# 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season

The 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 67th season. The Canadiens won their 19th Stanley Cup in club history. In addition to the regular NHL schedule, the Canadiens played an exhibition game against the powerful Soviet Red Army team, recording a 3–3 tie.

## Regular season

Henri Richard's number 16 was retired December 10, 1975, by the Canadiens in his honour.

### Final standings

Norris Division :
| | GP | W | L | T | GF | GA | Pts |
| Montreal Canadiens | 80 | 58 | 11 | 11 | 337 | 174 | 127 |
| Los Angeles Kings | 80 | 38 | 33 | 9 | 263 | 265 | 85 |
| Pittsburgh Penguins | 80 | 35 | 33 | 12 | 339 | 303 | 82 |
| Detroit Red Wings | 80 | 26 | 44 | 10 | 226 | 300 | 62 |
| Washington Capitals | 80 | 11 | 59 | 10 | 224 | 394 | 32 |
Note: GP = Games played, W = Wins, L = Losses, T = Ties, Pts = Points, GF = Goals for, GA = Goals against
Note: Teams that qualified for the playoffs are highlighted in bold.

### Record vs. opponents

Norris Division record vs. opponents :
Vs. Wales Conference
Vs. Campbell Conference
Vs. Norris Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
DET
LAK
MTL
PIT
WSH
Total
Detroit
—2–3–10–5–11–4–13–36–15–3
Los Angeles
3–2–1—2–3–11–54–1–110–11–3
Montreal
5–0–13–2–1—6–06–020–2–2
Pittsburgh
4–1–15–10–6—4–1–113–9–2
Washington
3–31–4–10–61–4–1—5–17–2
Vs. Adams Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
BOS
BUF
CAL
TOR
Total
Detroit
0–3–21–41–3–11–2–23–12–5
Los Angeles
1–42–33–21–3–17–12–1
Montreal
3–0–23–25–03–1–114–3–3
Pittsburgh
0–3–21–42–2–14–17–10–3
Washington
0–4–10–4–11–3–10–4–11–15–4
Vs. Patrick Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
ATL
NYI
NYR
PHI
Total
Detroit
3–11–31–32–27–9
Los Angeles
3–11–2–14–00–2–28–5–3
Montreal
4–02–1–13–0–11–2–110–3–3
Pittsburgh
2–1–11–2–13–10–3–16–7–3
Washington
0–40–42–20–3–12–13–1
Vs. Smythe Division
1975–76 NHL records
Team
CHI
KCS
MIN
STL
VAN
Total
Detroit
2–1–13–13–12–1–10–410–8–2
Los Angeles
2–24–02–1–12–1–13–113–5–2
Montreal
2–1–13–14–04–01–1–214–3–3
Pittsburgh
1–2–12–1–12–1–12–22–1–19–7–4
Washington
2–21–2–10–2–20–40–43–14–3 :

