Morenz died from problems with a broken leg, an injury he suffered in a game. After his death, the Canadiens stopped using 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 first 12 people to be added. In 1950, the Canadian Press named him the best ice hockey player of the first half of the 20th century.