The Montreal Canadiens: 108 years of history
Every Canadiens season since 1917 — and, for the Cups, since 1893.
Canadiens among the top 10% of scorers
8th of 15 teams represented · 1.1× the average
The elite is the top 46 scorers out of 455 skaters — one tenth of the league, exactly as in 1917-18. That is what makes the two seasons comparable: a “top 100” was three quarters of the league in 1942-43 and one tenth today.
Top 100 distribution — average 1.8 per team
- VAN9
- COL6
- EDM6
- SEA4
- PIT3
- SJS3
- CBJ2
- MTL2
- NYR2
- TOR2
- UTA2
- VGK2
… and 3 more teams. Dashed line: the average.
Above the league average.
It's been a while
First in 1916, most recent in 1993 — 33 years ago.
Longest droughts
- 1.Toronto Maple Leafs59 yrs (1967)
- 2.Buffalo Sabres55 yrs (since 1971)
- 3.Vancouver Canucks55 yrs (since 1971)
- 4.Philadelphia Flyers51 yrs (1975)
- 9.Montréal Canadiens · 24 Cups33 yrs (1993)
Canadiens in overtime
NHL record, still standing — next best is 7 (CAR, 2001-02).
Canadiens overtime scorers
| Player | OT | GWG | Seasons |
|---|---|---|---|
| Maurice Richard | 6 | 18 | 15 |
| Jacques Lemaire | 3 | 11 | 11 |
| Kirk Muller | 3 | 6 | 3 |
| Russ Courtnall | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| Guy Lafleur | 2 | 14 | 13 |
Playoff overtime is sudden death: a goal scored in overtime is a win.
The Hall of Fame
Players who would enter the Hall, counted in the season they wore the jersey.
The curve stops at 1998-99. Induction requires a waiting period after retirement, so more recent seasons are structurally low — that says nothing about talent. Extending the curve would show a collapse that isn't real.