Elmer Lach
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1966
Lach with the Hart Memorial Trophy in 1945
Born (1918-01-22)January 22, 1918
Nokomis, Saskatchewan, Canada
Died April 4, 2015(2015-04-04) (aged 97)
Kirkland, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1940–1954

Elmer James Lach (/ˈlɑːk/, January 22, 1918 – April 4, 2015) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played 14 seasons for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). A centre, he was a member of the Punch line, along with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. Lach led the NHL in scoring twice, and was awarded the Hart Trophy in 1945 as the league's most valuable player.

He won three Stanley Cups with Montreal. When Lach retired in 1954, he was the league's all-time leading scorer and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame twelve years later. His number 16 was retired on December 4, 2009, during the Montreal Canadiens centennial celebrations. In 2017 Lach was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1]

Early life

Lach was born in Nokomis, Saskatchewan, a small town 133 kilometres (83 mi) north of Regina. Elmer was the youngest of two boys and four girls born to William and Mary-Ann Lach, who arrived in Canada from Eastern Europe in 1910. Lach's father was at first a farmer, then took a job as the head of public works for Nokomis, population 550.[2] Lach played ice hockey for his school team, starting at age 12. Against the wishes of his Baptist parents, Elmer would sneak away to play ice hockey on a local pond instead of attending church on Saturday mornings.[2]

Lach began playing junior ice hockey with the Regina Abbotts in the 1935–36 season, arranged by a Nokomis doctor with contacts in Regina.[2] In Regina, Lach would work at the team's owner's pool hall, racking balls for 25 cents per day.[2] He played the two following seasons with the senior Weyburn Beavers of the Saskatchewan Senior Hockey League (SSHL). He moved again in 1938 to star for two seasons for the senior Moose Jaw Millers,[3] playing hockey in the winter for $75 a month and baseball in the summer, where he would be paid $2.50 per game behind the plate.[2] In his first season with the Millers, he led them in assists, with 20, and was the leading playoff scorer. He also scored 17 regular-season goals. The next season, he scored 15 goals and 29 assists, and led in playoff scoring again. Lach was also noted for his defensive contributions.[4]

In 1937, Lach, along with future Hockey Hall of Fame member Doug Bentley attended the Toronto Maple Leafs training camp; both were rejected as too small for the National Hockey League.[5] According to Lach, Conn Smythe, manager of the Leafs, saw Lach and Bentley and said "They were sending me big guys from the West, but instead they’ve sent me peanuts."[6]

It was during his time in Moose Jaw that Lach met his future wife, Kay Fletcher. Lach had a job reading meters for the National Light & Power Co., and one day he met Kay in her home. They married in 1941.[2] That same year, Lach's mother died and his father moved to Vancouver, beginning a lifelong estrangement from his son.[2] In 1945, Elmer and Kay celebrated the birth of their only child, son Ron. Ron was born while Elmer was on the road with the Canadiens. According to Montreal Gazette columnist Dave Stubbs, Elmer wired Kay the message "Nice going, honey."[6]

Career

The Punch line: Maurice Richard (bottom left), Elmer Lach (centre) and Toe Blake (bottom right)
The Broken Bone line: Maurice Richard, Elmer Lach and Tony Demers in 1942

Rejecting the Maple Leafs' assessment, the Montreal Canadiens signed Lach as a free agent on October 24, 1940. With the arrangement of Moose Jaw's owner Cliff Henderson, Montreal player-scout Paul Haynes paid Lach $100 for his rights, "more money than I'd had in my pocket in my life.".[2] He came to the Canadiens' training camp with only an overnight bag, not expecting to be offered a contract. Henderson had encouraged Lach to go, expecting him to return in time for the Millers' training camp, and be in better shape for it, but Lach never returned to the Millers.[6]

In his first NHL season, Lach played 43 games, scoring seven goals and adding 14 assists. He was limited to only one game the following season, after crashing into the boards in the first game, dislocating his shoulder, fracturing his wrist and injuring his elbow.[6] He returned the following season to score 58 points in 45 games. A highlight of the 1942–43 season came when he set a still-standing Canadiens record of six assists in one game on February 6, 1943.[4]

In the 1943–44 season, Montreal head coach Dick Irvin tried a line combination of Lach at centre, Maurice Richard on the right wing, and Toe Blake at left. This line became known as the Punch line and dominated the NHL for four seasons. In the first season of the Punch line, Lach played 48 games, scoring on average an assist per game; he also added 24 goals. At the conclusion of the season, Lach was named to the Second All-Star Team. Montreal won the Stanley Cup, his first with the team, sweeping the Chicago Black Hawks in the Stanley Cup Finals series.[3][4]

In the 1944–45 season, Lach played in all 50 games, picking up a league-leading 80 points, of which 26 were goals and 54 were assists. That season, line mate Maurice Richard became the first player in the NHL to score 50 goals in 50 games. The Punch line amassed 220 points in total for the season, an NHL record until the 1960s. Lach won the Hart Trophy as the league's most valuable player, and was named to the First All-Star Team.

In the 1945–46 season, Lach led all players with 34 regular season assists, and was named once more to the Second All-Star Team. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup for the second time in Lach's career, defeating the Boston Bruins in five games.

In the 1947–48 season, Lach became the first recipient of the Art Ross Trophy, after leading the league in points, with 61. The Punch line era ended when Blake retired due to injury at the end of the season. At the end of the 1948–49 season, Lach announced his retirement while recovering from a fractured jaw, but returned for the following season.[7] Lach led the league in assists for the last time in the 1951–52 season, with 50.

