Which Montreal Canadien Wore It Best: #17

A member of the once in history 5 straight Stanley Cup dynasty of the Canadiens in the 1950’s, Jean-Guy Talbot was never the star defenseman of the Habs, but he was always great. A physical presence on the blueline in spite of his size, Talbot was best known for rarely ever losing a battle for the puck, and quickly sending the puck up ice with precise passes. Talbot’s 7 Stanley Cup rings put him in elite company in the annals of hockey history.

John Leclair was a beast of a man at 6’3″ and 233lbs, and despite his size he was an elite skater. As it is with most power forwards, it took some time for him to find his scoring touch in the NHL, and unfortunately the Canadiens weren’t patient enough with him and moved him before he truly broke out. Leclair does have a claim to fame with the Habs though. Part of their most recent Stanley Cup victory in 1993, Leclair set an NHL record that still stands to this day by scoring overtime winners in the Stanley Cup finals in back to back games against Gretzky’s Kings. Leclair would go on to be part of the infamous “Legion of Doom” line in Philadelphia, and score 235 goals in a 5 year period, including 3 straight 50 goal seasons.

So Habs fans, which player wore the number 17 best?