Stanley Cup Magnets

SI Staff | Apr 11, 2012

Stanley Cup Magnets /

Stanley Cup Magnets

Henri Richard

The Canadiens' center holds the record for most Stanley Cups won by a player (1965-60, '65, '66, '68, '69, '71, and '73). In doing so, The Pocket Rocket hoisted them at a rate of roughly one every two years during his long, Hall of Fame career. Here are 12 more "Cup magnet" players who had a similar or even better frequency of winning the old silver mug relative to the length of their careers.

Jean Beliveau

The Canadiens' Hall of Fame center sipped from the chalice in 1956-60, '65, '66, '68, '69, and '71.

Yvan Cournoyer

Playing for the dynastic Canadiens certainly increased one's haul of silverware. The legendary "Roadrunner" won his in 1965, '66, '68, '69, '71, '73, and '76 through '79.

Claude Provost

The hustling, hard-checking right winger whose job was to shadow the opposing team's stars, spent his entire NHL career with the Canadiens, winning championships in 1956-60, '65,'66, '68 and '69.

Jacques Lemaire

After playing center for the dynastic Canadiens, Lemaire went on to win three more Cups as Montreal's assistant GM (1986, '93) and as the coach of the New Jersey Devils ('95). As a player, he guzzled from Stanley's mug in 1968, '69, '71, '73, and '76 through '79.

Jean-Guy Talbot

Nine players in NHL history have won seven or more Cups, but this Canadiens defenseman bagged one nearly every other season during his career. All of them came with Montreal (1956-60, '65, '66). Alas, he never saw Stanley again after moving on to Detroit, St. Louis, Minnesota and Buffalo before retiring in 1971.

Ken Dryden

Hard to believe that the legendary Hall of Fame goaltender played only eight seasons, all with Montreal, and won his first Cup (and the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP) in 1971 before his official rookie season. The rest came in 1973, and from '76 through'79.

John Ferguson

The extraordinarily tough winger (who was invited to fight Canadian heavyweight boxing champ George Chuvalo) earned renown as the game's first goon. He took home his share of silverware after riding shotgun on Montreal's smaller, skilled stars on Cup teams in 1965, '66, '68, '69 and '71. He retired after only eight seasons because, he later said, he was afraid he'd kill someone in a fight.

Bob Turner

A stay-at-home defenseman, Turner quietly contributed to the Canadiens' dynasty that won a record five successive Stanley Cups from 1956 through 1960. He concluded his NHL career with two seasons in Chicago.

Don Metz

A checking winger, Metz won the first of his five Cups as a role player on Toronto's 1942 champions, helping the Leafs come back from an 0-3 hole against Detroit. He scored four goals and added three assists in that series. The Leafs went on to win the Cup again in 1945 and during a three-year streak from 1947 through '49. Metz retired after that last waltz with the mug.

Bill Barilko

The Maple Leafs defenseman skated with the chalice after each of his first three seasons in the NHL (1947-49). Two years later, he won his fourth with Toronto by scoring the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 5 vs. Montreal. The Leafs' run ended there, and sadly so did Barilko's life as he died in a plane crash that summer.

Billy Carroll

Overshadowed by such Hall of Famers as Mike Bossy, Bryan Trottier, Denis Potvin, Clark Gillies and Billy Smith, Carroll was a valuable face-off specialist and penalty-killer on three of the Islanders' four Cup teams (1981-83). Two years later, he was released, but had the good fortune of being claimed by the Oilers, who had begun a dynasty of their own. Carroll won his fourth Cup with them in 1985. He retired in 1987 after two seasons with Detroit.

Jaroslav Pouzar

If you're going to play only four seasons in the NHL, doing it with a dynasty is good way to go. Drafted by the Oilers 83rd overall in 1982, the Czech forward was with them for Cups in 1984 and '85. After returning to Europe for two seasons, he returned to Edmonton in time for another skate with the Cup in 1987. Pouzar certainly had a thing for silverware: he won two gold medals, three silver, and two bronze with Czechoslavakia's World European Championship squads.

Published Apr 11, 2012

SI STAFF