.
“There’s only a few professional sports teams in the world and it’s become an asset — and I exclude myself from what I’m about to say because that’s not why I bought the team — but it’s become an asset that billionaires want to have and there’s only a few that they can have.
"And so when one becomes available it puts a lot of pressure to increase the price. I think that’s probably the biggest component of it and you see it in basketball, you see it in football and now you see it in hockey," he added.
Molson co-owns the team alongside his brothers, Andrew Molson and Justin Molson.
Ottawa Senators owner Michael Andlauer also had a minority stake in the team, but that was sold in November 2023 for a record $2.5 billion enterprise value, according to Sportico.
What is Geoff Molson’s net worth?
Molson comes from a long line of generational wealth as he is the seventh-generation descendant of John Molson, the founder of Molson Brewery.
At this time, his exact net worth is unknown, but online reports estimate that it is more than $1.5 billion.
The majority of his worth is said to come from his family's business investments, among other things.
How many times have the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup?
The Montreal Canadiens were founded in 1909, and since then, they have won more Stanley Cup titles than any other NHL franchise.
To date, the team has lifted the trophy 24 times, which is 11 more wins than the team with the second-most, the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Additionally, the Canadiens are the only franchise to win five consecutive Stanley Cup championships.
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That streak began during the 1955-56 season and ended after the 1959-60 season.
While the team might have the most titles, it has been more than 25 years since the team took the cup back to Montreal as their last win was during the 1992-93 season.