The Canadiens needed more offence. This guy promised that in the 1970s
What player is being described here? “With a long-legged, deceptively quick stride and superior puck-handling skills, he had no difficulty proving his rightful place on the big stage. [His scoring and physical approach] were indicative of his versatility. [He] could be a smooth skating, playmaking center or he could drop the gloves for a bout”, notes one Habs player profile at Canadiens.com.
Surprisingly, the player portrayed above had *lots* of trouble proving he belonged in the league. Peter Mahovlich bounced up and down for four seasons between NHL Detroit and the minors before being traded to Montreal in 1969. Once with the Canadiens, he again spent 31 games in the AHL, before finally being called up. He scored 17 points in his 36 games with the Habs (0.47 pts/game) in 1970. He was 22.
Pete, the 6-foot-5 “Little M”, quickly rose to being almost a point-a-game performer for the rest of his career. A reliable goal-scorer and sturdy playmaker, over his nine seasons with the Habs (1969-1978) P.M. scored 223 goals. In his core seasons (1970-1977) when he played about 78 games a year, he netted an average of 35 goals a season.
Then there’s his flash. Some of Pete’s dipsy-doodle rushes (here with Team Canada in 1972) are Web legends, rivalling any Rick Nash or Mario gem:
Compare these Mahovlich moves with any great scorer: absolute assurance with his hands, a sudden burst toward the net, then he brazenly outguesses the overmatched goalie to score. (“Peter had a helluva reach”, said coach Scotty Bowman.) Then, Pete beams unreservedly, as if it’s all some divine surprise.
In Mahovlich’s three biggest seasons, between 1974 and 1976, he shattered the 100-point barrier twice on the Habs’ legendary big line, often skating at centre between Lafleur and Steve Shutt. Dishing the puck to 60-goal scorers was ideally suited to his adventurous style: his 82 assists remain a Canadiens team record for a single season.
You read that right: not Lafleur or Jean Beliveau – Peter Mahovlich. And the 117 points he scored in 1974-75 trail only Guy Lafleur’s gawdy season totals. Revealingly, he was a leader in short-handed goals (17), a stat which, like triples in baseball, is synonymous with excitement.
Unfortunately, Mahovlich lost his scoring altitude after 1977, falling to an annual 65 points. Over his NHL career, he still averaged 0.87 points per game. Pete’s peak was short, just 3-4 top seasons. By comparison, strong skaters and stickhandlers like Mark Recchi (0.92 pts./game) or Brendan Shanahan (0.89) had similar totals, but over far longer careers.
And Pete’s image as a mischievous fool (he once got into a brawl with a Habs roommate at their hotel, causing him 23 stitches) put off some fans. His achievements were sometimes eclipsed. This prompted Gazette sports chronicler Red Fisher to label Mahovlich “the most underrated” Montreal Canadien of all-time.
Who on today’s Habs could possibly be a successor to Pete? First to mention Slaf gets thumbs-down from the online ‘experts’. But real Canadiens fans might see the possibilities!
