Top 100 Montreal Canadiens Players of All Time

Happy Birthday Montreal Canadiens!

As you know, we've been putting out some decade-by-decade lists of the Montreal Canadiens players from the last 100 years. The list I have for you today is the integrated version of the list, the list where you see whether I like Lafleur or Richard, Plante or Dryden, Malone or Gagnon.

I'm sure you'll all have some fun perusing the list. I encourage all to do it and come back to us with their own amendments, as the discussion today could not be about anything more than the history of the Habs – and with last night's debacle, the more distant, the better.

Just a quick note on how we came to this list. All the editorial team and some friends of Lions in Winter submitted a list and basically we averaged the picks. It was a very democratic process, and I think it shows. As a result, I think we've come up with a pretty good list. Having looked through the history in depth, i can tell you one thing – there have been more than 100 good players on this team, and picking between all of them is a sport in itself.


Without further ado, the 100:

LIW Ranking	Name	Position	Years
100	Ray Getliffe	C	1939-45
99	Billy Couture	D	1916-20, 1921-26
98	Craig Ludwig	D	1982-90
97	Brian Bellows	LW	1992-95
96	Gilles Tremblay	LW	1960-69
95	Ken Mosdell	C	1954-56, 1957-59
94	Shayne Corson	LW	1985-92, 1996-2000
93	Bill Reay	C	1946-53
92	Petr Svoboda	D	1984-92
91	Howard McNamara	D	1915-16, 1919-20
90	Floyd Curry	RW	1947-58
89	Marcel Bonin	LW	1957-62
88	Mark Napier	RW	1978-84
87	Claude Lemieux	LW	1983-90
86	Phil Goyette	C	1957-63
85	Eric Desjardins	D	1988-95
84	Jimmy Gardner	LW	1913-15
83	Doug Jarvis	C	1975-82
82	Pierre Bouchard	D	1970-78
81	Jim Roberts	D	1963-77
80	Denis Savard	C	1990-93
79	Mathieu Schneider	D	1987-95, 2009
78	Alfred Lepine	C	1925-38
77	Johnny Gagnon	RW	1930-40
76	Rejean Houle	LW	1969-83
75	Pierre Mondou	C	1976-85
74	Doug Risebrough	C	1974-82
73	Pierre Turgeon	C	1994-96
72	Albert Leduc	D	1925-33, 1934-35
71	Billy Boucher	RW	1921-27
70	Terry Harper	D	1962-72
69	Rod Langway	D	1978-82
68	Pierre Larouche	C	1977-82
67	John Ferguson	LW	1963-71
66	Yvon Lambert	LW	1972-81
65	Bobby Rousseau	RW	1960-70
64	Alexei Kovalev	RW	2004-09
63	Mario Tremblay	RW	1974-86
62	Andrei Markov	D	2000- (Active)
61	Charlie Hodge	G	1954-55, 1957-61, 1963-67
60	Jean-Guy Talbot	D	1954-67
59	Mark Recchi	RW	1994-99
58	Odie Cleghorn	RW	1918-25
57	Kirk Muller	LW	1991-95
56	Dick Duff	LW	1964-70
55	Jose Theodore	G	1995-2006
54	Michel Larocque	G	1973-81
53	Albert Siebert	D (LW)	1936-39
52	Georges Mantha	D	1928-41
51	Herb Gardiner	D	1926-29
50	Ken Reardon	D	1940-42, 1945-50
49	Stephane Richer	RW	1984-91, 1996-98
48	Rogatien Vachon	G	1966-72
47	Bobby Smith	C	1983-90
46	Bud O'Connor	C	1941-47
45	Ralph Backstrom	C	1956-71
44	Bert Olmstead	LW	1950-58
43	Pete Mahovlich	C	1969-78
42	Joe Malone	C	1917-19, 1922-24
41	Chris Chelios	D	1983-90
40	Claude Provost	RW	1955-70
39	Jean-Claude Tremblay	D	1959-72
38	Frank Mahovlich	LW	1970-74
37	Sprague Cleghorn	D	1921-25
36	Jack Laviollette	D	1909-18
35	Vincent Damphousse	C	1992-99
34	Tom Johnson	D	1947-63
33	Mats Naslund	LW	1982-90
32	Lorne Worsley	G	1963-70
31	Guy Carbonneau	C	1980-94
30	Jacques Laperriere	D	1962-74
29	Steve Shutt	LW	1972-85
28	Saku Koivu	C	1995-2009
27	Georges Vezina	G	1910-26
26	Guy Lapointe	D	1968-82
25	Didier Pitre	RW	1909-13, 1914-23
24	Sylvio Mantha	D	1923-36
23	Emile Bouchard	D	1941-56
22	Jacques Lemaire	C	1967-79
21	Bill Durnan	G	1943-50
20	Aurele Joliat	LW	1922-38
19	Elmer Lach	C	1940-54
18	Dickie Moore	LW	1951-63
17	Yvan Cournoyer	RW	1963-79
16	Bob Gainey	LW	1973-89
15	George Hainsworth	G	1926-37
14	Henri Richard	C	1955-75
13	Bernard Geoffrion	RW	1950-64
12	Serge Savard	D	1966-81
11	Hector Blake	LW	1935-48
10	Patrick Roy	G	1984-95
9	Ken Dryden	G	1970-79
8	Edouard Lalonde	C	1909-11, 1912-22
7	Jacques Plante	G	1952-63
6	Doug Harvey	D	1947-61
5	Larry Robinson	D	1972-89
4	Howie Morenz	C	1923-37
3	Guy Lafleur	RW	1971-85
2	Maurice Richard	RW	1942-60
1	Jean Beliveau	C	1950-71

Hope you enjoyed that. Do let us know where you stand, and include your top 10s if you can...

