The Montreal Canadiens’ 100th anniversary season is such a big event in Quebec that it merits its own feature-length movie.

Starring some of Quebec’s top actors, the fictional film — Pour Toujours les Canadiens! — will feature appearances by Canadiens past and present. The early betting is that the flick will be a hit in Habs-obsessed Quebec. And it’s just one element in a year-long barrage of tributes to Les Glorieux.

Other highlights include the National Hockey League’s 2009 all-star game in Montreal, 12 games during which the Habs will wear historical sweaters and a ceremony to retire former goalie Patrick Roy’s jersey. The celebrations kicked off at the Canadiens’ home opener on Oct. 15, when 12 of 54 of the team’s Hall of Fame inductees, including 90-year-old Elmer Lach, were on hand.

The Canadiens’ organization is cashing in with a merchandising power play, including three DVD boxed sets about the team, a Canadiens edition of Monopoly and the publication of a book on the club’s history.

Now, the question is whether the Habs — winners of 24 Stanley Cups — can put together a championship season. Despite all the hoopla about their hallowed history, the Canadiens have been heart-breakingly mediocre over the past decade and a half. The last time they went all the way to win the cup was in the 1992-93 season.

That spells a lot of pain in Montreal and across Quebec, where the Habs are kept under a bilingual media microscope year-round, their every move obsessively picked over by reporters and open-line radio jockeys.

Perhaps the return of prodigal son Roy for an emotional ceremony to retire his No. 33 jersey bodes well for the team’s return to glory. Roy left the Canadiens in 1995 under a cloud, when the team’s management agreed to his demand to be traded. It later became clear that “The Trade,” as it’s known, was a monumental blunder: the team languished, while Roy went on to add two Stanley Cups with the Colorado Avalanche to the two he had already won with the Canadiens.

Still, the spotty performance of the team on the ice in recent years hasn’t hurt the commercial success of the franchise. The Canadiens consistently sell out the cavernous Bell Centre and are solidly profitable.

The owner, American tycoon George Gillett Jr., paid US$185 million to Molson Inc. for the arena and an 80.1% interest in the team in 2001. Forbes magazine estimates the Canadiens are now the third most valuable team in the NHL, worth about $334 million. That’s not even counting the value of the Bell Centre, which is also the base for Gillett’s lucrative concert business.

So, it’s no wonder that there was shock and consternation when Waterloo, Ont.-based Research in Motion Ltd. CEO Jim Balsillie told a Montreal newspaper this year that the team was up for sale. But Gillett, who has taken an active role in the centennial preparations, quickly and decisively laid that story to rest. It seems he doesn’t want to part with the team any more than Montreal fans do.

Hopes are high in the city that this is the year the Canadiens will finally put it all together and win their 25th cup. The team has been painstakingly built by general manager Bob Gainey, himself a Hall of Famer with five Stanley Cups to his credit, and is coached by another former Habs great, Guy Carbonneau. Last season, the team finished the regular season first in the Eastern Conference before flaming out in the second round of the playoffs.

The Canadiens got off to a fast start this year but are looking less than spectacular as the season progresses, creating the usual angst across the city. The pressure is high this season. But, then again, when you play for the Montreal Canadiens, the pressure is always high. IE