The 1976 - 77 team: 8 losses. Only once at home. Never lost two games in a row. Scored the most goals. Allowed the least goals. Least penalized team in the league. Highest goal scorer (Shutt). Highest point scorer (Lafleur). Big Three on defense. Best defensive forward in the game (Gainey) - so good they had to invent a trophy for him. They were virtually unstoppable. There has never been a more dominant team. Overall, that late seventies dynasty was the best team ever.
@@evanparliament4527 You are correct. All these years I thought it was two losses, but I checked just now and you are indeed accurate. I have amended my post and I thank you for bringing this to my attention!
@@knarf_on_a_bike : It's hard to argue with you. Those Habs may very well have been the dynasty ever. Who do you think was a better dynasty between the Islanders and Oilers?
The 1976-79 Montreal Canadiens were by far the best NHL Team of all time. They had it all especially on defense. The extraordinary winning record they had will never be duplicated again. I would've loved to have seen a seven game series between the 1976-79 Montreal Canadiens in their prime vs the 1980-83 New York Islanders in their prime. What a series that would've been.
nobody comes close to the76-77 team, except maybe the 77-78 team....59-10-11, or the 75-76 team-58-11-11 that swept the 2 time bully thugs from philadelphia.....then,lets not forget the 72-73 domination......52-10-16....10 cups in 15 years.....
I'm picking this team as one of my teams so i can have bragging rights about their past....😂...its like someone who never watched basketball picking the boston celtics or lakers as their team and bragging about their past accomplishments for the bragging rights. I'm such a cheat....lmao.
@@analogkid4957 Larry Robinson was not an enforcer, he was an All Star defenseman. But nobody wanted to fight Robinson after he beat the daylights out of the Flyers' Dave Schultz in a brawl with the broadstreet bullies.
@@PFB1994 I hear you similar to the recently departed Clark Gillies of the Islanders who was considered an enforcer but was a big strong player who also beat up Dave Schultz and earned respect from fellow NHL players.
Another aspect to this team, and to me the most important, was the manner in which they defeated the Flyers in '76. The Flyers used brutality to win games, and other teams were sucked into this style. Les Habs restored speed and finesse to the game, whilst playing tough. Les Habs set the standard for the hockey style since. For this, plus all the accomplishments noted in this documentary, Les Habs are the greatest.
As a Bruins fan, that series was the first time I rooted for the Canadiens, and I think they saved hockey by putting an end to the Flyers' short "Reign of Terror."
I can attest to this. I grew up as a kid loving the Boston Bruins. I was 10 in 1979 but I remember the Canadiens well. The Bruins had some great teams but the Canadiens were unbelievable. LeFleuar and Robinson were true all stars. All the role player players would have been stars on other teams. Boy did I hate them. But respected them big time.
My favorite dynasty of all time. Grew up a hockey player in Vermont in a town nextdoor to John LeClair's hometown. Being a part of New England most of my teammates and foes were Bruin fans (unfortunately for them;) my Canadiens never failed to provide fodder for picking at those fans and gave me confidence on the ice. I wanted to be LaFluer and emulated his game the best i could from 6 throughout hs. Forever my personal hero/ idol. Will always cherish those Saturday night, Hockey Night in Canada's shared with my family around the set. We are The Champions playing as they win another Cup. The BEST MEMORIES
One other note about this team. In their final Cup-winning season of the dynasty, Bob Gainey was named the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the.playoffs, and deservedly so. When you watch the film of Gainey holding the cup and being hoisted onto his teammates shoulders, the first guy to lift him up was Guy Lafleur, only the best player in the world at that time. They knew how good they were as a team, and there was no room for egos here. That's what made this Habs team so great.
No real arguments about this Habs team being the greatest ever. Probably the deepest team of all time. No weaknesses. This is the team I grew up rooting for. You could make a case for the late 50's Habs. Beliveau AND Henri Richard at centre, the Rocket AND Bernie Geoffrion at right wing, Dickie Moore on left wing, Doug Harvey on defense, Jacques Plante in goal and Toe Blake behind the bench. Plus they had Claude Provost, who was their version of Bob Gainey and who should be in the Hall of Fame.
I was so fortunate to be a young man living in Montreal during the 1970s. The Canadiens owned the city like no other team ever did. We thought they would win the Stanley Cup forever! The Islanders and Oilers were also great dynasties, but the 1970s Canadiens were the greatest ever.
We thought they would win the Cup forever! Indeed we did. It was expected like you expect the sunrise tomorrow morning. Now if they make the playoffs, journalists laud them as if they won the Cup...
I used to watch the Canadiens in the playoffs in the late 70s as a teenager. Maybe nostalgia, but I've spent the last few evenings watching some of these old games, and the thrill is still there. What a time that was.
Quite true that hockey fans whom study the great teams of the past will look at the Hab's from 1976 to 79. But lets not forget their 10 wins over 15 years from 65 through 79, but more importantly their 15 wins over 24 years from 56 through 79. Now we are talking real “Dynasty” While we often refer to the Dynastic rulers of the Roman Empire as the Julio Claudian's, Flavian's, Antonine's etc; the Immortal Montreal Canadian Hockey team dynasty, will often be remembered through it's era's of the Richardian's, Beliveau's and Lafleur's.
I’m a 53 year old Islanders fan who lived through both the Canadiens Islanders and Oilers dynasty and I agree that the 1976-79 team of the Canadiens was the best ever.
@@analogkid4957 I respect your objectivity. I don't know who was better but I think the Islanders had the better accomplishments. Unlike the Habs, the Isles made five consecutive Finals appearances. Also, your Isles won 19 consecutive playoff series. Think about that. Nineteen!! That's unreal! I don't ever see that being duplicated.
