A TIRELESS WORKHORSE FOR THE CANADIENS, BERT OLMSTEAD’S EIGHT POINT OUTING ALLOWED HIM TO SHARE THE RECORD FOR MOST POINTS IN A SINGLE GAME WITH “ROCKET” RICHARD.

Power forwards have been around a lot longer than the term itself. Lean and mean Bert Olmstead did a lot of the heavy lifting on two of the greatest forward lines of all time. A 20-goal scorer with Chicago the year before, Olmstead joined the Canadiens during the 1950-51 season and remade himself into one of hockey’s greatest playmakers.
Coach Dick Irvin ran a tight ship and “Dirty Bertie” – as he was known around the NHL – was a willing member of the crew.

Olmstead’s job was to work the left side of the ice, winning battles along the boards and digging the puck out of the corners to create scoring chances for his teammates. He filled this role as well as any man in the league.

For eight years, he gave everything he had to the Canadiens and expected no less from his teammates. If he felt a player was not offering his best effort, living legend or raw recruit, that man heard about it from Olmstead.

He began his tenure with the Habs alongside Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard and was later assigned youngsters Jean Beliveau and Bernard Geoffrion as playing partners. While he never again reached the 20-goal plateau, Olmstead remained a potent offensive threat while executing his primary role to perfection.

On January 9, 1954, Olmstead caught fire, scoring eight points in a single game to tie the team record set by Maurice Richard a decade earlier. They remain the only Habs to have ever accomplished that feat.

Olmstead contributed 22 assists in 1950-51 and his total continued to climb with each passing year. He led the league with 48 helpers in 1954-55 and set the NHL standard with 56 the next season.

A member of the 1953 Stanley Cup winning squad, Olmstead had his best playoff campaign following the 1955-56 regular season. Playing his habitual, hard nosed style through 10 postseason games, Olmstead picked up 14 points, good for second-best on the team, en route to claiming another Stanley Cup.

The Canadiens would go on to hoist the Cup again the next four consecutive seasons but Olmstead was not around when the drive to five came to an end. Toronto acquired him following the 1957-58 season, expecting the veteran competitor to help turn their fortunes around.

Olmstead’s leadership played a major role in the Maple Leafs’ subsequent resurgence as a contending hockey team. His captured the Stanley Cup a fifth time with the Maple Leafs in 1961-62.

Olmstead retired a Stanley Cup champion but returned as an executive a few years later, becoming the first coach and general manager of the expansion Oakland Seals.

In 1985, the Hockey Hall of Fame opened its doors to Bert Olmstead, recognizing his place among the greatest of all time.