With a history as old as the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens have had some of the best players to ever play the game on their team. As an Original Six organization, the club has a laundry list of accolades to its name and to its player’s names. Among those, are four players who have hit one of the greatest achievements in the NHL: a 100-point season.
Here’s a look at those four players – and those who have come close – who have hit the century mark in a single season. With all of the talent that has passed through the organization over the years, the names to have done it might surprise you.
Canadiens Almost-100-Point Seasons
Although the Canadiens only have four members of the Century Club, it hasn’t been from a lack of trying. Dickie Moore came close first, putting up 96 points in 70 games back in 1958-59. Just a couple of seasons later, Bernard Geoffrion could taste the 100-point mark, piling up 95 points.
It took another decade for someone to get relatively close, with Frank Mahovlich racking up 96 points in 76 games through the 1971-72 season. Through the 1970s, Jacques Lemaire came close twice, putting up 95 points in 1972-73, and getting even closer in 1977-78 with 97 points.
In the ’90s, two more players were almost 100-point season members, with Vincent Damphousse putting up 97 points in 84 games and a couple of years later, Pierre Turgeon collected 96 points in 80 games. But coming close doesn’t cut it for this club, let’s get into the real members.
Guy Lafleur
Six-Time 100-Point Scorer for Canadiens
Scored 53 goals, 119 points in 70 games during the 1974-75 season.
Scored 56 goals, 125 points in 80 games during the 1975-76 season.
Scored 56 goals, 136 points in 80 games during the 1976-77 season.
Scored 60 goals, 132 points in 78 games during the 1977-78 season.
Scored 52 goals, 129 points in 80 games during the 1978-79 season.
Scored 50 goals, 125 points in 74 games during the 1979-80 season.
Sitting sixth all-time for most 100-point seasons, Guy Lafleur stands alone for the Canadiens. He’s one of only two members of the 100-point club to have multiple seasons eclipsing the century mark – and the only one with three or more.
Related: Guy Lafleur: The Last of the Great Habs Skaters
“The Flower” is one of the greatest players to ever lace them up in the NHL, as he was named to the NHL’s 100 Greatest Players. Lafleur was a key part of the Canadiens dynasty through the 1970s, where they won five Stanley Cups, including four straight. It was through this decade that the 1971 first-overall pick made history.
Not only is Lafleur a six-time member of the 100-point club, but he did it in six-straight seasons from 1974-75 to 1979-80. He also collected 50-plus goals in each of these seasons, making him the first player to collect 50 goals and 100 points or more in six-straight campaigns.
Through these years, he was honoured twice as the Hart Trophy recipient as the league’s MVP, three times as the Art Ross winner for having the most points in the season, and three times as the Lester B. Pearson Award winner (now called the Ted Lindsay Award) as the league MVP as voted by the players. In 1977, he also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as the NHL Playoffs MVP. He was the best player in the league at this time.
Lafleur re-wrote the Habs record books through his time in Montreal. All-time, he is the leader in regular-season points (1,246), assists (728) and single-season points (136, holding the first through sixth places in that category). He has the most 40-goal, 50-goal and 100-point seasons (six each), shares the lead in single-season goals (60, with Steve Shutt) and game-winning goals in a season (12, with Yvan Cournoyer) and leads in game-winning goals overall (93).
Related: One for the Ages: Guy Lafleur’s 1989-90 NHL Season
Lafleur retired as a Canadien in 1985, after an absolutely remarkable career. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988. Then, in 1988-89, he returned to the NHL to play for New York Rangers and added two seasons with the Quebec Nordiques. He’s one of only three players to play in the league after being inducted into the Hall (Gordie Howe and Mario Lemieux).
Peter Mahovlich
Two-Time 100-Point Scorer for Canadiens
Scored 35 goals, 117 points in 80 games during the 1974-75 season.
Scored 34 goals, 105 points in 80 games during the 1975-76 season.
That one other player to be a two-time member of the 100-points club for the Canadiens? You probably didn’t guess Peter Mahovlich, but that’s who holds the title. The brother of the more well-known and aforementioned Frank Mahovlich, Peter did what his older brother couldn’t, crossing the 100-point plateau in the NHL.
The “Little M” was another part of the Habs dynasty through the 1970s, helping the team to four Stanley Cups. He was always a very good player, but these two seasons were off the charts for him, with his third-highest point total coming in at 73 in 1973-74. These two years saw the Canadiens with one of the deepest forward groups to ever play in the league, with Lafleur, Lemaire, Yvan Cournoyer, Steve Shutt, and Bob Gainey all wearing the bleu, blanc et rouge.
Mahovlich played 16 seasons in the NHL, with the Canadiens, Detroit Red Wings, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He spent the most time in Montreal (10 seasons) and had the best seasons of his career there. On top of his four Stanley Cup victories, he was able to win two of them with his brother, Frank, on the same team. He’s not mentioned as much as his Hall-of-Fame brother, but he will forever remain a Habs legend.
Steve Shutt
100-Point Scorer for Canadiens
Scored 60 goals, 105 points in 80 games during the 1976-77 season.
Still in that incredible 1970s decade, the third member of the 100-point club joined. Steve Shutt was nearly a career Canadien, before a 41-game stop with the Los Angeles Kings to end his career. With Montreal though, Shutt was a star.
Related: Montreal Canadiens 50-Goal Scorers
Shutt played 12 seasons for the Canadiens and is yet another factor in the organization’s dominance through the ’70s. He helped the club to five Stanley Cups, winning a Maurice Richard Trophy for the most goals in a season (60) during his 105-point campaign in 1976-77. As mentioned, those 60 goals remain the all-time record for the club, which Shutt shares with Lafleur.
Even after the Habs’ dynasty was winding down, Shutt continued to perform with his shockingly accurate slap shot and his unique style of play. At 5-foot-11, the left-winger was ahead of his time for smaller players playing in the league. Playing on a line with Lafleur and Lemaire certainly helped his career, but he was as much a part of it as any of them. The trio arguably formed the best line hockey has ever seen.
Shutt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993, after collecting 424 goals and 817 points in 930 NHL games.
Mats Naslund
100-Point Scorer for Canadiens
Scored 43 goals, 110 points in 80 games during the 1985-86 season.
Finally, the last member of the Canadiens 100-point club is likely another one you wouldn’t guess. Mats Naslund has one thing that separates him from the other members of the Canadiens 100-point club, and that’s the fact that he’s the only member to accomplish the feat outside of the 1970s.
Related: One for the Ages: Mats Naslund’s 1985-86 NHL Season
After being drafted 37th overall in 1979, Naslund became one of the best players for the Canadiens through the 1980s. He crossed 30 goals three times, 40 goals twice, 80 points four times, and – most importantly – 100 points once.
That 105-point season led the way for the Canadiens to win the Stanley Cup yet again, marking the lone Cup of Naslund’s career. He led the way for them though, adding another 19 points in 20 playoff games en route to the championship title.
“Le Petite Viking” – Naslund was 5-foot-7 – is more known for his international achievements. He played just eight seasons in the NHL, all for the Canadiens, but playing for Team Sweden, he won gold at the IIHF World Hockey Championship and the Olympics in 1994. That Olympic medal saw him join the illustrious Triple Gold Club. In 2005, Naslund was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame. But for Canadiens fans, he’s part of a more exclusive club – the 100-point club.