In the 1920’s and 1930’s, the NHL didn’t have a national television contract bringing each and every game into your living room or onto your smart phone. Hell, there simply wasn’t television. When it comes to superstars like Aurel Joliat, you have to let the numbers do the talking. His numbers talked and still talk today.
However, playing alongside the great Howie Morenz overshadowed some of Joliat’s accomplishments. Aurel finished some years with greater numbers than his teammate but through it all, Morenz is remembered as one of the greatest to ever play the game. Decades later, a similar situation would happen with the Chicago Blackhawks with Stan Mikita standing in the shadow of Bobby Hull.
Aurel Joliat
Joliat played in the National Hockey League from 1922-23 to 1937-38, all with the Montreal Canadiens. When he began, a regular season was just 24 games for each team. In his final season, that number had since increased to 48. With that in mind, his 655 career regular season games is pretty impressive.
Over his career, Aurel scored 270 goals and assisted on 190 for 460 points. Over 46 Stanley Cup playoff games, he added another nine goals and 22 points. In nine of his seasons, he played in every game for the Canadiens. For five straight years from 1931-32 to 1935-36, he did not miss a single game.
During his career, the Canadiens were decent put not the powerhouse they would become after the league shrunk to six teams. Even so, Joliat played in four Stanley Cup finals, winning three championships. In 1923-24 and 1924-25, the Stanley Cup was still not exclusive to the NHL and was competed for as a challenge cup. In the first year, the Habs swept the Calgary Tigers for the championship. In 1924-25, Montreal fell to the Victoria Cougars. The Cougars would evolve into the present day Detroit Red Wings.
In 1929-30, Montreal met up with the Boston Bruins in the finals and swept the best of three series in two games. The following year, the Canadiens were in the finals again, this time against the Chicago Black Hawks. Montreal won the best of five with the series going the distance.
Four times during his career, Aurel placed among the top five goal scorers in the NHL. His best total came in 1924-25 when his 29 goals ranked him second in the league. He was also among the top five for assists in an era when the assist was still hard to come by. In four years, he was among the top five for points. In 1927-28, his 39 points placed him second in the league.
Joliat was awarded the Hart Memorial Trophy as the league’s MVP on once occasion. In 1933-34, he scored 22 goals and assisted on 15 for 37 points while playing all 48 games. He was third in the NHL for goal scoring. In the playoffs, Montreal was eliminated in a soccer style first round by the Chicago Black Hawks. In a two game, total goal series, Chicago beat Montreal 4-3.
Most of his career was played alongside hockey legend Howie Morenz. It was after the untimely death of Morenz that Joliat decided to call it a career. For one game in 1924-25, he got to play with his brother Bobby Joliat on the Canadiens. It was Bobby’s only game in the NHL.
In 1947, Aurel Joliat was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. It was just the second round of inductions with the first coming two years before in 1945. At his side were Russell Bowie, Dit Clapper, Frank Nighbor, Lester Patrick, Eddie Shore and Cyclone Taylor.
Just a few years before his passing, the Montreal Canadiens retired number 4 in his honour. The number is shared with Jean Beliveau who had number 4 retired by the team years before.
Aurel Joliat – Rookie Card
The Aurel Joliat rookie card appears as number three in the 1933-34 World Wide Gum Ice Kings V357 set. The card is valued at eight times that of a common card and is the third most valuable in the set. Rated the highest is the card belonging to Howie Morenz of the Canadiens. Just a little more valuable that Joliat’s card is that of King Clancy.
Aurel Joliat Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1922-23 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 24 | 13 | 9 | 22 | 31 |
| 1923-24 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 24 | 15 | 5 | 20 | 19 |
| 1924-25 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 24 | 29 | 11 | 40 | 85 |
| 1925-26 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 35 | 17 | 9 | 26 | 52 |
| 1926-27 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 43 | 14 | 4 | 18 | 79 |
| 1927-28 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 44 | 28 | 11 | 39 | 105 |
| 1928-29 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 44 | 12 | 5 | 17 | 59 |
| 1929-30 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 42 | 19 | 12 | 31 | 40 |
| 1930-31 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 43 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 73 |
| 1931-32 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 15 | 24 | 39 | 46 |
| 1932-33 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 53 |
| 1933-34 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 22 | 15 | 37 | 27 |
| 1934-35 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 17 | 12 | 29 | 18 |
| 1935-36 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 15 | 8 | 23 | 16 |
| 1936-37 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 47 | 17 | 15 | 32 | 30 |
| 1937-38 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 44 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 24 |
| NHL Totals | 654 | 270 | 190 | 460 | 757 |