Montreal Canadiens' Conn Smythe Trophy winners – Hockey Writers – Montreal Canadiens
As the Stanley Cup Final slowly draws to a close, a new winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy will soon be awarded. While the Montreal Canadiens have not been in the finals, they have had their fair share of Cup Finals and Conn Smythe winners over the years. Let's take a look at the Canadiens' previous playoff games in net and on the blue line.
Roy and Dryden Clutch on the Net
We can argue for a long time about who was the best goaltender for the Canadiens, but one thing is for sure these two will be in the discussion. Fortunately arguing about one or the other is not our purpose today; we can only rejoice in the glory of these two amazing goalkeepers.
When anyone thinks of Ken Dryden, the first thing that comes to mind is his stoic stance in front of his net when the puck is in the opponent's court or the game is stopped. He showed confidence in that situation, and it can be scary.
In winning his only Conn Smythe, he played in all 20 games the Canadiens played and had a 12-8 record, posting a 3.01 goals-against average and a .914 save percentage. Those numbers – especially the GAA – may not seem impressive but remember that goalies had much smaller equipment back then. Just six games into the playoffs, the leading scorer was a rookie when the following season began and, to no one's surprise, won the Calder Trophy, which is awarded annually to the NHL's top rookie. He remains the only rookie to win the Conn Smythe Trophy before Calder.
Related: Canadiens' Ken Dryden – Truly One of a Kind
Dryden had a short hockey career; having won everything he left to seek new challenges in the legal field, he later became a successful politician and writer. He has written tons of hockey books, and if you haven't read them, I highly recommend them Game Changer: The Life and Death of Steve Montador and the Future of Hockey talking about the fact that the game needs to be changed so that the players stay healthy.
As for Patrick Roy, he led the Canadiens to two Stanley Cups that they had no business winning and without “Saint-Patrick” they will continue to cling to 22 Cups. Like Dryden, he was a rookie when he led the Canadiens to their 23rd Cup with a 15-5 record, 1.93 GAA, and .923 SV%. It was a remarkable performance that he still managed to win in the 1993 Cup competition.
When fans think of Dryden's situation when they think of him, they think of Roy's eye on Tomas Sandstrom when “Casseau” was asked. It was the 1993 Cup finals when the Canadiens faced Wayne Gretzky and the Los Angeles Kings. Roy was so strong in that postseason that Montreal won 10 consecutive overtime games, a record that may have been broken. It's an impressive feat too, it takes 16 wins to win the Stanley Cup and the Canadiens won 10 of those in OT, meaning 63% of their wins came in overtime. It takes iron senses to handle that.
In those playoffs, Roy posted a 16-4 record with a 2.13 GAA and a .929 SV%, numbers that are even more impressive when you consider that he faced 647 shots in the postseason while facing only 504 in the loss to -1986 (diff. 143 shots). No wonder Roy is known as the “money player” who always shows up when the stakes are high.
Roy went on to win two more trophies in his career with the Colorado Avalanche and captured another Conn Smythe. To date, he is the only player who has won it with two different teams and has won it three times.
On the Blue Line Senator and Big Bird
The Conn Smythe trophy has been awarded since 1964 and so far 29 of the best pitchers, 17 pitchers and only 12 have won. Two of those 12 times were by Montreal Canadiens players; Serge “Senator” Savard and Larry “Big Bird” Robinson.
Both were members of the Canadiens' dominant dynasty of the 1970s and were part of the “Big Three” – perhaps the best trio of defensemen any team has ever had in the NHL. Guy Lapointe was the third member of this unit and together they became the pillars of the dynasty.
Usually the Norris Trophy is awarded to the defenseman who produces the most points, something I find very annoying, there is more to being a blueliner than getting on the score sheet. However, in 1969, when Savard won the Conn Smythe, he was 11 years oldth in qualifying points, but his defensive brilliance was nevertheless considered worthy of the award.
As for Robinson, he won his Conn Smythe in 1978 and did so by tying Guy Lafleur for the most points in that playoff game. Both scored 21 points (four goals and 17 assists for “Big Bird,” as his teammates and the media often called him.) He went on to participate in two more Stanley Cups with the Canadiens before signing with the Kings as a free agent. agent in 1989.
During that time, Savard won two more Stanley Cups, in 1986 and 1993. He wasn't on the ice, though — he was in the general manager's office pulling the strings.
There have been so many Conn Smythe winners with the Canadiens I'll have to cover the best in my next article. You will see that there are some very important Canadiens players among them.
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