Toe Blake
Joseph Hector “Toe” Blake was an inspiration and a Canadien through and through. He was an icon who not only played but also coached the Canadiens after he hung up his skates.
As a captain, he used that role to prepare himself to coach behind the bench and used the same approach. He was aggressive in the way that when he spoke to his teammates, they knew he was serious.
On the ice, he was productive and knew how to get the most out of a simple shift. In his career, he played 577 games, scoring 235 goals and 294 assists for 529 points. In the playoffs, he scored 25 goals and 37 assists for 62 points in 58 games.
As a player, Blake won 3 Stanley Cups, including one while playing 8 games for the Montreal Maroons in 1935. He was a solid, all-around player who played with an edge.
As a coach, Blake was behind the bench for the Canadiens, leaving a coaching record of 500-254-159. In the playoffs, he was 82-37. Blake accumulated 63.4% of the possible points and had a .689 winning percentage in the playoffs.
Blake’s teams never finished below third place and won 8 Stanley Cups with him as the coach. It’s incredible to think about the success he had as a player, only to be more successful behind the bench.
Blake had a way of getting his players to do exactly what he wanted, and his players were better for it. He is a Montreal Canadien for life and one of the more underrated players for such an important piece of Canadiens history.