The Montreal Canadiens are the most decorated team in the NHL. Beyond the record-setting 24 Stanley Cups, players and coaches have won over 100 individual awards, including 17 Hart Trophies and 36 Vezina Trophies.
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With the NHL set to announce its award finalists for the 2019-20 regular season this week, let’s reminisce about the last Canadien to take home each major individual trophy.
Hart Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award: Carey Price (2015)
It was a memorable night for Carey Price at the NHL Awards on the heels of a superb 2014-15 campaign. He won the Hart Trophy as the league’s most valuable player and was bestowed the same honor by his peers with the Ted Lindsay Award.
Price became the first goaltender to win the Hart since José Theodore, the former Canadiens goalie who accomplished the feat in 2001-02, and the first to win the Ted Lindsay Award (formerly known as the Lester B. Pearson Award) since Dominik Hasek in 1997-98. He is also just the second Hab to take home the award after Guy Lafleur won it three years in a row from 1976 to 1978.
Price led the NHL in 2014-15 with 44 wins, a 1.96 goals-against average and a .933 save percentage, becoming the first goalie to finish first in all three categories since Ed Belfour in 1990-91. Those 44 victories also set a Canadiens record.
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To add to his remarkable year, Price won a gold medal as Canada’s starting netminder at the 2014 Olympic Games in Sochi and led the Habs to an Atlantic Division title. Price received 139 first-place votes for the Hart to finish well ahead of Alex Ovechkin and John Tavares.
Art Ross Trophy: Guy Lafleur (1978)
Guy Lafleur, “The Blond Demon”, enjoyed a dominant three seasons which resulted in three consecutive Art Ross Trophies as the league’s top point scorer from 1975-76 to 1977-78.
In that time, he put up 125, 136, and 132 points, respectively and also won two Hart Trophies and the Conn Smythe Trophy. Not to mention, he scored over 100 points during the 1978-79 and 1979-80 seasons as well.
Lafleur was the most exciting player of his generation. The five-time Stanley Cup champion tallied 518 career goals with Montreal, a total second only to Maurice Richard’s 544. Meanwhile, his 728 assists and 1,246 points are the most by any Hab in history.
Lafleur was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1988 and his famous no. 10 was retired by the Canadiens in 1985.
Conn Smythe Trophy: Patrick Roy (1993)
The last time a Canadien won the Conn Smythe Trophy also marks the last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup some 27 years ago. Legendary netminder Patrick Roy was named playoff MVP for the second time in his career after Montreal hoisted the Cup for the 24th time in 1993.
(Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios/Getty Images)
Roy had a 16-4 record during the 1993 playoffs, rebounding in impressive fashion after losing the first two games against the Quebec Nordiques in the opening round. He also helped the Habs set a stunning playoff record with 10 consecutive overtime wins during that Cup run which culminated in a 4-1 series victory over the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Final.
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Roy also won the Conn Smythe Trophy as a rookie with the Canadiens in 1986.
Norris Trophy: P.K. Subban (2013)
In 2013, P.K. Subban became the first black player to win the Norris Trophy, awarded to the NHL’s best defenseman, in just his third full season in the league.
In the lockout-shortened 2012-13 season, Subban led all defensemen in scoring with 38 points in 42 games, and also topped all blueliners with 26 power-play points.
Subban beat out fellow finalists Kris Letang of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Ryan Suter of the Minnesota Wild for the award. He was also named a Norris finalist in 2018 as a member of the Nashville Predators.
Vezina and Jennings Trophies: Carey Price (2015)
Not only did Carey Price win the Hart and Ted Lindsay in 2015, but he also took home the Vezina and Jennings Trophies as the NHL’s best goalie, becoming the second player in Canadiens history to win four awards in the same year, after Lafleur.
Price received 27 of the 30 first-place votes in the general managers vote for the Vezina and he shared the Jennings Trophy with Corey Crawford of the Chicago Blackhawks as the goalies with the fewest goals against.
Selke Trophy: Guy Carbonneau (1992)
Guy Carbonneau, the Canadiens’ newest member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, won his third Selke Trophy as the league’s top defensive forward in 1992, the season before he led the Habs to their 24th Cup win as team captain.
Carbonneau, Jere Lehtinen and Pavel Datsyuk are tied for the second-most Selke wins, with three each.
Calder Trophy: Ken Dryden (1972)
Ken Dryden captured the Conn Smythe Trophy before he won the Calder in 1972. He was unexpectedly called into action during the Canadiens’ 1971 Stanley Cup run despite only appearing in six regular-season games. He played his first full season as a Cup champion in 1972 and was anointed best rookie at the end of it.
Throughout his eight-season career, Dryden also won six Stanley Cups and five Vezina Trophies on his way to becoming the most dominant and decorated goaltender of the 1970s.
Lady Byng Trophy: Mats Naslund (1988)
During his illustrious career, Mats Naslund did not visit the penalty box very often. He never had more than 19 penalty minutes in a season and was recognized for his gentlemanly play as the recipient of the Lady Byng Trophy in 1988, finishing ahead of Wayne Gretzky in voting.
Naslund appeared in 617 games during his eight seasons with the Canadiens and notched 612 points.
Masterton Trophy: Max Pacioretty (2012)
In 2012, Max Pacioretty became the fifth player in Canadiens’ history to be awarded the Masterton Trophy in acknowledgement of his perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.
Pacioretty overcame a near career-ending injury sustained in 2010-11 to lead the Habs in scoring with 65 points over 79 games the following season. He suffered a severe concussion and a non-displaced fractured fourth cervical vertebra in his neck after being hit into a glass partition between the benches by Boston Bruins defenseman Zdeno Chara.
King Clancy Trophy: Saku Koivu (2007)
Saku Koivu was recognized for his leadership on and off the ice as well as his contributions to the community with the King Clancy Trophy in 2007.
After beating non-Hodgkins lymphoma in 2002, he established the Saku Koivu Foundation which raised funds to bring the first PET/CT scanner to Montreal. This advanced technology has helped treat thousands of cancer patients who are inspired by Koivu’s courage and strength.
Jack Adams Award: Pat Burns (1989)
It’s hard to believe than only two Montreal coaches have won the Jack Adams Award: Scotty Bowman was the first in 1977 and Pat Burns followed in 1989.
With Burns and his strong defensive approach, the Canadiens allowed the fewest goals in the league during his first season behind the bench and they won their division with 115 points. In the playoffs, they lost to the Calgary Flames in the Stanley Cup Final.
Burns coached the Habs for three more seasons before being replaced by Jacques Demers at the end of the 1991-92 campaign.
While no Canadiens player is the frontrunner to win this year’s honours, Phillip Danault is in contention to be a Selke finalist for the first time in his career, Nick Suzuki is sure to get Calder votes, and Shea Weber is the Habs’ Masterton nominee. Although we are far removed from Montreal’s dynasty days, five years and counting since a Canadien won an NHL award feel like an eternity for this storied franchise.