His pro hockey career lasted just over a decade. Yet, Yvon Lambert was able to win championships in three leagues, including four Stanley Cups in the NHL, two Calder Cup championships in the AHL and a Turner Cup win in the IHL.
His ability to score was overshadowed with the powerful Montreal Canadiens. However, Lambert scored 20 or more in most of his National Hockey League seasons and even had a pair of 32 goal seasons with the Habs. In 1972-73, playing for Montreal’s AHL affiliate, he led the league in goals and points.
Yvon Lambert – Junior and Minor Pro
Yvon Lambert Hockey Cards
Yvon Lambert – NHL
Yvon Lambert – Rookie Card
Yvon Lambert – Career Stats
Yvon Lambert – Junior and Minor Pro
Lambert had two years of junior hockey with the Drummondville Rangers, 1968-69 and 1969-70. He was QJHL rookie of the year in 1968-69, scoring 29 goals and totaling 66 points for Drummondville.
The following year, Yvon scored 50 and assisted on 51 for 101 points over just 52 regular season games. In the high scoring and newly formed QMJHL, his production didn’t even rank him among the top ten. It was, after all, a year that saw Guy Lafleur lead the league with 103 goals.
Yvon Lambert Collection
The Rangers lost in the opening round to Lafleur and the Quebec Remparts. Lambert did what he could with seven goals and eleven points over the six game series.
Originally property of the Detroit Red Wings, Lambert spent his first year of pro hockey, 1970-71, with the Port Huron Flags of the IHL. The team finished sixth in the seven team league with just 61 points in 72 regular season games. The Flags turned it up in the playoffs and captured the championship with a win over the second place Des Moines Oak Leafs in the finals.
The next two years were spent in the American Hockey League with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. He did not want to leave the Red Wings organization as jobs were scarce for young players in the Canadiens organization. However, he paid his dues with the Voyageurs to help him into an eventual full time job with the Habs.
In 1971-72, the Voyageurs were led on defense by a young Larry Robinson. In net was the tandem of Wayne Thomas and Michel Plasse. Nova Scotia finished first overall in the eleven team AHL and were crowned Calder Cup champions with a win over the Baltimore Clippers in the finals.
In his second season with the Voyageurs, Yvon scored 52 and assisted on 52 for 104 points over 76 games. He led the AHL in goals and points, earning the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as top scorer. He was also named a First Team All-Star.
The Floyd Smith coached Voyageurs reached the finals again but bowed out to the Cincinnati Swords. Larry Robinson had moved on to the Canadiens and Michel Larocque was the number one goaltender for the team.
Lambert returned to the American Hockey League in 1982-83 after his NHL career had fizzled out. He played for the Rochester Americans in 1982-83 and 1983-84 before calling it a career.
In his first year with the Amerks, the team was coached by Mike Keenan. Rochester finished first overall in the 13 team AHL. Yvon won his second Calder Cup championship with the Americans beating the Maine Mariners in the finals.
The following year, his last as a player, Lambert showed he still had some scoring touch left. Yvon scored 27 and assisted on 43 for 70 points over 79 games. In the Calder Cup playoffs, he added 19 points over 18 games. Nova Scotia once again reached the finals but this time fell to the Maine Mariners.
Yvon Lambert – NHL
Between 1972-73 and 1981-82, Yvon Lambert played in 683 regular season National Hockey League games with the Canadiens and Buffalo Sabres. Over that time, he scored 206 and assisted on 273 for 479 points. In 90 Stanley Cup playoff games, Yvon added 49 points.
He was originally drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the third round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, 40th overall. Lambert played his entire NHL career with the Habs, except for his final season, 1981-82.
Yvon was a 32 goal scorer in 1974-75 and 1975-76. Seven times during his career, he scored 20 or more goals. He was a valuable member of the Canadiens run of four consecutive Stanley Cup championships from 1975-76 to 1978-79.
Yvon Lambert – Rookie Card
The Yvon Lambert rookie card appears as number 342 in the 1974-75 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set. His final card is found in the 1982-83 O-Pee-Chee set. He is shown with the Buffalo Sabres but played the entire season with their AHL affiliate in Rochester.
Lambert’s 1981-82 O-Pee-Chee card shows him as a member of the Buffalo Sabres but he is still pictured in a Montreal jersey.
Yvon Lambert Career Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1968-69 | Drummondville Rangers | QJHL | — | 29 | 37 | 66 | 0 |
| 1969-70 | Drummondville Rangers | QMJHL | 52 | 50 | 51 | 101 | 89 |
| 1970-71 | Port Huron Flags | IHL | 65 | 23 | 18 | 41 | 81 |
| 1971-72 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 67 | 18 | 21 | 39 | 116 |
| 1972-73 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 76 | 52 | 52 | 104 | 84 |
| 1972-73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973-74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 42 |
| 1974-75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 74 |
| 1975-76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 80 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 28 |
| 1976-77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 24 | 28 | 52 | 50 |
| 1977-78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 20 |
| 1978-79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 26 | 40 | 66 | 26 |
| 1979-80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 77 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 23 |
| 1980-81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 22 | 32 | 54 | 39 |
| 1981-82 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 25 | 39 | 64 | 38 |
| 1982-83 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 79 | 26 | 22 | 48 | 10 |
| 1983-84 | Rochester Americans | AHL | 79 | 27 | 43 | 70 | 14 |
| NHL Totals | 683 | 206 | 273 | 479 | 340 |