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Coaches

Through all their years in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens have seen some great (and not so great) coaches come and go. But who is the best Montreal Canadiens head coach of all time? This list ranks every Montreal Canadiens coach from best to worst with the help of our users. Hockey fans like you have already voted on this list, but we want you to contribute as well. Upvote your top Montreal Canadiens coaches, keeping stats like regular season record and playoff appearances in mind. Toe Blake might just be the best coach in the history of the NHL. Blake won eight Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens from 1955-1968. If it weren't for Blake, Scotty Bowman would definitely be the Canadiens best coach. He won five Stanley Cup championships from 1972-1977, four of which were won in consecutive seasons. If the Montreal Canadiens assembled a team of the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/crowdranked-list/15-great-nhl-players">greatest NHL players </a>ever, who would coach it? Vote up the most winningest Montreal Canadiens coach, or simply just the coach that you personally liked the most, then see how they compare to the <a href="http://www.ranker.com/list/best-hockey-coaches-of-all-time/ranker-hockey">best coaches in NHL history</a>.

Ranking Every Montreal Canadiens Coach Best to Worst

The Best Montreal Canadiens Coaches of All Time

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Scotty Bowman

William Scott Bowman, OC (born September 18, 1933) is a Canadian retired National Hockey League (NHL) head coach. He holds the record for most wins in league history, with 1,248 wins in the regular season and 223 in the Stanley Cup playoffs and ranks 2nd all time (behind Jean Béliveau's seventeen) for most Stanley Cup victories by a player, coach or executive with fourteen. He coached the St. Louis Blues, Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo Sabres, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Detroit Red Wings. He is currently the Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the Chicago Blackhawks (his son, Stan, is the team's general manager). Bowman is regarded as one of the greatest coaches in NHL history.As head coach, Bowman has won a record nine Stanley Cup championships; five with the Canadiens (1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, and 1979), one with the Penguins (1992) and three with the Red Wings (1997, 1998, and 2002). He has also won five Stanley Cups as a member of an organization's front office. He was director of player development for the 1991 Penguins, Consultant with the 2008 Detroit Red Wings, and Senior Advisor of Hockey Operations for the 2010, 2013, and 2015 Chicago Blackhawks. Bowman is the only NHL coach to lead three teams to Stanley Cup victories. Bowman won the Jack Adams Award in 1977 and 1996. In the 1976–77 season he won a record 60 games, breaking his own record of 58 wins the year before. He broke his own record again in the 1995–1996 season, with 62 wins. His 8 losses in 1976–77 are a modern record. His teams also made it to the Stanley Cup Finals a record 13 times and the semi-finals a record 16 times.

Toe Blake

Joseph Hector "Toe" Blake,  (August 21, 1912 – May 17, 1995) was a Canadian ice hockey player and coach in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is best known for his three-decade association with the Montreal Canadiens, with whom he won the Stanley Cup ten times as a player or coach. In 2017 Blake was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

Dick Irvin

James Dickinson "Dick" Irvin Jr. (or II) (July 19, 1892 – May 16, 1957) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. He played for professional teams in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association, the Western Canada Hockey League, and the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1916 to 1928, when he had to retire from repeated injuries. Irvin was one of the greatest players of his day, balancing a torrid slap shot and tough style with gentlemanly play. For his playing career, Irvin was named to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958. After playing, Irvin built a successful career as a coach in the NHL with the Chicago Black Hawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens. He won one Stanley Cup as a coach with Toronto, three more with Montreal, finishing with over 600 wins as a coach. He also served in the Canadian Army during World War I.

Pat Burns

Patrick John Joseph Burns (April 4, 1952 – November 19, 2010) was a National Hockey League head coach. Over 14 seasons between 1988 and 2004, he coached in 1,019 games with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, and New Jersey Devils. Burns retired in 2005 after being diagnosed with recurring cancer, which eventually claimed his life five years later.
In 2014, he was posthumously inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Jacques Lemaire

Jacques Gerard Lemaire (born September 7, 1945) is a retired French Canadian ice hockey forward and head coach who was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1984. He spent his entire twelve-year National Hockey League (NHL) playing career with the Montreal Canadiens (1967–1979) and was a part of eight Stanley Cup Championship teams in 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. In 2017 Lemaire was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.Lemaire was a NHL head coach for seventeen seasons with the Canadiens (1983–1985), New Jersey Devils (1993–1998, 2009–2011) and Minnesota Wild (2000–2009). The pinnacle of his career behind the bench was a Stanley Cup Championship with the Devils in 1994–95.
After retiring at the end of the 2010–11 NHL season, Lemaire accepted a position as special assignment coach for the Devils. He currently works as a special assignment coach for the New York Islanders, a position he previously held with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Jacques Demers

Jacques Demers (born August 25, 1944) is a Canadian Senator, former broadcaster and former professional ice hockey head coach. After a lengthy coaching career in the World Hockey Association and in the National Hockey League, Demers became an analyst for Montreal Canadiens games on RDS. On August 27, 2009, he was nominated by Prime Minister Stephen Harper to fill the Canadian Senate seat vacated by Yoine Goldstein. Senator Demers represented the Conservative Party in the Senate until December 2015 when he resigned from the Conservative caucus in order to sit as an Independent.

Alain Vigneault

Alain Vigneault (born May 14, 1961) is a Canadian professional ice hockey head coach for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Vigneault has previously coached the Montreal Canadiens, Vancouver Canucks, and the New York Rangers in the NHL, as well as in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). During his career with the Canucks, he won the Jack Adams Award as the NHL's top coach of the year in 2006–07 and has become the team's record holder for wins as a coach. Under Vigneault, Vancouver won back-to-back Presidents' Trophies (2010–11 and 2011–12) and made one Stanley Cup Finals appearance (2011). In his first season with New York, he led the Rangers to their first Stanley Cup Finals appearance (2014) in 20 years.
Prior to his coaching career, Vigneault played professionally as a defenceman for six seasons in the NHL, Central Hockey League and American Hockey League (AHL). In the NHL, he played 42 games over two seasons, 1981–82 and 1982–83, for the St. Louis Blues.

Guy Carbonneau

Joseph Harry Guy Carbonneau (born March 18, 1960) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He was also the president of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Chicoutimi Saguenéens. Carbonneau will be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in November, 2019.

Claude Julien

Claude Julien (born April 23, 1960) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL). Prior to his firing by the Boston Bruins in 2017, he was the longest tenured head coach in the NHL. He had previously served as head coach of the New Jersey Devils in the NHL, as well as in the American Hockey League (AHL) with the Hamilton Bulldogs. In 2011 he coached the Bruins to the Stanley Cup Finals, against the Vancouver Canucks, winning in 7 games, guiding Boston to their 6th franchise Stanley Cup title. In 2013, he brought Boston to another Stanley Cup Finals, however they lost the series to the Chicago Blackhawks in 6 games.
Julien was also an assistant coach for Canadian national team at the 2014 Winter Olympics, where he led the team to a gold medal victory.

Al MacNeil

Allister Wences "Al" MacNeil (born September 27, 1935) is a former National Hockey League player and coach. He was the first man from the Maritime region of Canada to be a head coach in the NHL.



Newsy Lalonde

Édouard Cyrille "Newsy" Lalonde (October 31, 1887 – November 21, 1970) was a Canadian professional ice hockey forward in the National Hockey League (NHL) and a professional lacrosse player.  Lalonde is regarded as one of hockey's and lacrosse's greatest players of the first half of the 20th century and one of sport's most colourful characters.  He played for the Montreal Canadiens – considered to be the original "Flying Frenchman" – in the National Hockey Association and the NHL. He also played for the WCHL's Saskatoon Sheiks.

Michel Therrien

Michel Therrien (born November 4, 1963) is a Canadian professional ice hockey assistant coach for the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Therrien formerly coached the Montreal Canadiens and the Pittsburgh Penguins.
Prior to his coaching career, Therrien played professionally for three years as a defenceman in the American Hockey League (AHL), compiling a total of 86 points in 206 games and winning the Calder Cup in 1985 with the Sherbrooke Canadiens, on the same team as eventual Hockey Hall of Famer Patrick Roy. When his playing career ended, Therrien worked for a time as a lineman for Bell Canada, with a sideline as a bodyguard for Quebec singing star Roch Voisine, with whom he had once played hockey, while working his way into a coaching career.Before coaching in the professional leagues, Therrien was a coach in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), first as an assistant with the Laval Titan and later as head coach for the Granby Prédateurs, with whom the club won the Memorial Cup in 1996, ending a 25-year championship drought in the tournament for a team from Quebec. He is a single parent of two children, Elizabeth and Charles.

Claude Ruel

Claude Ruel (September 12, 1938 – February 9, 2015) was a professional ice hockey coach for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL).
Ruel grew up playing hockey in Sherbrooke. He was considered to be a promising young defensive talent, despite his diminutive stature. However, during a game in 1958, he was struck in the eye by a deflected puck. Following the injury, he was hospitalized for three months, but his eyesight could not be restored.In the early 1960s, Ruel received his first coaching job, taking a position with the Montreal Junior Canadiens. He became a key part of the Montreal farm system, serving as one of the team's top scouts. He later was elevated to the front office of the NHL club and served as director of player development.[1]
Ruel was hired to coach the Habs in 1968, replacing the legendary Toe Blake. He led a talented group of players to a Stanley Cup championship during his first year. However, the following season, Montreal was the odd team out in a tight, five-team "Original Six" battle for four playoff spots. He started the 1970-71 season behind the bench, but decided to step down 23 games into the season because the pressure of life behind the bench was affecting his health. He subsequently returned to his role director of player development, but he took over as Montreal coach again in 1979, leading the team for one and a half years during the waning days of the 1970s dynasty.
Ruel died on February 9, 2015.

Jean Perron

Jean Perron (born October 5, 1946) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and sports commentator, best known for being the 16th head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, serving from 1985 to 1988.  Perron has more recently served as the head coach for Israel's men's national teams.

Sylvio Mantha

Joseph Sylvio Theobald Mantha (April 14, 1902 – August 7, 1974) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins.

Jacques Martin

Jacques Martin (born October 1, 1952) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and executive, currently serving as an assistant coach of the Pittsburgh Penguins. In the National Hockey League (NHL), he has been the head coach of the St. Louis Blues,  Ottawa Senators, Montreal Canadiens and the Florida Panthers. Martin was also the general manager with the Panthers, and has served as an assistant coach with the Canadian men's national ice hockey team. Martin is a Franco-Ontarian, and a two-time Stanley Cup champion.

Léo Dandurand

Joseph Viateur "Léo" Dandurand (July 9, 1889 – June 26, 1964), was a sportsman and businessman. He was the owner and coach of the Montreal Canadiens ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL). He also was an owner of race tracks and of the Montreal Alouettes football team in the league that evolved into the Canadian Football League.



Cecil Hart

Cecil Hart (November 28, 1883 – July 16, 1940) was a head coach of the Montreal Canadiens. 
Hart was Jewish, a direct descendant of Aaron Hart who was Canada's first Jewish settler, and was born in Bedford, Quebec.
Hart helped lead the team to three Stanley Cups, in 1924, 1930, and 1931. He was fired after a dispute with Canadiens' owner Léo Dandurand after leading the Canadiens to first place in the 1931–32 season, but after Dandurand and Joseph Cattarinich sold the Canadiens to Ernest Savard and Maurice Forget of the Canadian Arena Company, the Canadiens hit bottom in 1935–36.
To rebuild the team, they rehired Hart in 1936–37, but Hart would only come back if Howie Morenz did. A deal was arranged and with Morenz back, and despite the death of Morenz during the season, Hart managed to lead the Canadiens to first place.
After that, the team eroded as age caught up with some key players. When the Canadiens were reclining near the cellar in 1938–39, Cecil resigned as coach and manager.Hart later became vice president and treasurer of the Quebec,Ontario and Vermont Baseball League also before his untimely death..
Hart died after a lengthy illness in July 1940. Hart's father, David Hart, donated the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1923. Hart was inducted into the International Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 1992.

Bernie Geoffrion

Joseph Bernard André Geoffrion (French pronunciation: ​[ʒɔfʁjɔ̃]; February 16, 1931 – March 11, 2006), nicknamed Boom Boom, was a Canadian professional ice hockey player and coach. Generally considered as one of the innovators of the slapshot, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 following a 16-year career with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League. In 2017 Geoffrion was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

Bob Berry

Robert Victor "Crease" Berry (born November 29, 1943) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey left winger who played eight seasons in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings. He has also served as a head coach in the NHL for the Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, Pittsburgh Penguins and St. Louis Blues.

Alfred Lepine

Babe Siebert

Charles Albert "Babe" Siebert (January 14, 1904 – August 25, 1939) was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger and defenceman who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the  Montreal Maroons, New York Rangers, Boston Bruins and Montreal Canadiens.  He won the 1926 Stanley Cup championship with the Maroons, and was a member of the famous "S Line",  and another with the Rangers in 1933.
A physical forward known for his fighting ability while with the Maroons and Rangers, an apparent decline in his play was reversed when he switched to defence after he was traded to the Bruins. Siebert was named an all-star three times after the switch and won the Hart Trophy as the NHL's most valuable player in 1937 as a member of the Canadiens.
Siebert was named the head coach of the Canadiens upon his retirement as a player in 1939.  He never coached a game as he drowned in Lake Huron prior to the 1939–40 NHL season.  The league organized an all-star benefit game that raised $15,000 for Siebert's family.  He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1964.



Jules Dugal

Jules Dugal was a head coach of the Montreal Canadiens, following Cecil Hart.  He managed the team for half of one year, 1939.  His record that one year was 9-6-3.  The Canadiens made it to the playoffs, but lost in the first round to the Detroit Red Wings, 2 games to 1.

Mario Tremblay

Joseph Daniel Mario Tremblay (born September 2, 1956 in Alma, Quebec) is a former professional ice hockey player and former coach in the National Hockey League  (NHL). He was honoured by his hometown of Alma, which named its local arena "Le Centre Mario-Tremblay". Since 1981, Tremblay has owned the sports bar in his hometown called "Bar-Restaurant chez Mario Tremblay".

Through all their years in the NHL, the Montreal Canadiens have seen some great (and not so great) coaches come and go. But who is the best Montreal Canadiens ...

List of <a class="edS-cl" href="https://www.ranker.com/list/fresno-tv-actors-from-here/reference?ref=internalCrossLinking_keyword">famous people from Fresno</a>, including photos when available. The people below are listed by their popularity, so the most recognizable names are at the top of the list. Some of the people below are celebrities born in Fresno, while others are simply notable locals. If you're from Fresno you might already know that these prominent figures are also from your hometown, but some of the names below may really surprise you. This list includes people who were born and raised in Fresno, as well as those who were born there but moved away at a young age.Stephen Spach and Frank Ortenzio are a great starting point for your to rank your favorites on this listIf you want to answer the questions, "Which famous people are from Fresno?" or "Which celebrities were born in Fresno?" then this list is a great resource for you.