The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League has been in existence
since 1969-70. In that time, four different teams have finished the regular
season with 58 wins, the QMJHL record. The latest team to do so was in 2012-13
when the Halifax Mooseheads recorded 58 wins over the 68 game regular season
schedule. 2013-14 showed a little more parity with Halifax and the Baie-Comeau
Drakkar tying for the league lead with just 47 wins each.
1973-74 Sorel Eperviers
The first team to win 58 was the Sorel Eperviers, or Sorel
Black Hawks. Sorel won 58 of their 70 games in 1973-74. The team scored a
ridiculous 620 goals over those 70 games, nearly nine goals per game. The Black
Hawks had seven players with more than 100 points, three had over 200. Pierre
Larouche led the way with 94 goals and 157 assists for 251 points. Larouche was
selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins eighth overall in 1974 and went on to play
over 800 regular season games in the National Hockey League.
During the regular season, Sorel finished eleven points
ahead of the number two team, the Quebec Remparts. After sweeping the
Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in the quarter-finals and the Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge
in the semis, Sorel came up against the Remparts in the finals. Quebec upset
the Eperviers in six games.
1978-79 Trois Rivieres Draveurs
The next 58 win season came in 1978-79. The QMJHL regular
season was two games longer for each team than in 1973-74. The Trois Rivieres
Draveurs won 58 of their 72 games while losing just eight for 122 points. The
Draveurs finished 26 points ahead of second place Sherbrooke Castors.
Unlike the Sorel Black Hawks in 1973-74, Trois Rivieres did
not fail in the post season. The Draveurs swept the Shawinigan Cataractes in
the quarter-finals and lost just one game in the semi-finals to the Montreal
Juniors before earning a showdown with Sherbrooke in the finals. Sherbrooke did
not win a game as Trois Rivieres won the President’s Cup.
The Draveurs earned a berth in the Memorial Cup tournament,
which they co-hosted with Sherbrooke. The team won two and lost two in the
round-robin and did not reach the final.
Trois Rivieres was led offensively by J.F. Sauve who led the
QMJHL with 176 points. He would improve on that number the following season
with 187 points, again leading the league. Sauve went on to play 290 regular
season games in the NHL with the Buffalo Sabres and Quebec Nordiques.
2010-11 Saint John Sea Dogs
Over three decades passed before another QMJHL team would
equal the mark. In 2010-11, the Saint John Sea Dogs lost just seven of their 68
games in regulation time with another two shoot out losses and one loss in
overtime.
Saint John lost just three of 19 games in the post season,
one to Victoriaville in the quarter-finals and two to Gatineau in the finals.
It was just their sixth year in the QMJHL and it was their second of three
consecutive visits to the final series, winning it all in 2011-12, as well.
The Sea Dogs travelled to Mississauga, Ontario to compete in
the Memorial Cup tournament. With a 3-1 victory over the host Mississauga St.
Michael’s Majors in the final game, Saint John became just the second QMJHL
team in eleven years to capture the Memorial Cup as the top major junior hockey
team in Canada.
2012-13 Halifax Mooseheads
In 2012-13, the Halifax Mooseheads simply dominated the
QMJHL with 58 wins and 120 points over 68 games. The team was led by Jonathan
Drouin and Nathan MacKinnon. Drouin is likely to be a star in the National Hockey
League while MacKinnon has already reached that status with the Colorado
Avalanche.
In the playoffs, Halifax didn’t lose a single game over the
first three rounds, sweeping the Saint John Sea Dogs, Gatineau Olympiques and
Rouyn-Noranda Huskies to earn a berth in the President’s Cup finals. The
Mooseheads finally lost a game in the finals but won the series in five over
the Baie-Comeau Drakkar.
Halifax moved on the Memorial Cup tournament held in
Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The Mooseheads were beaten just once in the
tournament, by the host Saskatoon Blades during the round robin. Ironically, it
was the only game that the Blades won. Halifax then met the Portland Winterhawks in the final game and won 6-4.
