Howard William Morenz (September 21, 1902 – March 8, 1937) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Beginning in 1923, he played centre for three National Hockey League (NHL) teams: the Montreal Canadiens (in two stints), the Chicago Black Hawks, and the New York Rangers. Before joining the NHL, Morenz excelled in the junior Ontario Hockey Association, where his team played for the Memorial Cup, the championship for junior ice hockey in Canada. In the NHL, he was one of the most dominant players in the league and set several league scoring records. A strong skater, Morenz was referred to as the "Stratford Streak" and "Mitchell Meteor" in reference to his speed on the ice.

Considered one of the first stars of the NHL, Morenz played 14 seasons in the league. He was a member of a Stanley Cup–winning team three times, all with the Canadiens. During his NHL career he placed in the top 10 leading scorers ten times. For seven straight seasons, Morenz led the Canadiens in both goals scored and points. He was named the winner of the Hart Trophy as the most valuable player of the league three times, and he led the league once in goals scored and twice in points scored. After the introduction of All-Star teams in 1931, he was named to the NHL first All-Star team twice and the NHL second All-Star team once.

Morenz died from complications of a broken leg, an injury he suffered in a game. After his death, the Canadiens retired his jersey number, the first time the team had done so for any player. When the Hockey Hall of Fame opened in 1945, Morenz was one of the original nine inductees. In 1950, the Canadian Press named him the best ice hockey player of the first half of the 20th century, and in 2017 the NHL included him on their list of the 100 greatest players in league history.

Born in Mitchell, Ontario to William Frederick Morenz and Rosena (Rose) Pauli, Howie Morenz had three sisters, Freda, Erma and Gertrude, and two brothers, Wilfred and Ezra. Morenz learned his hockey by playing shinny on the Thames River. At the age of eight, he played his first organized game as a goaltender, where he allowed 21 goals in a game. After that game, a coach switched Morenz to rover. Starting the 1916–17 junior season as a goaltender, Morenz became a forward when it became apparent his speed was much more suitable for an offensive role, and he helped the Mitchell ice hockey team win the Western Ontario junior championship. After the Morenz family moved to the nearby community of Stratford in May 1917, Morenz tried enlisting in the Canadian military but was refused when recruiters learned he was only 15 years old.

At the age of 18, Morenz became an apprentice with the Canadian National Railways (CNR) factory in Stratford. When not playing hockey, Morenz bet avidly on horse races and played the ukulele. In 1926 he married Mary McKay; together, they had three children: Howie Jr. in 1927 (d. 2015), Donald in 1933 (d. 1939), and Marlene in 1934 (d. March 2, 2018). Marlene later married Bernie Geoffrion, who played for both the Canadiens and Rangers from 1950 to 1968. Their son, Morenz's grandson Dan, played for the Canadiens in 1979–80. Dan's son, Blake, played with the University of Wisconsin and won the Hobey Baker Award as best collegiate player in 2010. Selected in the 2006 NHL entry draft by the Nashville Predators, he made his debut with the Predators in 2011, becoming the first fourth-generation NHL player. Blake was traded to Montreal in 2012, meaning that all four generations of the Morenz-Geoffrion family have played within the Canadiens organization.

In 1920 Morenz joined the Stratford Midgets junior team (under 20 years old), leading the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) in assists and points during the 1920–21 regular season, and goals, assists and points in the playoffs. The Midgets won the league title and played in the 1921 Memorial Cup against the Winnipeg Falcons. While Morenz scored a hat trick (three goals) in the second game in the series, the Midgets lost the total-goals series 11–9. His performance in the Memorial Cup tournament earned him an invitation to play for the Stratford Indians, a senior league team, for the 1921–22 season. While he joined the Indians, he continued to play for the juniors as well. During the playoffs, he led both leagues in goals, assists, and points and he also led the senior league in penalty minutes. Playing exclusively in the senior league in the 1922–23 season, he led it in regular season assists, playoff goals, points, and penalty minutes.

During a CNR hockey tournament held in December 1922 in Montreal, Morenz scored nine goals in a game for Stratford. A friend of Léo Dandurand, the owner of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, refereed the game and told Dandurand how good Morenz was. Dandurand went to Stratford in January 1923 to watch Morenz play, and decided he wanted to sign him to the Canadiens. In April he met with William Morenz, because at the age of 20, Howie was still legally a minor. William told Dandurand that he wanted Howie to finish his apprenticeship at the CNR factory, which would take another two years. However, in July Dandurand learned that Morenz and his father had been in contact with the Toronto St. Patricks, a rival team in the NHL. Fearing that Morenz would sign in Toronto, Dandurand sent his friend, Cecil Hart, to Stratford with instructions to sign Morenz at any cost. On July 7, 1923, Morenz signed a contract with the Canadiens for three years with a salary of $3,500 per year and a $1,000 signing bonus, a considerable amount for a first-year professional.

Right after signing the contract with the Canadiens, Morenz began to reconsider joining them. Stratford residents, as well as his senior team, wanted him to stay, and Morenz yielded to the pressure. He wrote a letter in August to Dandurand, explaining that he could not leave Stratford, and included the cheque given to him as a signing bonus. After receiving the letter, Dandurand phoned Morenz and told him to come to Montreal to talk in person. In Montreal, Morenz began explaining his reasons for not signing to Dandurand but began crying and could not finish. In response, Dandurand falsely threatened that if Morenz did not join the Canadiens, his professional hockey career would be over. Hearing this, Morenz relented and agreed to report to the Canadiens' training camp later in the year.