That torch appears before every home game, carried by a youngster to symbolize the enduring strength of an organization that, though it is in a long drought between championships, still carries itself with the pride of 24 Stanley Cup victories.

Indeed, since 1952, when Frank Selke, the general manager, had McCrae’s words put on the walls of the dressing room, in both English and French, that call to arms has resonated in a way no other team in Canadian sports can claim.

It can be argued, however, that the torch has really been passed along by three pairs of hands, together capturing … no, a better word is encompassing … what this club has meant to a city and a province: Howie Morenz, to Maurice Richard, to Jean Beliveau.

On Sunday and Monday, two extraordinary events in the history of Montreal will become three, when the memory of Beliveau, “Le Gros Bill” (named for a French folk hero), who died this week at 83, will be celebrated on the floor at the Bell Centre.