While it’s no secret that the current edition of the Montreal Canadiens could use an injection of scoring from the right wing, there are numerous players in the team’s history who have provided exactly that. At #10 in this month’s top-10 right wingers of all-time, I’ve chosen Brian Savage.
Selected 171st overall in the 1991 NHL Draft, it wasn’t clear just how much of an impact Savage would have as he would make the jump onto the Habs’ roster in 1993-1994. He scored one goal in 3 regular-season games while adding 2 assists in three playoff appearances. The following year, he boasted 12 tallies in 37 games while adding 7 assists. The 6’2… 192-pounder would come close to playing a full season in 1996-1997 only, as his career was riddled with injuries and ailments that kept him from achieving his full potential. In 81 games, he managed 23 goals and 37 assists, bested only by his teammates Vincent Damphousse and Mark Recchi that year.
Nevertheless, I’ve included him in this top-10 list because of his offensive output during his tenure with the Bleu Blanc et Rouge. In 461 career regular-season games, he would score 155 times and reached the 20-goal mark four times. Savage was primarily known for his heavy, powerful wrist shot and ability to set up his teammates, as evidenced by his 130 assists.
Savage would unfortunately never win a Stanley Cup with the Canadiens. Still, he impressed with a 6-point game in 1999 becoming the first Habs player to post those numbers in a road game since 1917. As many of you will recall, he was also the first player in Bell Centre (“Molson Centre… in 1996) history to record a hat-trick.
Savage would go on to play a few more seasons in the NHL with the (Phoenix) Coyotes, St. Louis Blues and the Philadelphia Flyers, where he announced his retirement in 2006 after a single season.
While he would not have the most extravagant career, I included him on this list because he is the most recent right-winger to score as often as he did for the Montreal Canadiens. Stephane Richer, (spoiler alert) my #7 choice, played a few seasons with Savage but left the Habs in 1998 whereas the latter stuck around until 2001. Sadly, this reflects the firepower that this team has been lacking for quite a few years, as the number 9 choice played between 1969 and 1983…