Howie Morenz

Howarth William "Howie" Morenz was the electric catalyst who transformed professional ice hockey from a regional pastime into a major continent-wide spectacle. Joining the Montreal Canadiens in 1923, Morenz thrilled crowds at the Forum with his blazing acceleration, earning monikers like the "Stratford Streak" and "The Hurrican on Ice."

Morenz won three Stanley Cups with Montreal and three Hart Trophies as NHL MVP. In January 1937, he suffered a catastrophic broken leg in four places during a game at the Forum; dying of a heart embolism in hospital weeks later, his body lay in state at center ice in the Forum as 50,000 mourners filed past.