## Schedule and results

Regular season schedule :
| No. | R | Date | Score | Opponent | Record |
| 1 | W | October 8, 1975 | 9–0 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 1–0–0 |
| 2 | W | October 9, 1975 | 9–4 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 2–0–0 |
| 3 | W | October 11, 1975 | 7–2 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 3–0–0 |
| 4 | L | October 14, 1975 | 3–5 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 3–1–0 |
| 5 | T | October 18, 1975 | 2–2 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 3–1–1 |
| 6 | W | October 21, 1975 | 7–1 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 4–1–1 |
| 7 | W | October 22, 1975 | 4–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 5–1–1 |
| 8 | W | October 25, 1975 | 6–2 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 6–1–1 |
| 9 | T | October 27, 1975 | 4–4 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 6–1–2 |
| 10 | L | October 29, 1975 | 1–2 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 6–2–2 |
| 11 | W | November 1, 1975 | 4–0 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 7–2–2 |
| 12 | W | November 3, 1975 | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 8–2–2 |
| 13 | W | November 5, 1975 | 3–1 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 9–2–2 |
| 14 | W | November 8, 1975 | 5–0 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 10–2–2 |
| 15 | L | November 9, 1975 | 1–5 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 10–3–2 |
| 16 | W | November 11, 1975 | 6–0 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 11–3–2 |
| 17 | W | November 13, 1975 | 5–4 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 12–3–2 |
| 18 | T | November 15, 1975 | 4–4 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 12–3–3 |
| 19 | L | November 16, 1975 | 1–3 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 12–4–3 |
| 20 | W | November 19, 1975 | 6–0 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 13–4–3 |
| 21 | W | November 22, 1975 | 4–2 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 14–4–3 |
| 22 | W | November 25, 1975 | 4–0 | @ Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 15–4–3 |
| 23 | W | November 27, 1975 | 2–1 | @ New York Islanders (1975–76) | 16–4–3 |
| 24 | W | November 29, 1975 | 6–4 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 17–4–3 |
| 25 | W | November 30, 1975 | 3–2 | New York Islanders (1975–76) | 18–4–3 |
| 26 | L | December 3, 1975 | 5–6 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 18–5–3 |
| 27 | W | December 4, 1975 | 4–1 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 19–5–3 |
| 28 | W | December 6, 1975 | 9–3 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 20–5–3 |
| 29 | T | December 7, 1975 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 20–5–4 |
| 30 | T | December 10, 1975 | 3–3 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 20–5–5 |
| 31 | W | December 13, 1975 | 4–1 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 21–5–5 |
| 32 | W | December 14, 1975 | 7–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 22–5–5 |
| 33 | W | December 17, 1975 | 2–1 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 23–5–5 |
| 34 | T | December 20, 1975 | 2–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 23–5–6 |
| 35 | W | December 21, 1975 | 2–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 24–5–6 |
| 36 | W | December 27, 1975 | 2–1 | Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 25–5–6 |
| 37 | W | December 29, 1975 | 6–0 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 26–5–6 |
| 38 | W | January 3, 1976 | 7–0 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 27–5–6 |
| 39 | L | January 5, 1976 | 2–4 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 27–6–6 |
| 40 | W | January 7, 1976 | 2–1 | @ Minnesota North Stars (1975–76) | 28–6–6 |
| 41 | W | January 10, 1976 | 7–1 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 29–6–6 |
| 42 | W | January 11, 1976 | 2–0 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 30–6–6 |
| 43 | W | January 13, 1976 | 3–2 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 31–6–6 |
| 44 | W | January 17, 1976 | 4–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 32–6–6 |
| 45 | W | January 18, 1976 | 4–2 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 33–6–6 |
| 46 | W | January 22, 1976 | 4–3 | @ Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 34–6–6 |
| 47 | W | January 24, 1976 | 5–3 | Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 35–6–6 |
| 48 | T | January 25, 1976 | 3–3 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 35–6–7 |
| 49 | T | January 27, 1976 | 2–2 | @ Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 35–6–8 |
| 50 | W | January 30, 1976 | 5–4 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 36–6–8 |
| 51 | L | January 31, 1976 | 3–7 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 36–7–8 |
| 52 | W | February 4, 1976 | 8–3 | Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 37–7–8 |
| 53 | W | February 6, 1976 | 7–1 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 38–7–8 |
| 54 | W | February 8, 1976 | 3–0 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 39–7–8 |
| 55 | W | February 10, 1976 | 6–1 | St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 40–7–8 |
| 56 | L | February 12, 1976 | 4–6 | Vancouver Canucks (1975–76) | 40–8–8 |
| 57 | T | February 14, 1976 | 2–2 | Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 40–8–9 |
| 58 | L | February 15, 1976 | 1–2 | @ Philadelphia Flyers (1975–76) | 40–9–9 |
| 59 | W | February 18, 1976 | 7–5 | @ Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 41–9–9 |
| 60 | W | February 20, 1976 | 5–3 | New York Rangers (1975–76) | 42–9–9 |
| 61 | W | February 22, 1976 | 4–2 | @ Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 43–9–9 |
| 62 | W | February 24, 1976 | 6–2 | @ St. Louis Blues (1975–76) | 44–9–9 |
| 63 | W | February 25, 1976 | 3–1 | @ Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 45–9–9 |
| 64 | W | February 28, 1976 | 3–2 | Atlanta Flames (1975–76) | 46–9–9 |
| 65 | T | February 29, 1976 | 1–1 | @ New York Rangers (1975–76) | 46–9–10 |
| 66 | W | March 3, 1976 | 4–2 | California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 47–9–10 |
| 67 | W | March 6, 1976 | 3–2 | Buffalo Sabres (1975–76) | 48–9–10 |
| 68 | W | March 7, 1976 | 6–1 | @ Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 49–9–10 |
| 69 | W | March 10, 1976 | 5–1 | @ Chicago Black Hawks (1975–76) | 50–9–10 |
| 70 | W | March 13, 1976 | 4–2 | Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 51–9–10 |
| 71 | W | March 14, 1976 | 5–1 | Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 52–9–10 |
| 72 | W | March 16, 1976 | 5–4 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 53–9–10 |
| 73 | W | March 19, 1976 | 4–1 | @ California Golden Seals (1975–76) | 54–9–10 |
| 74 | L | March 20, 1976 | 3–4 | @ Los Angeles Kings (1975–76) | 54–10–10 |
| 75 | L | March 24, 1976 | 1–2 | Toronto Maple Leafs (1975–76) | 54–11–10 |
| 76 | W | March 27, 1976 | 8–2 | Kansas City Scouts (1975–76) | 55–11–10 |
| 77 | T | March 28, 1976 | 2–2 | @ Boston Bruins (1975–76) | 55–11–11 |
| 78 | W | March 31, 1976 | 7–3 | Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76) | 56–11–11 |
| 79 | W | April 3, 1976 | 6–3 | Detroit Red Wings (1975–76) | 57–11–11 |
| 80 | W | April 4, 1976 | 4–3 | @ Washington Capitals (1975–76) | 58–11–11 |

