Steve Shutt: Important Piece Of The Montreal Canadiens Dynasty

A Toronto boy who played a significant role in the Stanley Cup championships of the Montreal Canadiens in the 1970’s. Perhaps the greatest team in hockey history, everyone on the Habs had a role to play and for Steve Shutt, it was to score goals.

The knack for putting pucks past goalies started in Junior when he scored 70 and 63 goals in his final two years with the Toronto Marlboros. His 60 goals in 1976-77 remain to this day a single season Montreal Canadiens record (tied with Guy Lafleur who equaled the total in 1977-78).

Junior and Minor Pro

NHL Career

Hockey Card Collection

Rookie Card

Career Stats

Steve Shutt – Junior and Minor Pro

Shutt played five games in the OHA for the Toronto Marlboros in 1968-69 and as a mainstay with the club for the next three years. Over his time in what is now the Ontario Hockey League, Steve scored 144 goals and assisted on 116 more for 260 points over 169 regular season games. He played 46 playoff games for the Marlies and added 30 goals and 59 points.

In 1970-71, Shutt was second in the league with 70 goals, one behind Rick Martin of the Montreal Junior Canadiens. He was fifth in the race for the Eddie Powers Trophy with 123 points. Toronto finished fifth in the ten team league but swept Roger Neilson and his first place Peterborough Petes in the opening round. The Marlboros would eventually succumb to the Marcel Dionne led St. Catherines Black Hawks in the finals.

The following year, 1971-72, Shutt led the league with 63 goals over 63 games. To this day, the OHL does not have a trophy for the goal scoring leader. His 112 points once again placed him fifth in the league. Toronto finished first overall with a 13 point cushion over the second place Oshawa Generals. However, it was Neilson’s Petes doing the upsetting this time, eliminating the Marlboros in the semi-finals.

After a high position in the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, Shutt saw his only time in the minors in 1972-73. He played just six games in the American Hockey League for the Nova Scotia Voyageurs, scoring four goals, before being called up to the Canadiens.

Steve Shutt – NHL

At the 1972 NHL Amateur Draft, Shutt was taken fourth overall by the Montreal Canadiens. Ahead of him were Billy Harris (New York Islanders), Jacques Richard (Atlanta Flames) and Don Lever (Vancouver Canucks).

Steve Shutt Collection

Between 1972-73 and 1984-85, Steve played 930 regular season National Hockey League games, scoring 424 and assisting on 393 for 817 points. He spent nearly all his career with the Habs, finishing up the last end of his final season with the Los Angeles Kings. Shutt appeared in 99 Stanley Cup playoff games, scoring exactly 50 goals and totalling 98 points.

During his time with the Canadiens, Steve was part of five Stanley Cup championships. However, in 1972-73 he appeared in just one playoff game. His role was significant in the stretch of four straight wins starting in 1975-76.

Nine times, Shutt scored 30 or more goals in a season. On four occasions, he scored 40 or more. His pinnacle came in 1976-77 when Steve scored 60 goals to lead the NHL. His total was four more than teammate Guy Lafleur and Marcel Dionne of the Los Angeles Kings. The total also still stands as a team record, tied with Lafleur. That season, Shutt was third in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 105 points, behind Lafleur and Dionne. It was his only 100 point season in the NHL.

Steve appeared among the top ten goal scorers in the NHL on several more occasions. In 1975-76, he finished eighth with 45 goals. In 1977-78, his 49 goals were good for third place. In 1979-80, with offence on the rise in the league, his 47 goals were good for just tenth.

All-time, Shutt remains fifth with 408 goals as a member of the Canadiens. He is also eighth all-time for Montreal with 776 points.

The left winger was a First Team All-Star just once, 1976-77. He was a Second Team left winger on two occasions. In 1977-78, Clark Gillies of the New York Islanders took First Team honours and in 1979-80, Shutt fell behind Charlie Simmer of the Los Angeles Kings.

Shutt’s final season in the NHL was 1984-85. After starting the season with ten games for Montreal, he was shipped to the Kings where he played 59 more under head coach Pat Quinn. His numbers were decent with 16 goals and 25 assists. The team was led by Marcel Dionne, Bernie Nicholls and Dave Taylor, along with many other talented players. However, goaltending was lacking and the team didn’t make it out of the opening round.

Steve Shutt was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993, alongside long time teammate Guy Lapointe. He was also a member of the 1976 Canada Cup squad for Canada. Shutt returned to Montreal as assistant coach from 1993-94 to 1996-97 under Jacques Demers and later Mario Tremblay. Jacques Laperriere was with him as a fellow assistant coach.

Steve Shutt – Rookie Card

The Steve Shutt rookie card appears as number 316 in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee set. 1974-75 was Shutt’s third year in the NHL after playing 50 games in 1972-73 and 70 games in 1973-74. The card is valued at 12-13 times that of a common card and is definitely one of the highlights of the rookie rich set.

Steve’s cardboard status was enhanced by the popularity of all-star/record breaker/team leader and highlight cards in the late 1970’s with a handful of Shutt hockey cards in some years. Despite his trade to the Kings at the end of his career, Steve’s final 1984-85 O-Pee-Chee card shows him as a member of the Canadiens and he never got a card with Los Angeles.

Shutt’s 1979-80 O-Pee-Chee hockey card is a bit out of focus but shows a great action shot with a cameo by Rick Green of the Washington Capitals. Green and Steve would be teammates a few years later after Rick was traded to the Habs.

Steve Shutt Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1969-70	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	49	11	14	25	93
1970-71	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	62	70	53	123	85
1971-72	Toronto Marlboros	OHA	58	63	49	112	60
1972-73	Nova Scotia Voyageurs	AHL	6	4	1	5	2
1972-73	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	50	8	8	16	24
1973-74	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	70	15	20	35	17
1974-75	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	77	30	35	65	40
1975-76	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	45	34	79	47
1976-77	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	60	45	105	28
1977-78	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	80	49	37	86	24
1978-79	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	72	37	40	77	31
1979-80	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	77	47	42	89	34
1980-81	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	77	35	38	73	51
1981-82	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	57	31	24	55	40
1982-83	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	78	35	22	57	26
1983-84	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	63	14	23	37	29
1984-85	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	10	2	0	2	9
1984-85	Los Angeles Kings	NHL	59	16	25	41	10
	NHL Totals		930	424	393	817	410