Montreal Canadiens: Top 5 Centers – #1 Jean Beliveau

If there was a Mount Rushmore for the Montreal Canadiens, the great Jean Beliveau would most certainly be on it. Le Gros Bill, as he was known, is unquestionably one of the most iconic players in the history of the franchise. A man that transcended sport, he was revered by a generations of hockey fans until his death in 2014.

Beliveau arrived as a full-time member of the Canadiens in 1953 at the age of 22.  The native of Trois-Rivieres made an instant impact by tallying 13 goals and 21 assists for 34 points in 44 games in his rookie campaign.

At 6’3” and 205 lbs the towering center stood out immediately from his peers as a sheer presence on the ice. Beliveau not only looked the part of a leading man, he had the skills to back it up. His game grew by leaps and bounds and by the end of his sophomore season, Beliveau had more than doubled his production in every statistical category.

Beliveau ascended to superstardom in 1955-56 when he scored 47 goals and 41 assists for 88 points in 70 games, capturing the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL’s top point getter in just his third season. He was also awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s most valuable player.

Beliveau capped off the dream year by capturing his first Stanley Cup, a playoff run in which he was instrumental to the team’s success scoring 12 goals in just 10 games. It would be the first of five consecutive titles for Beliveau and the Canadiens, a historic dynasty that featured a roster full of future Hall of Famers under the guidance of the great Toe Blake.

It was also during this stretch that Beliveau enjoyed his career high for points in a single season when he racked up 91 in 1958-59.

Despite the Canadiens lack of playoff success in the first half of the 1960’s, Beliveau continued to pile on the individual accolades.  He recorded his second 90 point season in 1960-61 and added a second Hart Trophy as league MVP in 1963-64.

Beliveau was named the inaugural winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy, a new award for the most valuable player in the playoffs he received when he led the Habs back to Stanley Cup glory in 1965.

It would be the start of a second dynasty to which Le Gros Bill would be integral as he captained a new generation of players to five championships over a seven year period.  He wore the “C” proudly for a decade until his retirement in 1971.  In his final season he became just the fourth player in the history of the National Hockey League to score 500 goals, joining Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull and former teammate Maurice Richard.

In 1125 career games with Montreal, Beliveau amassed 507 goals and 712 assists for 1219 points.  He added another 79-97-176 in 162 career playoff appearances, winning the Stanley Cup ten times.  A true legend in every sense of the word, Beliveau is considered by most to be one of the 10 best players in the history of the NHL.

Post retirement he spent time in the front office and was also an ambassador for the club for many years, often present at games sitting right behind the Canadiens player bench as if to remind them “to you from failing hands we throw the torch, be yours to hold it high.”

The late Jean Beliveau had his famous number 4 retired by the Montreal Canadiens in 1971 and he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

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