PIT LÉPINE WAS AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE CANADIENS’ TWO CUP TRIUMPHS IN THE 1920S.

Numerous brother acts have been a part of Montreal Canadiens lineups over the years. The 1925-26 edition of the club featured Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue’s Lépine brothers, Hector and Pit. While Hector only played one season with the Habs, his younger brother stayed almost 13 complete seasons, spending his entire NHL career in a Montreal uniform.

An outstanding amateur player, Lépine played for a number of senior level teams in the Montreal area before signing with the Canadiens in the fall of 1925.

Lépine, christened Alfred in 1901, scored nine goals in his rookie campaign and hit his stride the following year when he potted 16. Tall and lean, the 5-foot-11 center was a shifty, fluid skater and adept stickhandler - a scoring threat whenever he had the puck.

Playing in the shadow of the NHL’s feature attraction and Montreal’s top center, Howie Morenz, Lépine didn’t see the ice time he might have with another team. Nonetheless, he soldiered on without complaint, making the most of the time he got in the spotlight.

Lépine scored a dozen goals or more five times during his NHL career. On December 14, 1929, he potted five against the Ottawa Senators on his way to a career-high 24-goal campaign that saw him finish second to Morenz on the Canadiens scoring chart.

The Habs finished in first place in the Canadian Division of the 10-team NHL in 1929-30, tied with the crosstown rival Maroons, and went undefeated in the playoffs. They defeated Chicago in a two-game, total points series and then took two straight against the New York Rangers.

Sweeping the Finals against Boston, also a two-game affair, the Canadiens won their third Stanley Cup and repeated the exploit the following spring with Lépine as a major contributor to both successes.

Popular and personable, Lépine’s performances on the ice led to offers to link his celebrity to commercial endeavors. He accepted several of them, serving as spokesman for a number of consumer goods in his time with the Habs.

By the time he left the NHL following the 1937-38 season, Lépine had played 526 regular season games and recorded 241 points on 143 goals and 98 assists.

He played a final year of professional hockey with the New Haven Eagles of the AHL and hung up his skates for good.

Lépine coached the Canadiens in 1939-40 and was replaced behind the bench by Dick Irvin the following year.

Alfred “Pit” Lépine passed away in August 1955 at the age of 54.