## Player statistics
### Regular season
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | +/- | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 80 | 56 | 69 | 125 | 36 | 68 | 18 | 0 | 12 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 80 | 34 | 71 | 105 | 76 | 71 | 8 | 1 | 7 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 80 | 45 | 34 | 79 | 47 | 73 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 71 | 32 | 36 | 68 | 20 | 37 | 8 | 0 | 12 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 77 | 21 | 47 | 68 | 78 | 64 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 80 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 28 | 10 | 12 | 0 | 4 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 61 | 20 | 32 | 52 | 20 | 26 | 6 | 0 | 3 |
| Serge Savard | D | 71 | 8 | 39 | 47 | 38 | 52 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Doug Risebrough | C | 80 | 16 | 28 | 44 | 180 | 18 | 1 | 0 | 3 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 80 | 10 | 30 | 40 | 59 | 50 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
| Murray Wilson | LW | 59 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 36 | 25 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 80 | 5 | 30 | 35 | 16 | 17 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 78 | 15 | 13 | 28 | 57 | 20 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 71 | 11 | 16 | 27 | 88 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 2 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 74 | 13 | 8 | 21 | 35 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| John Van Boxmeer | D | 46 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 31 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 66 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 50 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Don Awrey | D | 72 | 0 | 12 | 12 | 29 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Chartraw | D/RW | 16 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 25 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Nyrop | D | 19 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 8 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 62 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Michel Larocque | G | 22 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ron Andruff | C | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Glenn Goldup | RW | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Sean Shanahan | C/RW | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | −1 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | T | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 3580 | 62 | 42 | 10 | 8 | 121 | 2.03 | 8 |
| Michel Larocque | 1220 | 22 | 16 | 1 | 3 | 50 | 2.46 | 2 |
| Team: | 4800 | 80 | 58 | 11 | 11 | 171 | 2.14 | 10 |

### Playoffs
#### Scoring

| Player | Pos | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | PPG | SHG | GWG |
| Guy Lafleur | RW | 13 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3 |
| Steve Shutt | LW | 13 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
| Pete Mahovlich | C | 13 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 24 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Yvan Cournoyer | RW | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 |
| Serge Savard | D | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Guy Lapointe | D | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Jacques Lemaire | C | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Larry Robinson | D | 13 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 10 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Yvon Lambert | LW | 12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Jim Roberts | D/RW | 13 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| Bob Gainey | LW | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Jarvis | C | 13 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bill Nyrop | D | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Doug Risebrough | C | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 30 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Pierre Bouchard | D | 13 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Murray Wilson | LW | 12 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Mario Tremblay | RW | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 27 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Rick Chartraw | D/RW | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Ken Dryden | G | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |

