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 continue up our site countdown of the five best centers in Canadiens history with number four, Elmer Lach.
Canadiens center Elmer Lach stood at 5’9″ and 172 pounds, but he was known as one of the fiercest competitors of his time and was nearly indestructible as he continued to return from injury after injury in short order, and somehow seemingly better than ever before.
He has gone down in history known as Rocket’s center as Lach lined up between Maurice Richard and Toe Blake for years on the famed Punch Line. The trio worked perfectly together and Lach brought an endless amount of energy and fight to the ice every night, battling for pucks in corners and never giving up on a loose puck.
He also had an incredible ability to pass the puck, finding Rocket with tape to tape passes that the goal scorer would happily fire into the back of the opposing team’s net. Lach was such an important component of that line, and team, that when The Rocket scored 50 goals in 50 games in 1944-45, it was Lach who won the Hart Trophy as league MVP.
Lach had 26 goals that season and led the league in points with 80. Richard was second in the league in points with 73 and Blake ranked third with 67. To further demonstrate the lines dominance, only one other player in the entire NHL had more than 54 points that season.
Lach was able to overcome many serious injuries, including a shattered shoulder that ruined his entire second season, several broken jaws and countless broken noses as well as a fractured skull suffered after a big hit sent him crashing to the ice with no helmet on.
Lach won the inaugural Art Ross Trophy, given to the player who leads the NHL in points, in 1947-48 when he had 30 goals and 61 points in 60 games. By the end of his career in 1954, Lach had scored 215 goals and 623 points in 664 games.
Leading the league in points twice, and allowing Rocket Richard to be the best version of himself by setting him up regularly and doing lots of dirty work on the ice, makes Elmer Lach the fourth best center to ever play for the Montreal Canadiens.
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