Number 23 Scores No. 23: Bob Gainey’s Career-Best Goal Total

Bob Gainey built his reputation as one of the NHL’s finest defensive forwards, but Montreal’s number 23 could contribute at the other end of the ice, too. The Peterborough, Ontario native scored 239 regular-season goals during his career and reached the 20-goal mark four times. His personal best came in 1980-81, when he scored 23 times. Fittingly, goal number 23 was a game-winner against the New York Islanders.

---

Highlights

• Gainey scored a career-high 23 goals in 1980-81.

• His 23rd came against the Islanders on March 31, 1981.

• Rod Langway and Doug Jarvis assisted on the milestone goal.

• The second-period tally was the winner in Montreal’s 3-1 victory.

• Gainey’s 47 points that season also represented a career high.

• Montreal retired his number 23 on February 23, 2008.

---

On March 31, 1981, the Canadiens hosted the Islanders at the Montreal Forum. The teams exchanged first-period goals, then remained tied at 1-1 through much of the second. With two of the league’s top clubs locked in a tight contest, Gainey supplied the breakthrough.

At 16:52 of the second period, Gainey beat Islanders goaltender Roland Melanson for his 23rd goal of the season. Rod Langway and Doug Jarvis earned the assists as Montreal moved ahead 2-1. The Canadiens went on to win 3-1, leaving Gainey’s milestone goal as the deciding tally.

Gainey also established a career high with 47 points that season. Montreal finished first in the Norris Division and third in the NHL’s overall standings, behind the Islanders and St. Louis Blues. That regular-season success did not carry into the playoffs, however. The Edmonton Oilers swept the Canadiens in their opening-round series.

From 1973-74 through 1988-89, Gainey played 1,160 regular-season games and another 182 playoff contests, all with Montreal. His career included five Stanley Cup championships and four Selke Trophy wins, followed by induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. The Canadiens retired his number 23 on February 23, 2008, another fitting numerical connection for a player whose best goal-scoring season peaked at 23.

A Great Game: The Forgotten Leafs & the Rise of Professional Hockey

Explore the fascinating early history of professional hockey, including the forgotten Toronto teams, personalities, and events that helped shape the game into Canada's national winter obsession.

Buy on Amazon

The PDF versions of some of our hockey books are now available for free download: Take a look!

1973 NHL Amateur Draft: 3 First Rounders Now in the Hockey Hall of Fame

In today’s National Hockey League, with advanced scouting and technology added to the fact that there are 30 teams and plenty of job openings, the first round picks at the NHL Entry Draft often, but not always, stick. In the 1970’s, it wasn’t so much the case. The fact that three of the top eight picks at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft are now in the Hockey Hall of Fame is quite astounding.

 

Bob Gainey

Bob Gainey was selected eighth overall in 1973 by the Montreal Canadiens. 20 years later, in 1992, Gainey was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Also picked fourth overall in the WHA amateur draft in 1973 by the Minnesota Fighting Saints, Gainey chose the NHL route and was a regular on the league’s top team in 1973-74.

Bob was taken from the OHA’s Peterborough Petes after playing just one season, 1972-73. He played his entire NHL career with Montreal from 1973-74 to 1988-89, winning five Stanley Cups with the team. He was a four time Frank J. Selke Trophy winner as the league’s most defensive forward. In fact, he won the trophy in its first four years of existence and is the only four-time winner to date. Gainey’s number 23 was retired by the Canadiens in 2008.

 

Lanny McDonald

Lanny McDonald was taken fourth overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs, one of three first round picks by Toronto at the 1973 NHL Draft. Like Bob Gainey, McDonald was also taken in the first round of the WHA draft, 10^th overall by the Cleveland Crusaders. He had played two seasons of junior hockey in the WCHL with the Medicine Hat Tigers in 1971-72 and 1972-73. In his two seasons, Lanny contributed 114 and 139 points.

Over his NHL career that spanned from 1973-74 to 1988-89, McDonald played 1,111 regular season games with an additional 117 in the playoffs. He began with Toronto, made a stop with the Colorado Rockies then finished off his career with the Calgary Flames. With Calgary, he scored 66 goals in 1982-83 and won the Stanley Cup in 1985-86. He finished his career with exactly 500 goals and entered the Hockey Hall of Fame along with Bob Gainey in 1992.

 

Denis Potvin

Denis Potvin was the first overall pick at the 1973 NHL Amateur Draft, going to the New York Islanders. After five years of junior hockey with the OHA’s Ottawa 67’s, Potvin jumped right into a starring role with New York for the 1973-74 season, winning the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. Denis played his entire career with the Islanders, retiring after the 1987-88 season. He captained the team for eight years, from 1979-80 to 1986-87, including the team’s four year Stanley Cup championship run from 1979-80 to 1982-83.

In all, Potvin played 1,052 NHL games and scored 310 goals. He was a three time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s top defenseman, winning in 1975-76, 1977-78 and 1978-79. In 1991, his number 5 was the first jersey number ever retired by the New York Islanders. Denis had a one year head start on Gainey and McDonald, being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1991.