CLAUDE PROVOST, WHO PLAYED 15 SEASONS IN MONTREAL, IS ONE OF ONLY FIVE PLAYERS IN TEAM HISTORY TO SUIT UP FOR 1,000 GAMES.

Born and raised in Montreal, there was only one team that mattered to young Claude Provost: the Montreal Canadiens. In the fall of 1955, he was one of four rookies to crack the Habs’ lineup. The 22-year-old right-winger had impressed incoming coach Toe Blake with his energetic and determined checking, earning him a spot on the roster.

With an awkward, wide-gaited skating style, at first glance Provost didn’t look like someone who could effectively counter opposing speedsters. Deceptively fast, he spent the next 15 years thwarting the best left-wingers in the league while regularly scoring at least a dozen goals each year.

Though he spent the bulk of his time keeping future immortals like Ted Lindsay and Bobby Hull off the score sheet, Provost could certainly contribute offensively when he needed to.

On November 9, 1957, he scored four seconds into the second period of a game against Boston, setting a new NHL record for the fastest goal in a period. The feat has since been tied but never beaten.

Provost’s best offensive years usually came as the result of injuries to the men who normally led the team’s offense. In 1961-62, Provost picked up 33 goals, tops on the depleted roster that year. In 1964-65, Provost led the Habs in points with 64, earning a spot on the First All-Star Team.

Provost played a tough but clean style of hockey, earning the respect of the guys he was assigned to cover. He was penalized much less frequently than most of the more primitive defensive specialists around the league, averaging about 35 penalty minutes a year.

Relentlessly competitive on the ice, Provost was relaxed and personable away from it. Nicknamed “Joe” by his friends, he whiled away the railroad hours between NHL cities playing bridge and was known to subject dozing teammates to the occasional hotfoot.

The Bill Masterton Trophy, awarded to the NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey, and named for the first NHL player to die as a result of an on-ice injury, was first awarded in 1968. Claude Provost, by then a grizzled veteran of 13 NHL campaigns, was the inaugural recipient of the honor.

Provost retired after the 1969-70 season. He is one of five men to have played over 1,000 regular season games with the Montreal Canadiens, scoring 254 goals and assisting on another 335 during his career.

Claude Provost’s name is engraved on the Stanley Cup nine times. Only three other names appear more often as players, and only nine other members of the Canadiens have dressed for more playoff games.

Provost died of a heart attack on April 17, 1984. He was 51.