A History of Montreal Canadiens at the NHL All-Star Game

The National Hockey League has changed the format of the annual All-Star Game numerous times over the years, but the end goal was always to showcase the best players of the NHL play against one another.

From 1947 to 1968 the game was mainly played between the previous year’s Stanley Cup champions and an “All-Star team”. In that span the Montreal Canadiens were champions eight times, and therefore hosted the event. Montreal’s record in those eight games was three wins, five losses, and a tie. Out of those eight games Henri Richard, Jean Béliveau, and Claude Provost appeared seven times, while Tom Johnson, Dickie Moore, and Doug Harvey appeared six times each.

Two exceptions to the above was a U.S. vs. Canada format game in 1951 and 1952, which was a precursor to the modern format of best against the best.

In games where Canadiens players composed the All-Star Team side of the equation (including 1951 and 1952), Maurice Richard was selected eight times and Bernie Geoffrion six times to lead the pack, among a slew of other Canadiens who were chosen to represent the best in the League.

In total, from 1947 to 1968, the following Montreal Canadiens players appeared the most often in the All-Star Game:

• 13- Maurice Richard
• 12- Jean Beliveau
• 11- Bernie Geoffrion
• 11- Claude Provost
• 9- Henri Richard
• 9- Doug Harvey
• 7- Tom Johnson

From 1968 onward, the NHL adopted the more familiar style of the best players in the League facing off against one another, under various formats: Wales Conference vs. Campbell Conference, Eastern Conference vs. Western Conference, North America vs. World, and a fantasy draft format where team captains picked their own players.

Under this new style, the Canadiens were obviously no longer so dominant in representation, as the focus was more on League-wide talent with an increasing amount of teams to be able to pick from.

Larry Robinson leads the pack with nine All-Star Game appearances for the Canadiens since 1968, followed by Patrick Roy who had six appearances as a Montreal Canadiens (he would make another five appearances as a member of the Colorado Avalanche), Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, and Carey Price follow with five appearances each. It’s safe to say that Price has several seasons left in front of him to challenge Robinson’s record.

In total 95 players represented the Canadiens in the NHL All-Star Game since the start of the event in 1947. Here is the complete table of players, ranked by the number of appearances.

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