Maurice Rocket Richard

I’ll warn you (and myself) right now—this is the type of article that will entitle me to all the hate mail and angry comments in the world. However, it’s both exciting and challenging to determine who the best teams in NHL history are. After all, there have been over 1,000 teams that have played a season in the NHL, starting in 1917, when the NHL was formed from the fledgling National Hockey Association. 

The Montreal Canadiens have been around longer than the NHL. The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley cups the most in NHL history. Their closest rival the Toronto Maple Leafs organization has won 11 cups, as well as one under the name of the Toronto Arenas and one as the Toronto Shamrocks for a total of 13. 

This long successful history leads to a long storied list of players to be considered as the greatest Montreal Canadiens of all time. This is my attempt to rank the top 25 players who had the best careers for Les Glorieux.

Regardless of skill level, all hockey players can boast one thing: They're some pretty tough dudes.

Just ask this kid who ate the boards for breakfast .

Or ask Sami Salo who almost lost any hope of future kids .