List Of Montreal Canadiens Head Coaches
There have been 28 head coaches for the Canadiens franchise in the NHL. The team's first head coach in the NHL was Newsy Lalonde, who coached the Canadiens for eight NHL seasons in two stints. Although Dick Irvin coached the team for 15 seasons, Toe Blake, who coached two fewer seasons, is the franchise's all-time leader for the most regular-season games coached (914), the most regular-season games won (500), the most regular-season points (1159), the most playoff games coached (119), and the most playoff games won (82). Blake has also won the most Stanley Cup championships with eight; Scotty Bowman has won five, Irvin has won three, Cecil Hart has won two, and Leo Dandurand, Claude Ruel, Al MacNeil, Jean Perron, and Jacques Demers have won one each. Lalonde won a Stanley Cup championship in 1915–16 while in the NHA. Bowman and Pat Burns have each been awarded the Jack Adams Award, in 1976–77 and 1988–89 respectively. Nine head coaches have spent their entire NHL head coaching careers with the Canadiens. Bowman and Dandurand have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as builders. Dandurand is the only coach to have spent his entire NHL head coaching career with the Canadiens and to have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder.
Key
# | Number of coaches |
GC | Games coached |
W | Wins = Two points |
L | Losses = No points |
T | Ties = One point |
OT | Overtime/shootout losses = One point |
PTS | Points |
Win% | Winning percentage |
* | Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Canadiens |
† | Elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder |
‡ | Spent entire NHL head coaching career with the Canadiens and have been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame as a builder |
Coaches
Note: Statistics are correct through the end of the 2023–24 season. This list only includes NHL coaches, and not NHA seasons.
# | Name | Term | Regular season | Playoffs | Achievements | Reference | |||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
GC | W | L | T/OT | PTS | Win% | GC | W | L | T | Win% | |||||
1 | Newsy Lalonde | 1917–1922 | 95 | 51 | 44 | — | 102 | .537 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | .714 | 1 O'Brien Trophy championship (1918–19) | |
2 | Leo Dandurand‡ | 1922–1926 | 131 | 64 | 63 | 6 | 134 | .511 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | .833 | 1 Stanley Cup championship (1923–24) 2 Prince of Wales Trophy championships (1923–24, 1924–25) |
|
3 | Cecil Hart* | 1926–1932 | 268 | 148 | 72 | 48 | 344 | .642 | 29 | 13 | 12 | 4 | .517 | 2 Stanley Cup championships (1929–30, 1930–31) | |
— | Newsy Lalonde | 1932–1934 | 112 | 45 | 53 | 14 | 104 | .464 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | .000 | ||
— | Leo Dandurand‡ | 1934–1935 | 32 | 14 | 15 | 3 | 31 | .484 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | .000 | ||
4 | Sylvio Mantha* | 1935–1936 | 48 | 11 | 26 | 11 | 33 | .344 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
— | Cecil Hart* | 1936–1939 | 126 | 48 | 53 | 25 | 121 | .480 | 8 | 3 | 5 | — | .375 | ||
5 | Jules Dugal* | 1939 | 18 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 21 | .583 | 3 | 1 | 2 | — | .333 | ||
6 | Babe Siebert | 1939–1940 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
7 | Alfred Lepine | 1939–1940 | 48 | 10 | 33 | 5 | 25 | .260 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
8 | Dick Irvin | 1940–1955 | 896 | 431 | 313 | 152 | 1014 | .566 | 115 | 62 | 53 | — | .539 | 3 Stanley Cup championships (1943–44, 1945–46, 1952–53) | |
9 | Toe Blake* | 1955–1968 | 914 | 500 | 255 | 159 | 1159 | .634 | 119 | 82 | 37 | — | .689 | 8 Stanley Cup championships (1955–56, 1956–57, 1957–58, 1958–59, 1959–60, 1964–65, 1965–66, 1967–68) | |
10 | Claude Ruel* | 1968–1970 | 175 | 95 | 49 | 31 | 221 | .631 | 14 | 12 | 2 | — | .857 | 1 Stanley Cup championship (1968–69) | |
11 | Al MacNeil | 1970–1971 | 55 | 31 | 15 | 9 | 71 | .645 | 20 | 12 | 8 | — | .600 | 1 Stanley Cup championship (1970–71) | |
12 | Scotty Bowman† | 1971–1979 | 634 | 419 | 110 | 105 | 943 | .744 | 98 | 70 | 28 | — | .714 | 5 Stanley Cup championships (1972–73, 1975–76, 1976–77, 1977–78, 1978–79) 1976–77 Jack Adams Award winner |
|
13 | Bernie Geoffrion | 1979 | 30 | 15 | 9 | 6 | 36 | .600 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
— | Claude Ruel* | 1979–1981 | 130 | 77 | 33 | 20 | 174 | .669 | 13 | 6 | 7 | — | .462 | ||
14 | Bob Berry | 1981–1984 | 223 | 116 | 71 | 36 | 268 | .601 | 8 | 2 | 6 | — | .250 | ||
15 | Jacques Lemaire | 1984–1985 | 97 | 48 | 37 | 12 | 108 | .557 | 27 | 15 | 12 | — | .556 | ||
16 | Jean Perron | 1985–1988 | 240 | 126 | 84 | 30 | 282 | .588 | 48 | 30 | 18 | — | .625 | 1 Stanley Cup championship (1985–86) | |
17 | Pat Burns† | 1988–1992 | 320 | 174 | 104 | 42 | 390 | .609 | 56 | 30 | 26 | — | .536 | 1988–89 Jack Adams Award winner | |
18 | Jacques Demers | 1992–1995 | 220 | 107 | 86 | 27 | 241 | .548 | 27 | 19 | 8 | — | .704 | 1 Stanley Cup championship (1992–93) | |
— | Jacques Laperriere* | 1995 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .000 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
19 | Mario Tremblay* | 1995–1997 | 159 | 71 | 63 | 25 | 167 | .525 | 11 | 3 | 8 | — | .273 | ||
20 | Alain Vigneault | 1997–2000 | 266 | 109 | 118 | 39 | 257 | .483 | 10 | 4 | 6 | — | .400 | ||
21 | Michel Therrien | 2000–2003 | 190 | 77 | 77 | 36 | 190 | .500 | 12 | 6 | 6 | — | .500 | ||
22 | Claude Julien | 2003–2006 | 159 | 72 | 62 | 25 | 169 | .531 | 11 | 4 | 7 | — | .364 | ||
— | Bob Gainey | 2006 | 41 | 23 | 15 | 3 | 49 | .598 | 6 | 2 | 4 | — | .333 | ||
23 | Guy Carbonneau* | 2006–2009 | 230 | 124 | 83 | 23 | 271 | .589 | 12 | 5 | 7 | — | .417 | ||
