Canadiens

The Worst Montreal Canadiens Trades of All Time

This list of the Top Worst trades in Montreal Canadiens history is our third Worst Trades list, after the Worst 31 Trades in Maple Leafs history and the Worst 10 trades in Canucks history.

The trades on this list are ranked by Point Shares. For an explanation as to Point Shares and the rankings, see the Maple Leafs Best Trades list.

In Canadiens history, they have given up a whopping 1,222.67 more Point Shares than they’ve received back. So that’s a net of loss of nearly 4 Gretzkys worth of NHL players given up in trades over the years. That hurts.

For, the positive side, the Best 26 Trades in Canadiens History, see here.

So, without further ado, here are the worst Habs trades ever, ranked by Point Shares lost.

Does Lorne “Gump” Worsley Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Ralrton-Purina Company, maker of Chex cereals, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Gump Worsley spent half his career playing for bad teams.

But then he got traded to the Habs, won some Vezinas, and could have won at least one Conn Smythe if the votes had gone differently.

The big question about Worsley is which part of his career should we take seriously: the regular season goalie without a winning record or the goalie who was among the best in the world for a time?

Listen to us talk about Gump Worsley’s Hall of Fame case here:

Is Frank Mahovlich one of the Greatest Left Wings of All Tim

Frank Mahovlich was considered the second best LW of the 1960s. (The first is arguably the Greatest of All Time.) But outside of Leafs fans, how well is he remembered?

He was likely more dominant in certain areas than you think but, in part because he never scored more than 49 goals or 96 points, and had some poor playoffs, it seems like he’s not as highly regarded now as he was in his prime. Also, like most LWs, his numbers wouldn’t look as good if he was a centre or RW.

Mahovlich obviously belongs in the Hockey Hall of Fame (see his resume below) but, in this episode, we wonder where he ranks among the greatest Left Wings of all time.

Listen:

The Best 25 Montreal Canadiens Trades of All Time

This list of the Top 25 best trades in Montreal Canadiens history is our third Best Trades list, after the Top 25 best trades in Maple Leafs history and the Top 25 trades in Canucks history.

The trades on this list are ranked by Point Shares. For an explanation as to Point Shares and the rankings, see the Maple Leafs list.

Rest assured, the worst Habs trades list will be a lot more fun for all of us who aren’t Habs fans.

With that out of the way, on to the best trades in Montreal Canadiens history:

Does Yvan Cournoyer Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Cournoyer didn’t have the most dominant regular season career and it’s likely that, had he not played for the Habs, he wouldn’t be in the Hall of Fame with his regular season numbers.

But then, there are his playoff numbers. Safe to say, anyone who leads an entire era in playoff goals and sets a single season record in playoff goals is going into the Hall of Fame.

Listen to us talk about The Roadrunner here:

Is Ken Dryden the Greatest Goalie of All Time?

Ken Dryden played for only 8 seasons.

But in those 8 seasons, he won six Stanley Cups as a starter (playing in nearly every game when they won those cups), five Vezina trophies, the Conn Smythe and the Calder. He was a 1st Team All Star six times and only missed the end-of-season All Star teams his first season, when he played in six games.

To play devil’s advocate, he played for the Greatest Hockey Team of All Time. And he might not have deserved his Conn Smythe.

So, is Ken Dryden the Greatest Goalie of All Time?

Listen here:

Does Jacques Lemaire Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Jacques Lemaire was one of the most consistent forwards of his era, and a member of the Greatest Team of All Time. He won an incredible eight Stanley Cups.

But he was never one of the best regular season players in the league, at least by offense, and he was only ever the best forward on one of those Cup winners. He has no major awards and never made an end-of-season All Star team.

So, does Jacques Lemaire belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen here:

Does Bert Olmstead Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Bert Olmstead was one of the premier passing wingers of his era, leading both the regular season and playoffs in assists two times. He also won five Stanley Cups.

But his playoff numbers are significantly worse than his regular season numbers, despite the Cups. And he never made a end of season 1st Team in a league with only 6 franchises.

So, does Bert Olmstead belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame? Listen to us discuss here:

Does Serge Savard Belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

There are basically only 3 post-Bobby Orr defensive defencemen in the Hockey Hall of Fame. (And Savard actually is a contemporary of Bobby Orr, so maybe there are only two.) It’s hard to get in as a defensive defenceman when so many D score now.

On the other hand, there are few NHL players in NHL history to have a higher career plus minus than career points total. Savard is one of those players. And if Savard had never played for the Jets, his utterly insane plus minus would be even higher than his total points.

Is it possible that Savard’s remarkable goal differential is a product of his Hall of Fame teammates? In part, sure. But it’s a chicken or egg question, isn’t it?

So, does Serge Savard belong in the Hockey Hall of Fame?

Listen to us discuss it here:

Is Guy Lafleur one of the Greatest of All Time?

For 6 seasons – more than half a decade – there was arguably no better hockey player on earth than Guy Lafleur. And there is arguably no better team in NHL history than Lafleur’s Canadiens of the late ’70s.

For the rest of his career, Lafleur was, um, not the best hockey player in the world. And so the question is, was he good enough in those six seasons to rank among the very, very best forwards in history, who managed longer peaks but less consistency?

Listen to us talk about Guy Lafleur’s case for one of the Greatest of All Time here: