The Canadiens have won 25 championships predating the official formation of the NHL in 1919. The 23-time Stanley Cup winners are the last Canadian team to carry the Cup, defeating the Kings in 1993.
1st Line
Left Wing - Yvan Cournoyer Small and speedy, Yvan Cournoyer won eight Stanley Cups in his 16 seasons with Montreal. He ranks fourth in franchise history with 428 goals, sixth with 863 points, and his 152 power play goals are second only to the next player on this line. "The Roadrunner" played right wing for the Habs, but I'm moving him to the left side to balance out the lines.
Center - Jean Beliveau Montreal's captain for ten seasons, Jean Beliveau won ten Stanley Cups in his legendary career. The two-time Hart trophy winner finished second in MVP voting four times. His 507 goals are third in Canadiens history, he's second in team history with 712 assists and 1,219 total points, and holds the franchise mark for power play goals with 173. "Le Gros Bill" was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame one year after his retirement in 1971.
Right Wing - Maurice Richard The first 500-goal scorer in NHL history, Maurice Richard set the bar high with 50 goals in 50 games in 1944-45. Montreal's career leader with 544 goals, the original "Rocket" led the league five times. Since 1999 the NHL has awarded the Maurice Richard trophy to the league's top goal scorer. The eight-time Stanley Cup champion is joined by his younger brother on this All-Time team.
2nd Line
Left Wing - Steve Shutt The fourth overall pick in the 1972 draft, Steve Shutt led the NHL in goals and plus/minus during the Habs' near-flawless 1976-77 season. The five-time Stanley Cup champion and Hall of Famer is fifth in franchise history with 408 goals and fourth in Canadiens annals with 318 even-strength markers and a career plus/minus rating of +413.
Center - Henri Richard Younger (and smaller) brother of Maurice Richard, Henri was known as the "Pocket Rocket". The franchise leader in games played with 1,258 succeeded Jean Beliveau as captain of the Canadiens until his retirement in 1975. The 11-time Stanley Cup winner is tied with Celtics legend Bill Russell for the most championship rings won as a player in the history of the four major sports.
Right Wing - Guy Lafleur The first overall pick in the 1971 draft (how the heck did the defending champs have the first overall pick?) Lafleur led the NHL in scoring three consecutive seasons from 1976 to 1978. "The Flower" is Montreal's career leader in assists, assists per game, points, and game winning goals. Nearly every player on this roster was inducted into the Hall of Fame but Lafleur is the only player to be so honored before his career ended. The two-time NHL MVP initially retired in 1985, earned enshrinement in 1988, then returned to the ice for three more seasons - one with New York and two with Quebec.
3rd Line
Left Wing - Aurele Joliat A star scorer for the Canadiens in the 1920s and '30s, Aurele Joliat is ninth in franchise history with 269 goals; every player ahead of him appeared in at least 100 more games. A three-time Cup winner and league MVP in 1934, Joliat's 0.41 goals per game average and 0.71 points per game projects to 489 goals and 1,183 points over a modern NHL schedule.
Center - Howie Morenz Three-time NHL MVP and two-time scoring leader won three Stanley Cups with Montreal. Though he played just 420 games for the club, Morenz tallied 257 goals - the 11th-highest total in team history. Similar to Joliat, his era-adjusted totals would rank him in the team's all-time top five: 477 goals and 1,118 points. A posthumous inductee of the Hall of Fame's original class of 1945, Morenz died from blood clots in his leg after an on-ice injury in 1937.
Right Wing - Bernie Geoffrion A two-time scoring champion and five-time Stanley Cup champion, Geoffrion is sixth in Habs history with 371 goals and fourth in game-winning goals with 73. "Boom Boom" ranks in the Canadiens' top ten in goals per game, points per game, even-strength goals, and power play goals. His accomplishments prompted me to play Yvan Cournoyer out of position as I couldn't bring myself to drop Geoffrion to the fourth line.
4th Line
Left Wing - Bob Gainey The eighth overall pick in the 1973 draft, Bob Gainey is third on the Canadiens' all time list with 1,160 games played and tied for second in team history with 20 short-handed goals. The five-time Stanley Cup champion earned enshrinement in the Hall of Fame based on his defensive excellence, winning four straight Selke trophies from 1978 to 1981.
Center - Jacques Lemaire Renowned for his defensive acumen, Jacques Lemaire was one of Montreal's top scorers in the 1970s. The eight-time titlist (as a player) ranks fifth in Canadiens' annals with 469 assists, sixth in plus/minus with a +344 rating, and ranks seventh among Habs in goals and points. He is one of only two greats to appear on these All-Time Teams as a player and a head coach.
Right Wing - Dickie Moore Listed as a left wing, Moore led the NHL in game-winning goals three straight seasons from 1957
to 1959 and won the scoring title in the latter two campaigns.The six-time Stanley Cup champion led all postseason scorers in '54 and '59 and came out of retirement to help the expansion St. Louis Blues reach their first final in 1968. I considered a true right wing like Mario Tremblay here but decided on selecting the best player available.
spares - Elmer Lach, Mats Naslund
Hall of Famer Elmer Lach led the NHL in assists three times and won the Hart trophy in 1944-45 after leading the league with 54 assists and 80 points in 50 games. Naslund is one of only two non-Canadian players on this roster. The Swedish winger tallied 612 points for Montreal, including
back-to-back 40-goal seasons in 1985 and 1986. Initially I had him plugged into Moore's spot on the fourth line as their counting stats were very similar. However the edge went to Moore after evaluating their era-adjusted point totals (698 to 498) and point shares (65.3 to 49.4).