— | Bob Gainey | 2009 | 16 | 6 | 6 | 4 | 16 | .500 | 4 | 0 | 4 | — | .000 | ||
24 | Jacques Martin | 2009–2011 | 196 | 96 | 75 | 25 | 217 | .554 | 26 | 12 | 14 | — | .462 | ||
25 | Randy Cunneyworth* | 2011–2012 | 50 | 18 | 23 | 9 | 45 | .450 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
— | Michel Therrien | 2012–2017 | 352 | 194 | 121 | 37 | 425 | .612 | 34 | 17 | 17 | — | .500 | 2017 NHL All Star Game - Atlantic Division Coach | |
— | Claude Julien | 2017–2021 | 277 | 129 | 113 | 35 | 293 | .529 | 16 | 7 | 9 | — | .416 | ||
26 | Dominique Ducharme* | 2021–2022 | 83 | 23 | 46 | 14 | 60 | .277 | 19 | 13 | 6 | — | .684 | 2021 Stanley Cup finalist | |
27 | Martin St. Louis* | 2022–present | 201 | 75 | 100 | 26 | 176 | .438 | — | — | — | — | — |
Notes
- A running total of the number of coaches of the Canadiens. Thus, any coach who has two or more separate terms as head coach is only counted once.
- Before the 2005–06 season, the NHL instituted a penalty shootout for regular season games that remained tied after a five-minute overtime period, which prevented ties.
- In ice hockey, the winning percentage is calculated by dividing points by maximum possible points.
- Each year is linked to an article about that particular NHL season.
- Newsy Lalonde, Babe Siebert, Sylvio Mantha, Dick Irvin, Toe Blake, Bernie Geoffrion, Jacques Lemaire, Jacques Laperriere, Bob Gainey, and Martin St. Louis have been inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame as players.
- Babe Siebert was named the head coach for the 1939–40 season, but died from drowning during the off-season.
References
- General
- "Montreal Canadiens Coach Register". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- Specific
- ^ "Privacy Policy". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2008-12-16. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ Sarah Kwak (2008-10-09). "Original Six in the spotlight". Sports Illustrated. Time Inc. Archived from the original on 2009-01-23. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Stanley Cup Champions and Finalists". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2009-06-29. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ Mouton, Claude (1987). The Montreal Canadiens. Key Porter Books. ISBN 1-55013-051-X.
- ^ "Our History". Centre Bell. Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "O'Brien Trophy History". Hockey Hall of Fame and Museum. Archived from the original on 2007-09-30. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Newsy Lalonde Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Prince of Wales Trophy". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2006-04-23. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Leo Dandurand Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-08-07. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Cecil Hart Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Sylvio Mantha Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jules Dugal Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Honoured Players - Siebert, Babe - Biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on 2007-11-14. Retrieved 2008-12-26.
- ^ "Pit Lepine Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Dick Irvin Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Toe Blake Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Claude Ruel Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Al MacNeil Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jack Adams Award". NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original on 2008-07-06. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Scotty Bowman Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-07-24. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Bernie Geoffrion Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-05-19. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Bob Berry Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-07-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jacques Lemaire Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jean Perron Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Pat Burns Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-04. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jacques Demers Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-10-06. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jacques Laperriere Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Mario Tremblay Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-09-03. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Alain Vigneault Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-08-27. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Michel Therrien Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-08-30. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Claude Julien Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-09-05. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Bob Gainey Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Guy Carbonneau Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2011-10-20. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Jacques Martin Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-08-20. Retrieved 2009-06-01.
- ^ "Randy Cunneyworth Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2013-01-26. Retrieved 2012-12-16.
- ^ "Youppi Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2016-11-13. Retrieved 2017-02-14.
- ^ "Official Rules" (PDF). NHL.com. Lincoln Hockey and the National Hockey League. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-05-11. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
- ^ "Hockey Hall of Fame Inductees". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 2008-10-11. Retrieved 2008-12-21.