Power Ranking NHL Original Six by legacy

1. Montreal Canadiens
Championship Seasons: 1916, 1924, 1930, 1931, 1944, 1946, 1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1979, 1986, 1993

Take a guess how many franchises in all of sports have more championships than the Montreal Canadiens. It's two (if we're counting the Champions League only because soccer/football is complicated): the Yorkshire CCC in cricket and the New York Yankees in baseball. The Montreal Canadiens lifted Lord Stanley's Cup 24 times in franchise history. It's not like these were Original Six merchants. The Canadiens won the first Cup after the Original Six era ended, and they've won 10 Cups since the introduction of expansion.

This Canadiens franchise, despite some recent woes, has been the greatest in hockey history. They've really found great ways to keep legacies going, both individually and for the team itself. The legacies are evident with names alone. Maurice "Rocket" Richard, Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur, Jacques Plante, and Larry Robinson were all amazing players. Even going back to the '20s and '30s, when Howie Morentz was dominating the league, it was a dominant Canadiens team making headlines.

Even today, there are constantly stars on this franchise. It may not be the best time to be a Canadiens fan, but they'll still surprise you (like with the 2021 run to the Stanley Cup Final). They currently hold the unfortunate distinction of the last Canadian team to win Canada's game's championship. A Canadian team hasn't lifted the Cup since 1993.

While it's been a while since the Canadiens won, it's impossible to deny what their legacy is. This is one of the winningest franchises in sports. They've won championships in every single decade of the 1900s (outside the oughts, when they didn't exist. Even then, a Montreal team won in 1899 and 1902). Look at the Yankees, who only won in eight different decades. This is a franchise of stability that is hoping to live off that legacy soon enough.