The 100th Anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens, a souvenir sheet of 3 stamps from Canada.

 

Canada Post commemorates the 100th anniversary of this celebrated sports franchise with this unique souvenir sheet. Using an action-oriented printing process called Motionstamp™ technology, the three stamps on this souvenir sheet feature replays of the historic 500th goals of Maurice Richard, Jean Béliveau, and Guy Lafleur, while playing for the Canadiens. The stamps are based on digital clips provided by the Montreal Canadiens. This tribute blends historical visuals with leading-edge printing techniques, and is a memorable way to mark this major milestone.

The storied “Flying Frenchmen” came into being in 1909, when the original franchise, officially known as le Club de hockey Canadien, was granted to J. Ambrose O’Brien. Fans soon nicknamed them les Habitants (or “the Habs”), a term used to refer to the first French settlers in present-day Québec. One of the “Original Six” pre-expansion teams, the Canadiens helped found the National Hockey League in 1917 and have gone on to win more Stanley Cups than any other club in hockey history.

The three stamps look back to the golden age of the club, with clips of the original footage of the historic 500th goals of three of the team’s greatest legends: Maurice “Rocket” Richard, Jean Béliveau, and Guy Lafleur. When each stamp is oriented horizontally, only one frame can be viewed at a time as it is turned up and down. The result is the illusion of cinema-like movement as the lens focus moves across each individual image slice. The banners featured alongside the stamps were also produced using Motionstamp technology. Seven of the banners alternate between two frames; together, they represent all 15 of the team’s retired jerseys. Howie Morenz’s #7, the first Canadiens jersey to be retired, is the only one that remains static.