MONTREAL -- The Bell Centre crowd rose to its feet more than 18 years ago in a thunderous celebration of Ken Dryden , the legendary goalie’s No. 29 retired, a banner pulled to the arena rafters during a ceremony on Jan. 29, 2007.

Tuesday, in a stirring, emotional tribute paid before the Montreal Canadiens’ 2025-26 home opener, the crowd rose again, this time to salute a team icon who had died of cancer on Sept. 5 at age 78.

“Ken was the best goalie in the world during his career with the Montreal Canadiens,” Geoff Molson, the Canadiens’ owner, president and chief operating officer, said on Tuesday afternoon while standing with Dryden’s monument in the team’s history-celebrating Place des Canadiens plaza.

“He was also extremely proud to have been part of and contribute to the most sto

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