Montreal Canadiens: Ten Scariest Players In Franchise History
1. Rocket Richard
Rocket Richard was the player in Montreal Canadiens history that struck more fear into opponent’s than anyone else ever did. He was a cultural icon in the province of Quebec, but everywhere else he was a feared and fierce competitor.
Not only could he fly down the wing with eyes as wide as saucers, solely focused on driving to the net as hard and as fast as possible, but there was no stopping him. Whether he chose to stickhandle around a defender or just barrel straight through them would be something the opposing team would just have to wait and see.
He would score 544 goals in his career, which still stands as the franchise record. His goal scoring ability was scary enough for the opposition, but Rocket had an awful mean streak to him as well.
He piled up 1285 minutes in penalties in his career, never shy to stick up for himself in a fight.
He got into a wild stick swinging incident and eventually struck a linesman who tried to break it up in 1955 which ultimately led to him being suspended for the rest of the season. This resulted in the infamous Richard Riots in Montreal.
Hall of Fame goaltender Glenn Hall once said, “when I think of Maurice Richard, the thing I see are his eyes. They were flashing and gleaming like the lights of a pinball machine. It was frightening.”
Yet another Hall of Fame goaltender Terry Sawchuk had similar memories, saying facing Rocket was “absolute terror. Those eyes glowing like a set of high beams. You’re scared.”
When a couple of the greatest goaltenders of all time admit to being terrified to face a player, you know they are a scary opponent. That is why Rocket Richard is the scariest player to ever suit up for the Montreal Canadiens.
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