ONE OF THE MOST PROLIFIC GOAL SCORERS IN FRANCHISE HISTORY, STEVE SHUTT – PLAYING ALONGSIDE GUY LAFLEUR – IS THE ONLY CANADIENS PLAYER TO EVER RECORD A 60 GOAL SEASON.

Steve Shutt was a natural-born scorer.  He grew up in Toronto cheering for the hometown Maple Leafs and starred for the junior Toronto Marlboros before being plucked away as Montreal’s first choice in the 1972 Amateur Draft.

The Canadiens’ 1972-73 roster didn’t have a lot of room for rookies, even those who had amassed 235 points in their last two years of amateur hockey. Shutt played sparingly and watched a lot of games from the press box during his first two years in the league. He increased his 16-point rookie total to 35 in 1973-74, but a regular roster spot still did not come easily.

In 1974-75, coach Scotty Bowman paired Shutt and another under-performing youngster named Guy Lafleur with Pete Mahovlich in the hopes that the line would click. It did.

Lafleur served notice that he was bound for glory, notching 53 goals in the campaign. Mahovlich had the best year of his career with 117 points. Shutt showed that he belonged in the big leagues, contributing 30 goals, the first of many times he would match or surpass the mark.
The following year, “Shutty” solidified his claim to stardom. The left-winger increased his output to 45 goals as the line continued to fire on all cylinders. The spring of 1976 saw the team win the first of four straight Stanley Cups.

Jacques Lemaire took over at center, driving his linemates to even greater heights in 1976-77. Lafleur recorded 56 goals and Shutt lit the lamp 60 times. The Canadiens lost only eight regular season games and two more in the playoffs, capping the season off with another Stanley Cup Championship.

Always quick with a quip, Shutt was a mischievous presence in the dressing room. He giggled at his own wisecracks, played pranks and needled teammates mercilessly. It was an often-welcome respite from the rigid work ethic Bowman demanded and received from his team.
By the time he played his last game for the Canadiens in 1983-84, Steve Shutt had rewritten significant portions of the team’s record book.

His 408 regular season goals are tops for a left-winger and good for fifth place on the Habs’ all-time list while his 776 points rank him eighth in that category. No other Canadiens player has matched Shutt’s nine consecutive 30-goal seasons and only Guy Lafleur has managed to equal Shutt’s 60-goal campaign.

Shutt’s scoring touch stood up in the playoffs, too; his 50 postseason goals have him comfortably listed in seventh place among all Habs.
Returning to the Canadiens several years after his retirement as a player, Shutt served as an assistant coach from 1993-94 through 1996-97.

Steve Shutt was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993.