Montreal Canadiens: All Time Top Five Wingers: #1 Maurice Richard

The Montreal Canadiens have entered the quietest time on the calendar. While there is little to look forward to in the month of August, we decided to take a look back at some of the greatest players in franchise history. We end our site countdown of the five best wingers in Canadiens history with Maurice “Rocket” Richard.

When The Rocket first joined the Canadiens in the 1942-43 season, he was not wearing the iconic number nine, instead donning the number 15. At this time, Richard was dealing with several injuries that called his future in the NHL into question. Countless injuries, including several broken bones, kept him sidelined from both hockey and the war. But when he made the switch to number nine, everything changed, and the Rocket was born.

Richard would join forces with Toe Blake and Elmer Lach to form the iconic “Punch Line” and take the league by storm. The trio put up numbers unprecedented in the NHL on the way to a Stanley Cup victory in their first year together, the first for the Canadiens in 13 years. The following season, Richard became the first player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season, doing so in just 50 games, but lost out on the Hart Trophy to linemate Lach, whose 80 points led the league in scoring.

While the Punch line didn’t last much longer, with Blake retiring after the 47-48 season, the Rocket continued to score. He never reached the 50-goal plateau again but led the league in goals five times in his career. And although the Rocket finished his career with over 900 points, he never won an Art Ross trophy as the league’s top scorer. His best chance came in 1955 before he was suspended for the remainder of the season for striking a linesman. With Richard out, his teammate Bernie Geoffrion passed him in scoring to win the title but was actually booed by the fans for passing the Rocket.

Of course, this moment led to one of Richard’s more iconic moments (albeit not something he is actually responsible for), with the riots that ensued as a result of the suspension. Richard was more than just a hockey player. He was an icon for French Canadians, so suspending him felt like a punishment not just to him but to all French Canadians. With NHL President Clarence Campbell in attendance for the Habs first game without the Rocket, a riot began that forced the game to stop and end with the Canadiens forfeiting. Meanwhile, the riot spilled out into the streets, causing damage to the city and over 100 arrests.

It’s moments like that or the lengthy standing ovation he received at the final game at the Montreal Forum that show just how beloved the Rocket was. It’s not just his on-ice contributions that showcase his value to the Canadiens, but what he represented for many French Canadians. But make no mistake, his impact on the ice is well-recognized as well.

The Rocket retired as one of the greatest players to ever play for the Canadiens and the NHL. He was the first player to score 50 goals in a season and the first to reach the 500-goal mark in his career. To this day, he is still the all-time goal-scoring leader in Canadiens franchise history. He was a menace on the ice, the kind of player that put the fear of god into others, and he was as tough as nails. The NHL commemorated this by awarding the league’s top goal scorer the Rocket Richard trophy (commonly referred to as just the Rocket) starting in 1999.

The Rocket’s legacy will never be matched in Montreal, as many still see him as the face of the franchise over 60 years after his retirement and over 20 since his passing. The Canadiens named their AHL Affiliate, the Laval Rocket, after him and continue to honour him today. His importance to the city of Montreal and its people, mainly the francophones, is unparalleled in sports, and for that reason, he is our pick for the Canadiens top winger of all-time.