#### Goaltending

| Player | MIN | GP | W | L | GA | GAA | SO |
| Ken Dryden | 780 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 1.92 | 1 |
| Team: | 780 | 13 | 12 | 1 | 25 | 1.92 | 1 |
    Pos = Position; GPI = Games played in; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; PIM = Penalty minutes; +/- = Plus/minus; PPG = Power-play goals; SHG = Short-handed goals; GWG = Game-winning goals
    Min, TOI = Minutes played; W = Wins; L = Losses; T,T/OT = Ties; OTL = Overtime losses; GA = Goals-against; GAA = Goals-against average; SO = Shutouts; SA = Shots against; SV = Shots saved; SV% = Save percentage;

## Transactions

| June 17, 1975 | To Toronto Maple Leafs Wayne Thomas | To Montreal Canadiens Toronto's 1st round draft choice in the 1976 Amateur Draft (Peter Lee) |

## Playoffs
### Stanley Cup Finals

Guy Lafleur scored his first two career goals in the finals, both game-winners. Reggie Leach scored four time in the finals, and 19 for the play-offs to win the Conn Smythe Trophy despite the Flyers losing to the Canadiens.

#### Montreal Canadiens vs. Philadelphia Flyers

| Date | Visitors | Score | Home | Score |
| May 9 | Philadelphia | 3 | Montreal | 4 |
| May 11 | Philadelphia | 1 | Montreal | 2 |
| May 13 | Montreal | 3 | Philadelphia | 2 |
| May 16 | Montreal | 5 | Philadelphia | 3 |
Montreal wins the series 4–0. Reggie Leach won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP.

## Awards and records

* Prince of Wales Trophy
* Ken Dryden, Vezina Trophy
* Guy Lafleur, Art Ross Trophy

## Draft picks

| Round | # | Player | Nationality | College/junior/club team |
| 1 | 9 | Robin Sadler (D) | Canada | Edmonton Oil Kings (WCHL) |
| 1 | 15 | Pierre Mondou (F) | Canada | Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) |
| 2 | 22 | Brian Engblom (D) | Canada | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 2 | 34 | Kelly Greenbank (RW) | Canada | Winnipeg Clubs (WCHL) |
| 3 | 51 | Paul Woods (C) | Canada | Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (OMJHL) |
| 3 | 52 | Pat Hughes (RW) | Canada | University of Michigan (WCHA) |
| 4 | 70 | Dave Gorman (RW) | Canada | Phoenix Roadrunners (WHA) |
| 5 | 88 | Jim Turkiewicz (D) | Canada | Toronto Marlboros (WHA) |
| 6 | 106 | Michel Lachance (D) | Canada | Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge (QMJHL) |
| 7 | 124 | Tim Burke (D) | United States | University of New Hampshire (ECAC) |
| 8 | 142 | Craig Norwich (D) | United States | University of Wisconsin (WCHA) |
| 9 | 158 | Paul Clarke (D) | Canada | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 10 | 173 | Bob Ferriter (C) | United States | Boston College (ECAC) |
| 11 | 187 | David Bell (C) | Canada | Harvard University (ECAC) |
| 12 | 198 | Carl Jackson (G) | Canada | University of Pennsylvania (ECAC) |
| 13 | 204 | Michel Brisebois (C) | Canada | Sherbrooke Castors (QMJHL) |
| 14 | 208 | Roger Bourque (D) | Canada | University of Notre Dame (WCHA) |
| 15 | 211 | Jim Lundquist (D) | United States | Brown University (ECAC) |
| 16 | 214 | Don Madson (C) | United States | Fargo Sugar Kings (MWJHL) |
| 17 | 215 | Bob Bain (D) | Canada | University of New Hampshire (ECAC) |