Elmer Lach

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Elmer James Lach (born January 22, 1918 in Nokomis, Saskatchewan) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League.

Lach was the recipient of the Art Ross Trophy in 1948 and the Hart Trophy in 1945. He did lead the NHL in scoring during the 1944-45 season with 80 points, but this was before the creation of the Art Ross Trophy. Elmer was the centre of the great "Punch Line" with Toe Blake and Maurice Richard. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.

Elmer won the Stanley Cup three times in the years 1944, 1946, and 1953.

In 1998, he was ranked number 68 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1940-41 Montreal Canadiens NHL 43 7 14 21 16 3 1 0 1 0
1941-42 Montreal Canadiens NHL 1 0 1 1 0 -- -- -- -- --
1942-43 Montreal Canadiens NHL 45 18 40 58 14 5 2 4 6 6
1943-44 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 24 48 72 23 9 2 11 13 4
1944-45 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 26 54 80 37 6 4 4 8 2
1945-46 Montreal Canadiens NHL 50 13 34 47 34 9 5 12 17 4
1946-47 Montreal Canadiens NHL 31 14 16 30 22 -- -- -- -- --
1947-48 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 30 31 61 72 -- -- -- -- --
1948-49 Montreal Canadiens NHL 36 11 18 29 59 1 0 0 0 4
1949-50 Montreal Canadiens NHL 64 15 33 48 33 5 1 2 3 4
1950-51 Montreal Canadiens NHL 65 21 24 45 48 11 2 2 4 2
1951-52 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 15 50 65 36 11 1 2 3 4
1952-53 Montreal Canadiens NHL 53 16 25 41 56 12 1 6 7 6
1953-54 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 5 20 25 28 4 0 2 2 0
NHL Totals 664 215 408 623 478 76 19 45 64 36
Preceded by
Max Bentley

(NHL Scoring Champion)

Winner of the Art Ross Trophy
1948
Succeeded by
Roy Conacher
Preceded by
Herb Cain
NHL Scoring Champion
1945
Succeeded by
Max Bentley
Preceded by
Babe Pratt
Winner of the Hart Trophy
1945
Succeeded by
Max Bentley
In other languages