Claude Provost won 9 Stanley Cups – in fact, he has the most Stanley Cups of anyone not already inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.
He has better regular season numbers than at least one comparable player who has been inducted (Dick Duff), though his playoff numbers aren’t any good.
Should he be in the Hall of Fame?
Listen to us talk about his case here:
Claude Provost’s Career:
- NHL: 1955-70; 15 seasons, 8 quality (by modern standards of PPG)
- Totals:
- 254G (25th All Time at his retirement),
- 335A for
- 589P (21st All Time at his retirement),
- +101* (22nd All Time at his retirement) in
- 1005 GP (20th);
- 52.8 PS
- At his retirement, Provost was 9th All Time among forwards in Defensive Point Shares
- Draft: Provost played before the draft
- Era: Of the 19 players to to play in at least 912 games (12 contemporary seasons) between 1955 and 1970, Provost is
- 9th in Goals
- 11th in GPG
- 10th in Assists
- 10th in APG
- 9th in Points
- 10th in PPG
- 5th* in Plus/Minus
- 11th in Offensive Point Shares
- 6th in Defensive Point Shares (1st forward, sort of – Mohns is ahead but played both forward and D)
- 14th in Point Shares
- 82-game average: 21G, 27A for 48P, +8
- 3-year-peak (1963-66): 70-game average of 22G, 33A for 55P, +13 [Note: Provost’s best seasons are more than 3 years apart]
- Playoffs:
- 25G (22nd All Time at his retirement),
- 38A (19th) for
- 63P (17th),
- +20* (6th) in
- 126 (11th) GP
- Adjusted:
- Hockey-Reference:
- 280G, 375A for 655P
- 82-game average: 23G, 31A for 53P
- Provost is obviously not on any PG leader-boards
- VsX:
- 371G, 515A, 733P
- Not on any PG leader-boards
- Hockey-Reference:
- Trades:
- Traded after his retirement, as far as I can figure, for cash
*Plus/Minus tracked since 1959-60
Claude Provost’s Accomplishments:
- Masterton (‘68)
- Top Player:
- Top 10 Offensive Player twice (‘62, ‘65)
- Goals:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 5 in Goals twice
- GPG leader-boards:
- Top 10 in GPG twice
- Single-season totals:
- Scored 30 goals once
- 25 goals twice
- 20 goals three times
- Leader-boards:
- Assists:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Assists twice
- APG leader-boards:
- Top 10 in APG once
- Leader-boards:
- Points:
- Leader-boards:
- Top 10 in Points twice
- PPG leader-boards:
- Top 10 in PPG once
- Single-season points:
- Scored 60 points twice
- 50 points five times
- Leader-boards:
- Plus Minus:
- Top 10 once
- All Star:
- 1st Team All Star once
- 11 All Star Game appearances
- VsX:
- Best 7 Seasons:
- Goals: 192nd
- Assists: 192nd
- Points: 236th
- Best 10 Seasons:
- Goals: 184th
- Assists: 211th
- Points: 229th
- Best 7 Seasons:
Claude Provost Great Teams:
- NHL:
- Best Player (by points) on one Final Four (‘64 Canadiens)
- Top 3 Forward (by points) on one Final Four (‘62 Canadiens)
- Top 6? Forward (by points, but led playoffs in even-strength and game-winning goals) on one Champion (‘59 Canadiens)
- Top 6 Forward (by points) on two Champions (‘65, ‘68 Canadiens) and two Final Fours (‘61, ‘63 Canadiens)
- Top 9 Forward (by points, but led the playoffs in Plus/Minus) on one Champion (‘66 Canadiens)
- Top 9 Forward (by points) on two Champions (‘56, ‘58 Canadiens) and one Runner Up (‘67 Canadiens)
- Role Player (by points) on three Champions (‘57, ‘60, ‘69 Canadiens)
Yes. He was a good player offensively early and defensively later. He worked really hard and he deserves it.
Definitely belongs in the hall of fame . 9 Stanley cups . Was best defensive forward of his era . Just ask Bobby Hull
Claude Provost definitely belongs in the hall of fame. It makes no sense!!!
He was a very good player, a great defensive forward, against Gordie Howe, Bobby Hull, Frank Mahovlich
He won 9 Stanley cups.
Marcel Dionne 0 Cups
Eric Lindros 0 Cups
Rod Gilbert 0 Cups
Jean Ratelle 0 Cups
Borje Salming 0 Cups
Are you trying to say that Claude Provost is better than those players you listed because he was born in Montreal in the 1930s and got signed by the most successful franchise in the history of the sport? Because that’s what it sounds like you’re saying.
In Provost’s best season, he scored 64 points in 70 games. That put him 6th in league scoring. That is the year he made his one and only end-of-season All Star team. He played for 15 years.