The 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens season was the club's 62nd season. After missing the playoffs in the previous season, the team rebounded to place third in the East Division, qualifying for the playoffs. Behind new star goalie Ken Dryden the team won their 17th Stanley Cup championship.

Regular season

With the Chicago Black Hawks having moved to the West Division to make way for the expansion Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres, qualification for the four available playoff berths in the East was widely expected to be contested between the five remaining Original Six teams. Considering such factors the addition of two new teams, the expansion of the schedule to 78 games and the switch to a balanced schedule, Montreal's record of 42–23–13 (five points more than their performance over 76 games the previous season) was at best a marginal improvement. However, a return to the postseason was never in serious doubt due to the stunning regression of the Detroit Red Wings (Detroit actually finished last place in the division, behind both expansion teams). On February 11, 1971, Jean Beliveau became the fourth player to score 500 career goals.

Final standings

Record vs. opponents

Schedule and results

Playoffs

Quarter-final

Versus Boston Bruins

Montreal wins the series 4–3.

Semi-final

Versus Minnesota North Stars

Montreal wins the series 4–2.

Stanley Cup Finals

Brothers Frank and Peter Mahovlich starred for the Canadiens, scoring nine goals in the seven game final series. Ken Dryden debuted for the Canadiens, while this was Jean Beliveau's final final series appearance, and he ended his career with ten championships.

Versus Chicago Black Hawks

Montreal wins the series 4–3.

Player statistics

Regular season

Scoring

Goaltending

Playoffs

Scoring

Goaltending

Transactions

Awards and records

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.

Citations