I was 12 years old in '76. All I saw when watching hockey for those years was win after win; I knew nothing else from my team. Believe me, It got harder watching that team play afterwards. The Canadiens were not the same anymore after that decade.
I have watched hockey since the mid 60's and I truly believe that the Canadians of the mid to late 70's were, and still are, the best professional hockey team ever assembled.
I went to Montreal with my parents in 1974 I was 4 years old. My Uncle took my cousin and me to my first ever hockey game. At the Forum in Montreal since then I was I die hard Montreal Canadians fan.
A Golden Age right here...the Habs were more than a dynasty,they were dynasty after dynasty- they were an empire,with their wins in the 50s,60s and 70s. We won't see a team as dominant in the NHL ever again
I’m trying to imagine being born in Montreal in 1935 and watching these dynasties from the age of 20 to 45. What must it like to have dynasty after dynasty to end each decade.
I sure hope someone high up in the organization today is watching this. And if so, please pay special attention to 2:27 where they talk about the scouting and minor league system and how it was "phenomenal". THAT is what is wrong with the organization today, the scouting, drafting and minor league operation do NOT preform their functions. It is possible to return this team to among the top organizations in hockey but you have to return to what worked in the past in order to achieve it.
Didn’t the 1970’s Canadiens always usually scout French Canadian players? I heard in contemporary times there’s a declining influence of Superb French Canadian players like it was in the 1960’s and 1970’s?
Nice tribute but it would have been nice to mention the checking line of Doug Jarvis, Jimmy Roberts, and especially Bob Gainey. Gainey is a Hall of Famer and always shut down the opponents best player. Larry Robinson and Serge Savard have always said that Gainey (a 15 goal scorer) was just as important to the Canadiens as LaFleur (a 50 goal scorer).
Agreed. I believe Scotty wanted GM role as well and Irvine Grundman wouldn't give it to him so he bolted for Buffalo as coach/GM. Lemaire went to Switzerland as player/coach.
Well to be fair, The Habs always got dibs on the top French-Canadian player, "First Choice of Quebecers" Rule: Part 1. A. That practice ended in 1970 When the Sabres drafted Gil Perrault. It took a generation but it caught up to them. No coincidence that they only won 1 in the 80's and last one in 93. And yes the 60s and 70's Habs were the best team I've ever witnessed
Why do you think that was? Think the NHL was favoring one team over the others? Montreal financed junior teams. The other teams didn't do that. The NHL decided to stop them from doing that and said they could pick the fist French Canadian players. So in 1964 the Habs chose Garry Monahan. The NHL screwed them by not allowing them their farm teams picks. Yet they still won more often than not. Look up Hockey News article, "Montreal Canadiens Success" and you see the real story.
LAFLEUR QUELLE VITESSE WOW LE DEMON BLOND LES CHEVEUX AU VENT,ET SA MONTÉ SUR LONG DE LA BANDE ET LANCER FRAPPER A GAUCHE DANS FILET CETAIT SA FORCE WOW WOW AND WOW WHA A PLAYERS IN A 70...LEGENDER POWER FLOWER LAFLEUR,THANKS GUY FOR ALL THAT 👍👍👍🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆🏆 24 BIG TEAM IN THE WORLD... TANKS TO MRS MOLSON
Then, one year later, they drafted Wickenheiser as #1 overall to resurrect Lafleur's career...instead of Denis Savard....and, as Paul Harvey famously coined....Now you know the rest of the story..."
That was an unforgivable mistake. I believe Savard would have been absolutely huge in Montreal had he been drafted there. Replacement for LaFleur, Beliveau, Richard.....
But I heard Wickenheiser was highly regarded in the draft so they were probably making a responsible decision at the time in not just going for the traditional French player but going who they felt was the better player. Sadly it didn’t turn out that way for Doug Wickenheiser
Not only were they a great dynasty in the 70's, they broke up another dynasty at the beginning of the 70's, the Boston Bruins. On track to win 3 in a row, the Canadiens won when they had no business winning in 1971. Coaching issues, disgruntled players, Boston handling them with their powerhouse offence. But then in the second game of the quarters down 5-1, something happened that no one can explain. An inexplicable come-back making it 7-5 and tying the series, and the rest of the games becoming a vicious dog-fight ending with a win in Boston. Why the turn around? No one knows. It just happened.
Great team without a doubt. But they did best a Flyers team without Bernie Parent and Rick MacLeish. And when the NHL needed then to beat the Red Army Team, all they could manage was a tie. We all know what happened to the Russians in Philly.
@@joedimaggio6261 Because the Montreal Canadiens were also a team of All Stars. Look at what that great Philadelphia Flyer Team did to the Soviet Team.
I love that Edmonton Oiler Team because they were so exciting with the greatest hockey player of all time, Wayne Gretzky, but you're 100% right on. The 1976-79 Montreal Canadiens were by far the greatest hockey team in NHL history.
@@danielntumba5980 Not according to the NHL. 2 cups in a row is impressive 3 in a row is a dynasty. Montreal has 5 cups in 7 years and it's not a dynasty. Only 3 in a row is a dynasty.
lol come on now. Islanders had one great defencemen, Habs had 3, Dryden was way better than Smith. Gainey way better than Goring. Islanders had Trottier, Bossy, Gillies for a little while, but then they moved Gillies to a different line, but the line of Shutt, Lemaire and Lafleur were better overall.
@@jeancorriveau8686 : It's a tough call. I don't who was better. The Habs had more star power and greater regular season stats. However, the Isles had to win an extra series each year (four as opposed to three). The Islanders won 19 consecutive playoff series. That's unbelievable!! I don't imagine it will ever be duplicated. Also, the Islanders were only three wins away from winning five in a row. Unfortunately for them, it was the Oilers time.
