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The Greatest Montréal Canadiens of All Time

All-time greats by position · era-adjusted

Updated 2026-07-09

The greatest Montréal Canadiens of all time — the forwards, defensemen and goaltenders who defined the franchise. Each is ranked by their finest era-adjusted season, weighted by how long they anchored the roster, so a dominant year from any era is measured fairly.

Top forwards

  1. Guy Lafleur Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1976 · 57G 82A 139P · +91 · 80 GP
    100Peak
  2. Steve Shutt Left Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1976 · 61G 46A 108P · +91 · 80 GP
    92Peak
  3. Jacques Lemaire Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1977 · 39G 66A 105P · +58 · 76 GP
    76Peak
  4. Peter Mahovlich Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1974 · 36G 84A 120P · +42 · 80 GP
    73Peak
  5. Frank Mahovlich Left Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1971 · 46G 57A 104P · +45 · 76 GP
    75Peak
  6. Nick Suzuki Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2025 · 29G 72A 101P · +37 · 82 GP
    71Peak
  7. Bernie Geoffrion Right Wing
    1 season sampled · peak 1960 · 64G 58A 122P · +4 · 64 GP
    71Peak
  8. Pierre Larouche Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1979 · 56G 46A 102P · +39 · 73 GP
    66Peak
  9. Jean Beliveau Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1960 · 38G 69A 107P · +12 · 69 GP
    63Peak
  10. Stephane Richer Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1989 · 56G 44A 99P · +38 · 75 GP
    63Peak
  11. Yvan Cournoyer Right Wing
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1971 · 53G 40A 93P · +27 · 73 GP
    63Peak
  12. Pierre Mondou Center
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1978 · 33G 44A 77P · +62 · 77 GP
    62Peak

On defense

  1. Larry Robinson Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1976 · 20G 70A 91P · +128 · 77 GP
    94Peak
  2. Guy Lapointe Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1976 · 27G 54A 81P · +75 · 77 GP
    70Peak
  3. Serge Savard Defenseman
    3 seasons sampled · peak 1974 · 20G 41A 61P · +74 · 80 GP
    59Peak
  4. Lane Hutson Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2025 · 12G 66A 78P · +36 · 82 GP
    56Peak
  5. Brian Engblom Defenseman
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1981 · 4G 31A 36P · +84 · 76 GP
    47Peak
  6. Chris Chelios Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1988 · 15G 59A 75P · +36 · 80 GP
    46Peak
  7. P.K. Subban Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 2014 · 15G 45A 60P · +21 · 82 GP
    46Peak
  8. Lou Fontinato Defenseman
    1 season sampled · peak 1961 · 3G 20A 23P · +84 · 54 GP
    45Peak

In goal

  1. Patrick Roy Goaltender
    2 seasons sampled · peak 1989 · 31W · 2.53 GAA · .912 SV% · 3 SO
    78Peak
  2. Ken Dryden Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1971 · 39W · 2.24 GAA · .930 SV% · 8 SO
    74Peak
  3. Carey Price Goaltender
    2 seasons sampled · peak 2014 · 44W · 1.96 GAA · .933 SV% · 9 SO
    66Peak
  4. Denis Herron Goaltender
    1 season sampled · peak 1981 · 12W · 2.64 GAA · .911 SV% · 3 SO
    84Peak
How this ranks: a player’s best season with the Montréal Canadiens is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then nudged up for how many standout seasons they gave the club — rewarding peak brilliance and franchise tenure together.

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Frequently asked questions

Who is the greatest Montréal Canadiens player of all time?
By All-Time Hockey's era-adjusted peak-season ranking, Guy Lafleur leads the Montréal Canadiens all-time greats; the top three overall are Guy Lafleur, Patrick Roy, Larry Robinson. Each player is scored on his finest season relative to the league around him.
Who is the best Montréal Canadiens goaltender of all time?
Patrick Roy ranks as the top Montréal Canadiens goaltender by peak era-adjusted season, weighted by win volume so durable starters outrank one-year standouts.
How are the all-time Montréal Canadiens rankings calculated?
Each player's best season with the Montréal Canadiens is scored on era-adjusted offense, defense and goaltending, then weighted by how many standout seasons he gave the club. Data spans the 1960s to today.

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