Defense Pair 1
Larry Robinson - Doug Harvey
Defense Pair 2
Markov is right behind Harvey on the Habs' all-time list with 104 point shares - the ninth-highest total in team history. His 990 games played and 435 assists are the sixth-highest totals among Canadiens. The Russian rearguard is the only player on this all-time roster who suited up for Montreal after 1990 and the only player who was active in the NHL after 1995. Savard ranks second in Canadiens history with 73.2 defensive point shares and a plus/minus rating of +497. The Hall of Famer won the Conn Smythe trophy in 1969, the Masterton trophy for perseverance in 1979, and won his seventh Stanley Cup that spring.
Defense Pair 3
Guy Lapointe - Tom Johnson
Guy Lapointe has the same amount of points for the Canadiens as Andrei Markov (in 213 fewer games) and their point shares totals are nearly equal. However Lapointe benefited from legendary talent up and down the roster while Markov is the only player here whose name is not engraved on the Cup. Guy's era-adjusted point total of 510 trails Markov's by more than a hundred. That said there's no doubt the seven-time champion and Hall of Famer is the more decorated defensemen. Johnson is fourth in Habs history with 64 defensive point shares, earned Norris trophy honors in 1959, and won six Stanley Cups.
Spare - J. C. Tremblay
Jean-Claude Tremblay is seventh in Canadiens' annals with 57.7 DPS and tenth in plus/minus with a +244 rating. He won five Stanley Cups and finished second in Norris trophy voting in 1968. Tremblay had his best years offensively in 1971 and 1972, posting back-to-back 50-assist seasons before defecting to the WHA - where he led the league in assists twice and won the Murphy award as the WHA's top defenseman. Had he stayed with the Habs J.C. could have won three more Cups and earned enshrinment in the Hall of Fame.
Jacques Laperriere and Butch Bouchard were also considered for Johnson's spot as the third defensive defenseman. Both Hall of Famers will be among several Canadiens in the mix for the Rovers' roster.
Goalies
Starter - Ken Dryden
Backup - Jacques Plante
In just eight NHL seasons Ken Dryden won five Vezina trophies, six Stanley Cups, and led the league in goals against average four times. The Hall of Famer won the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP in 1971 - before his Calder-winning rookie season in 1972. His .922 save percentage is the highest in Canadiens history. Jacques Plante is sixth among all Canadiens players with 122.7 point shares and he's second in franchise history with 314 wins, 58 shutouts, and a 2.22 goals against average. The seven-time Vezina trophy winner led the league in goals against average seven times. He was the first goalie to wear a mask in an NHL game. Wear a mask, people!
Montreal has had so many great goaltenders over their 100+ years in the NHL that it was tough to select the top two for this roster. Don't be surprised if both the Rovers' goalies are Canadiens greats.
Head Coach: Scotty Bowman
Captain: Jean Beliveau
Bowman is third in Canadiens history in games coached and wins. Toe Blake is first in both categories, with Dick Irvin second. However Bowman's .744 winning percentage is the best in Habs history by far, and he directed the club to five Stanley Cups in his eight seasons behind the bench at Montreal Forum.
I hope you'll join us tomorrow for our next All-Time Team, the Nashville Predators.
Thanks for reading!
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My dad was at university in Montreal in the late 50s and was able to see some games of those great players
ReplyDeleteLegendary franchise. Recognized a bunch of names on this roster and they played way before I started following hockey in the 90's. By the way... that's why I'll always associate Bowman with the Wings.
ReplyDeleteWhen Howie Morenz is your THIRD line center... :-)
ReplyDeleteSam Pollock, was keen to find a way to trade to obtain one of the top two picks. He persuaded California Golden Seals owner Charlie Finley to trade the Seals' 1971 first-round pick and François Lacombe in return for Montreal's 1970 first-round pick and veteran Ernie Hicke.
ReplyDeleteI was always a Rangers fan, but when I was a kid the Canadiens were kind of legendary. At least guys like Lafleur, Cournoyer, and the Pocket Rocket were. Maurice Richard was long retired but I remember reading about him like reading about Babe Ruth or someone.
ReplyDeleteThe story of the team getting Lafleur is very interesting stuff. Trading a guy to team just to keep them from falling in the draft so the pick they traded away doesn't become the number one pick for your rival...that's some 3 dimensional chess.
Pollock was shrewd AF. The Seals learned the hard way lol.
DeleteThat's a good goalie tandem.
ReplyDeleteMan, are all those your cards? Impressive.
ReplyDeleteI got to see first-hand how much the Canadiens mean to Montreal one time when I was covering an Expos game in Montreal. It was the home opener for the Expos and the Canadiens were playing in an early-round playoff game on the road the same day. In the press box, there was a full buffet-style set- up with a bunch of French-speaking servers behind the counter. All of those servers were glued to a radio that was broadcasting the hockey game. Not a single one cared about the Expos.
Ha, I wish! All of the card images are taken from TCDB, though I try to use cards from my collection when I can.
DeleteLots of talent here! I imagine it was harder to choose among the legends on this teams history than some of the less successful teams. Joliat is the only one I haven't tracked down yet, but playing career cards of some of these guys may never happen.
ReplyDeleteNot sure how anyone can beat this team. Wow. On the plus side, however, some good Canadiens players from the 1980s, '90s, and '00s are free to join other all-time teams.
ReplyDelete