7 Best Montreal Canadiens Teams of All Time, Ranked

With 24 Stanley Cups, countless Hall of Famers, and a rich history few teams can match, the Montreal Canadiens are indisputably hockey’s flagship franchise.

Now, as the Canadiens exit their latest rebuild, it’s no wonder fans looking to bet on hockey are keeping an eye on the latest Stanley Cup odds for the Habs, poised to enter the league’s upper echelon for years to come. 

What Are the Greatest Montreal Canadiens Teams Ever?

1. 1976-77

Led by nine future Hockey Hall of Famers and legendary head coach Scotty Bowman, the Habs laid waste to the NHL, setting records for wins (60), points (132), and points percentage (.825, excluding truncated seasons) that went unmatched for decades.

Meanwhile, the club’s personnel took home plenty of hardware, including the league’s leading scorer Steve Shutt potting 60 goals, Guy LaFleur earning the Hart, Lester Pearson, and the Art Ross trophies, as well as Larry Robinson’s first career Norris and Ken Dryden’s second career Vezina Trophy. 

The Habs weren’t just a regular-season dynamo either, drubbing their rival Boston Bruins 4-0 in the Stanley Cup Final.

2. 1943-44

The Canadiens’ dynastic run of the 1970s litters this list as the best teams in franchise history; however, the wartime 1943-44 Montreal Canadiens were arguably just as good as those incredible clubs.

Led by Maurice “Rocket” Richard, the Canadiens stormed through the regular season by losing just five games, earning an .830 points percentage for the highest single-season mark by any Canadiens team. They then cruised to the Stanley Cup by sweeping the Chicago Black Hawks to seal their place in the pantheon of great Canadiens clubs.

3. 1959-60

The 1959-60 Canadiens marked the last of the Canadiens’ five straight Stanley Cups to close out the 50’s and is perhaps their most iconic. 

That’s thanks partly to Rocket Richard’s final campaign, as the Montreal native saw his name engraved for an eighth time into the Stanley Cup. It was also the Canadiens’ 10th straight Stanley Cup Final appearance, and is regarded by Henri Richard as the “best he ever played on.”

4. 1992-93

The most recent Canadian team to win the Stanley Cup, the 1992-93 squad are remembered for their frequent and improbable overtime heroics.

Earning a record 10 straight overtime wins that postseason, and tying another record by winning 11 straight, their improbable run culminated with a 5-game, overtime-laden Final against Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings, one of only two Stanley Cup Finals The Great One ever lost.

5. 1977-78

The 1976-77 team earns more praise, but the Canadiens’ follow-up campaign was arguably just as impressive.

Their 59 wins and 129 points both rank second in franchise history, while their 31.9% power play percentage was the best in NHL history until the Edmonton Oilers finally toppled them during the 2022-23 season.

6. 1955-56

The 1955-56 club is arguably the most important team in Canadiens history, setting the stage for dynasties to come.

Their title marked their first of five straight, while a young Jean Beliveau continued his emergence as one of the game’s stars by winning his first career Hart Trophy, leading the league in both goals and points. 

Behind the bench, Toe Blake transitioned from Punch Line mainstay to tactician extraordinaire, winning his first of eight Stanley Cups as a head coach.

7. 1970-71

Coming off their first playoff miss in two decades, the Canadiens were most notably helped to the Stanley Cup by late-season AHL callup Ken Dryden, now remembered as one of the best goaltenders of his era.

The season also marked Beliveau’s last, going out on top with his 10th and final Stanley Cup as a player, a total surpassed only by his teammate Henri Richard.