1. Montreal Canadiens
Years: 1968 to 1979
Stanley Cups: 8
From 1968 to 1979, the Montreal Canadiens were a juggernaut. They won eight Stanley Cups in 11 years (10 in 14 years if you include their titles in 1965 and 1966, which I’m not since that was before the modern era). The Canadiens had a stacked roster and had some excellent coaches during this span as well.
They were led by some of the best captains of all-time as well. In 1968, 1969, and 1971, Jean Beliveau led them to Stanley Cup victories. Henri Richard, the brother of fellow Canadiens legend Maurice Richard, took over and captained their Stanley Cup run in 1973. Following Richard’s retirement after the 1974-75 season, Yvan Cournoyer took over and helped his team win four straight Stanley Cups.
When you look at their roster, it was like watching an All-Star team. Here’s a list of all of the Hall of Fame players they had during their dynasty.
- Guy Lafleur
- Jean Beliveau
- Henri Richard
- Larry Robinson
- Ken Dryden
- Yvan Cournoyer
- Guy Lapointe
- Steve Shutt
- Jacques Lemaire
- Bob Gainey
- Serge Savard
- Rod Langway
- Dick Duff
- Gump Worsley
- Rogie Vachon
- Frank Mahovlich
Behind the bench, their most famous coaches were Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman. It was under Bowman that they were truly at their best. The Canadiens are the most storied franchise in NHL history and their golden era was from 1968 to 1979.