Top 100 Habs By Decade: 7. 1909-1919

In recognition of the Canadiens Centennial next Friday, we at Lions in Winter have been doing what we like best – making lists. As a precursor to publishing the definitive LIW top 100, we will be counting down the decades from least successful to most successful and naming our LIW top 10 players for the ten-year span. You should expect a few each day for the next few days.

Though this celebration has inevitably lost some steam due to relentless marketing and pre-game ceremonies for all of living memory, it would be a shame to let it pass unnoticed just because Mr. Gillett wanted to cash in before he cashed out.

1909-1919

From humble beginnings, the Canadiens grew over this first decade to be the only club standing in Montreal and a perennial threat for the Stanley Cup championship. They even managed to choose a uniform (more or less) after far too much time at the drawing board.

This first decade, like the 1990s and 1920s only encompasses one Cup victory. But we cut them some slack for those first years where they really never had a chance at winning anyway. To be up and running (and running rivals out of town), competing for the Cup after 4 years, and then winning a championship after only 6 years is quite impressive.

The 10 players from this first decade are quite well known, due to their mythical standing in the Canadiens lore – they all after all helped to kindle this unhealthy obsession with this new game on ice that pervades Montreal 100 years later.

[Note: Each player only appears in one decade's top 10 – sorry Brisebois fans]


10. Donald Smith (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Season)	1912-15	51	39	15	54	18
Decade best (Season)	1913-14	20	18	10	28	0
Habs career (Playoffs)	1913-14	2	1	0	1	0
Decade best (Playoffs)	1913-14	2	1	0	1	0

Top-line offense for two extremely prolific seasons, along with two more seasons of service.


9. Joe Hall (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1917-19	38	15	8	23	189	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1917-18	21	8	7	15	100
Habs career (Playoffs)	1917-19	7	0	1	1	38
Decade best (Playoffs)	1918-19	5	0	0	0	26

Perhaps more famous for his Quebec Bulldogs days, where he led team to Cups. Joe was a solid producer for Montreal in the post-war years, helping the team to capture the NHL title in 1918 and then to the cusp of a second Cup in 1919. Unfortunately, Joe Hall succumbed to pneumonia that was a complication of the flu which led to the cancellation of the finals that year.


8. Bert Corbeau (Not ranked in top 100, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1914-22	167	52	32	84	541
Decade best (Regular season)	1917-18	21	8	8	16	41
Habs career (Playoffs)	1916-19	18	6	3	9	85	SC
Decade best (Playoffs)	1916-17	6	4	1	5	22

Rugged stalwart of the Canadiens blueline from the earliest years.


7. Howard McNamara (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1915-20	34	11	7	18	123
Decade best (Regular season)	1915-16	24	10	7	17	119
Habs career (Playoffs)	1915-16	5	0	0	0	24	SC
Decade best (Playoffs)	1915-16	5	0	0	0	24	SC

The first Cup-winning captain of the Canadiens.


6. Jimmy Gardner (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1913-15	17	10	9	19	0	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1913-14	15	10	9	19	0
Habs career (Playoffs)	N/A
Decade best (Playoffs)	N/A

Combined coach and captain of two early editions of the team, including the first to compete for the O'Brien Cup.


5. "Phantom" Joe Malone (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1917-24	58	52	6	58	35	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1917-18	20	44	4	48	30
Habs career (Playoffs)	1918-23	9	6	2	8	6
Decade best (Playoffs)	1918-19	5	5	2	7	3

Brought his incredible Bulldogs scoring rate to Montreal for one record setting season (2.2 G/GP!?!)


4. Jack Laviolette (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1909-18	155	48	19	67	174	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1913-14	20	7	9	16	0
Habs career (Playoffs)	1914-18	14	1	2	3	15	SC
Decade best (Playoffs)	1915-16	4	0	0	0	6	SC

Captained and coached the first edition of the Habs.


3. Georges Vezina (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	W	L	T	GAA	SO	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1910-26	328	175	146	6	3.42	15	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1924-25	30	17	11	2	1.81	5
Habs career (Playoffs)	1914-25	26	16	10	0	3.19	3	2 SC
Decade best (Playoffs)	1923-24	2	2	0	0	1.00	1	SC

16 years synonymous with the Canadiens. Hardly a person saw anyone else play goal for the Canadiens until the late 1920s.


2. Didier "Cannonball" Pitre (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1909-23	254	220	59	279	218	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1915-16	24	24	15	39	42
Habs career (Playoffs)	1916-23	20	13	4	17	66	SC
Decade best (Playoffs)	1915-16	5	4	0	4	18	SC

Original team scoring machine from the home turf.


1. Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde (Top 100 all-time, Profile)

	Years(s)	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	Awards*
Habs career (Regular season)	1909-22	200	266	62	328	440	HOF
Decade best (Regular season)	1916-17	18	28	7	35	61
Habs career (Playoffs)	1914-19	18	20	5	25	122	SC
Decade best (Playoffs)	1918-19	5	11	2	13	15

The original Canadiens superstar. Added captain and Stanley Cup winning coach to the CV by the end of the decade.


* Awards: HOF = Hall of Fame; SC = Stanley Cup.