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 conclude our site countdown of the five best defensemen in Canadiens history with our top ranked ranked D-Man, Doug Harvey.
Doug Harvey, a native of Montreal, joined his hometown team in the 1947-48 season and would go on to play his first 14 NHL seasons with the Canadiens. While it took him a couple of years to establish himself as a star, he really started to dominate the league once he did.
Harvey played 35 games in his rookie season, scoring four goals and eight points. He suited up for 55 games in 1948-49, scoring three goals and 16 points that season, so it was a bit of a slow start for a player who would become known as the best offensive defenseman of his era.
It was a different time for the NHL, and the 5’11” and 190 pound defender was a big, skilled, puck carrying defenseman which was kind of unheard of when he arrived. To see a defenseman carry the puck up ice and stickhandle around opponents was a rare sight on an NHL surface all those years ago, but Harvey did it routinely and allowed an extremely deep and talented group of forwards get the puck on their stick on the attacking side of center ice.
Harvey’s best season was in 1956-57 when he scored six goals and 50 points in 70 games. Somewhat ironically, that was the first season after the NHL adopted a new rule that allowed a player to leave the penalty box if the other team scored on the power play. Before that, players served two minutes for every minor infraction, no matter how many times the opposing team scored.
With Harvey manning the point on the Canadiens power play that also included Boom Boom Geoffrion, Rocket Richard, Jean Beliveau and Dickie Moore, it essentially became unfair to give the Canadiens a full two minute advantage. It obviously didn’t slow down Harvey who responded with the highest point total of his career.
He won the Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman that season, which was not uncommon.
Harvey won a total of seven Norris Trophy’s in his career, including six with the Canadiens. He was also the runner up in 1954 before winning the award in 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961 and 1962, the last of which came after a 1961 trade to the New York Rangers. A trade that was likely born out of Harvey’s contract demands and attempt to establish a player’s union.
His seven Norris Trophy’s have only been surpassed by Bobby Orr who won eight.
Harvey was a pioneer and came way ahead of his time. He would often hang on to the puck and circle back and maintain possession until a teammate came available instead of blasting a puck in deep and playing the dump and chase style that dominated the NHL for nearly 100 years. Today, we routinely see defensemen skate up ice, then circle back and regroup as they try to break out cleanly.
Of course, most defensemen can only do it on the man advantage or during three-on-three overtime while Harvey did it constantly at five-on-five, prioritizing puck possession long before anyone started measuring zone exits and zone entries like they do today.
Harvey would retire for good in 1969 with 540 career points in 1113 career NHL games. He played 890 games with the Canadiens, scoring 76 goals and 447 points. The game has changed dramatically since Harvey’s days when defenseman defended and forwards attacked, but only three Canadiens defensemen have scored more career points than Harvey.
None, of course, came close to winning as many Norris Trophy’s and his number two now proudly hangs in the rafters of the Bell Centre. He helped the team win six Stanley Cup championships, including five in a row from 1956-60 when he was at the top of his game.
Harvey was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1973 and remains, to this day, the greatest defenseman to ever play for the Montreal Canadiens.
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