Loading
  • 21 Aug, 2019

  • By, Wikipedia

List Of Montreal Canadiens Head Coaches

Officially known as le Club de hockey Canadien, the Montreal Canadiens (French: Les Canadiens de Montréal) are a Canadian professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec. They play in the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference in the National Hockey League (NHL). In 1909, the Canadiens were founded as a charter member of the National Hockey Association (NHA). In 1917, the franchise joined the NHL, and is one of the Original Six teams. In their 100-year history, the Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cup championships, and are the last Canadian team to have won the Stanley Cup, having done so in 1993. Having played in the Jubilee Arena (1909–1910,1918–1919), the Montreal Arena (1911–1918), the Mount Royal Arena (1919–1926), and the Montreal Forum (1926–1996), the Canadiens have played their home games at the Bell Centre, formerly known as the Molson Centre, since 1996. The Canadiens are owned by the Molson Family. The general manager position is filled by Kent Hughes while their coaches consist of Martin St. Louis as their head coach, Alexandre Burrows, Trevor Letowski, and Stephane Robidas as assistant coaches, and Eric Raymond as the goaltender coach. The current captain of the Canadiens is Nick Suzuki.

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

The Canadiens' first head coach in the NHL, Newsy Lalonde, coached the Canadiens for eight seasons in two stints.
Toe Blake won eight Stanley Cup championships in 13 years coaching the Canadiens.
Claude Julien coached the Canadiens for three seasons from 2003-2006, before coming back from 2017 to 2021.
Guy Carbonneau was the head coach of the Canadiens from 2006 to 2009.

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 19171922 95 51 44 102 .537 7 5 2 0 .714 1 O'Brien Trophy championship (1918–19)
2 Leo Dandurand 19221926 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* 19261932 268 148 72 48 344 .642 29 13 12 4 .517 2 Stanley Cup championships (1929–30, 1930–31)
Newsy Lalonde 19321934 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* 19361939 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 19401955 896 431 313 152 1014 .566 115 62 53 .539 3 Stanley Cup championships (1943–44, 1945–46, 1952–53)
9 Toe Blake* 19551968 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* 19681970 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 19711979 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* 19791981 130 77 33 20 174 .669 13 6 7 .462
14 Bob Berry 19811984 223 116 71 36 268 .601 8 2 6 .250
15 Jacques Lemaire 19841985 97 48 37 12 108 .557 27 15 12 .556
16 Jean Perron 19851988 240 126 84 30 282 .588 48 30 18 .625 1 Stanley Cup championship (1985–86)
17 Pat Burns 19881992 320 174 104 42 390 .609 56 30 26 .536 1988–89 Jack Adams Award winner
18 Jacques Demers 19921995 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* 19951997 159 71 63 25 167 .525 11 3 8 .273
20 Alain Vigneault 19972000 266 109 118 39 257 .483 10 4 6 .400
21 Michel Therrien 20002003 190 77 77 36 190 .500 12 6 6 .500
22 Claude Julien 20032006 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* 20062009 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 20092011 196 96 75 25 217 .554 26 12 14 .462
25 Randy Cunneyworth* 2011–2012 50 18 23 9 45 .450
Michel Therrien 20122017 352 194 121 37 425 .612 34 17 17 .500 2017 NHL All Star Game - Atlantic Division Coach
Claude Julien 20172021 277 129 113 35 293 .529 16 7 9 .416
26 Dominique Ducharme* 20212022 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