NHL: The best captain in each team’s history (Updated 2023)

NHL (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
NHL (Photo by Bruce Bennett Studios via Getty Images Studios/Getty Images)
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Montreal Canadiens, Jean Beliveau
Montreal Canadiens, Jean Beliveau (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)

Best NHL captain from each franchise: Montreal Canadiens – Jean Beliveau

It’s no secret that the Montreal Canadiens are considered the cream of the crop when it comes to the NHL. They’ve won the Stanley Cup championship 24 times and it was during the era of legendary center Jean Beliveau’s career that they accomplished something that to this day, has never been broken.

Beliveau is the only player in NHL history to have won 10 Stanley Cup championships and then win seven more as an executive on the Canadiens. That’s right, a total of 17 Stanley Cup championships are all on the same team and it’s something that speaks volumes to the impact Beliveau had in the world of professional hockey.

He’s won many awards throughout his two decades of playing hockey from the Hart Trophy, the Art Ross Trophy, and is considered by many publications to be one of the greatest players of all-time. As team captain of the Canadiens for a decade, he was the prime example of loyalty, execution, and pride in representing the greatest team in hockey.

Beliveau also represented the Canadiens in 13 trips to the NHL All-Star Game and won the NHL Lifetime Achievement Award in 2009. He will go down in NHL history as being one of the most respected and celebrated captains ever.