Which Montreal Canadien Wore It Best: #15

Known as “Dirty Bertie”, Olmstead was a power forward before the term ever existed. A well regarded playmaker who lead by example, Olmstead was known for not allowing his teammates to give anything less than all they had. A vocal player in the locker room, Olmstead was no stranger to calling out teammates. Olmstead shares the team record for points in a game with Maurice Richard with 8. A 4 time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens, Olmstead was later acquired by the Maple Leafs and added a 5th cup ring. Olmstead was inducted into the hockey hall of fame in 1985.

Stuck behind generational offensive talents in Montreal, Houle was an underrated offensive threat in Montreal. In our look back at the 1979 game 7 against Boston, Rejean Houle had the best Fenwick percentage among Habs forwards outside of that top line. Houle was a fast, two way player who forced his way up the Canadiens lineup over his career. Unfortunately for Houle, his dominance as a player and 5 Stanley Cup victories aren’t what spring to mind when hearing his name these days. His tenure as general manager of the Habs in the 1990’s could accurately be described as the end of the dominance of the Montreal Canadiens in the NHL. A systematic dismantling of the team, including trading the games greatest goaltender in history for essentially nothing, is still felt in the organization.

The strongest goal scorer in the group, Bobby Smith was the Canadiens’ number 1 center through the late 1980’s. The 6’4″ Nova Scotian was a giant in his time, and used that size to his advantage in putting up three 80+ point seasons with the Habs, and hitting the 25 goal mark 5 times. Smith was perhaps best known for his incredibly postseason performances, starring for Montreal in both Stanley Cup final appearances in 1986 and 1989, winning in 1986.

So Habs fans, who wore the number 15 best?