In the 1952–53 season, Lach won his third and final Stanley Cup in a memorable finish. In the 1953 Stanley Cup Finals against the Boston Bruins, Lach scored the cup-winning goal at 1:22 of overtime in the fifth game of the series. In the on-ice celebration immediately after the goal, Maurice Richard accidentally broke Lach's nose with his stick.[3][4] In 1953–54, Lach was again held back by injuries and his place was taken by another great, Jean Béliveau, whom he tutored in faceoffs. When the playoffs began, Lach was no longer a full-time player, but he was inserted into the lineup in the 1954 Stanley Cup Finals when Montreal fell behind in the series. Montreal extended the series to seven games, but ultimately lost.

Lach received numerous injuries during his career. His nose was broken seven times; his jaw (later permanently wired) was broken three times, officially only twice as he did not tell Irvin of one fracture because he did not want to come out of a game; a fractured skull that at first was treated as a "slight concussion". In one incident Lach suffered two severed veins in his foot from the slash of a skate blade. He played on until a teammate saw the blood.[6] According to Ted Reeve, curator of the Hockey Hall of Fame in the 1950s, any pictorial record of the 1940s NHL would have to include prints of Lach's X-rays.[6] Lach was injured so many times that he was offered $17,000 (enough for a house at the time) by his health insurance company to retire from hockey.[8]

Lach was known for his skills at passing and speed in skating. Beliveau spoke glowingly of Lach's passing ability in his biography. He was also known for his competitiveness and willingness to fight in the corners to get the puck. According to writer Trent Frayne, "To some, [Elmer Lach] is hockey’s greatest competitor; to others, ‘the nastiest so-and-so in the league‘, in a 1950 article in the Saturday Evening Post.[8][9]

Later life

Lach in 1945

Lach retired after the 1953–54 NHL season as the league's all-time leading scorer, having played 664 regular season games, scoring 215 goals and 408 assists for 623 points, as well as 76 playoff games, in which he scored 19 goals and 45 assists for 64 points. He retired to accept an offer to coach the Montreal Junior Canadiens. He also coached the Montreal Royals for two seasons, before pursuing business interests. He worked for Maislin Transport for 30 years[10] in sales and public relations,[6] retiring in the 1980s.[8]

He was elected into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.[3] In 1998, he was ranked number 68 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.[4] On December 4, 2009, coinciding with the Canadiens centennial celebration, his jersey number, 16, was retired a second time to honour Lach (along with Emile Bouchard's No. 3; No. 16 had been retired previously for Henri Richard).[11]

Lach was married to Kay until her death in 1985.[2] He married his second wife, Lise Desjardins, years later.[2] The two lived together in Pointe Claire, Quebec.[12] Lise Lach died October 13, 2014, at age 87 from leukemia.[13]

Golf was a favourite pastime of Lach's. He played it into his 90s and for a while could match his age in his score.[6] He met his second wife, Lise, while golfing. Part of his job entertaining clients with Maislin was taking them golfing.[6] His son Ron was manager of the Beaconsfield Golf Club.[14]

On March 28, 2015, Lach suffered a stroke at a long-term care facility in Beaconsfield, Quebec, where he had moved after Lise's death.[6] He never regained consciousness and on April 4, 2015, died at a palliative care facility in Kirkland, Quebec.[6] He had been the oldest living former Canadiens player.[15] Lach's final public appearance was at the funeral of Jean Béliveau on December 10, 2014.[6]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1935–36 Regina Abbotts S-SJHL 2 0 1 1 2 4 3 0 3 6
1936–37 Weyburn Beavers S-SSHL 23 16 6 22 27 3 0 1 1 4
1937–38 Weyburn Beavers S-SSHL 23 12 12 24 44 3 2 1 3 0
1938–39 Moose Jaw Millers S-SSHL 29 17 20 37 23 10 6 4 10 8
1939–40 Moose Jaw Millers S-SSHL 30 15 29 44 20 8 5 9 14 12
1939–40 Moose Jaw Millers AC — — — — — 3 1 1 2 4
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

Sources: HHOF,[16] SIHR.[17]

Awards

  • Art Ross Trophy (1948; also led league in scoring in 1945).
  • Hart Trophy (1945)
  • NHL First All-Star Team centre (1945, 1948, 1952)
  • NHL Second All-Star Team centre (1944, 1946)
  • Hockey Hall of Fame (1966)
  • Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame (1967)
  • In January, 2017, Lach was part of the first group of players to be named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.[1]

Source: Hockey Hall of Fame,[16] Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame.[18]

References

  1. 1 2 "100 Greatest NHL Players". NHL.com. January 1, 2017. Retrieved January 1, 2017.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Stubbs, Dave (January 22, 2010). "Lach still scoring at 92". Montreal Gazette. Archived from the original on December 11, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Elmer Lach—Biography". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved February 28, 2009.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 Shea, Kevin (January 30, 2009). "One on One with Elmer Lach". Hockey Hall of Fame. Archived from the original on February 21, 2009. Retrieved February 26, 2009.
  5. ↑ Barber, Jim (2013). Montreal Canadiens: Thrilling Stories From Canada's Famous Hockey Franchise. James Lorimer & Company.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Stubbs, Dave (April 4, 2015). "Canadiens legend Elmer Lach dies at age 97". Montreal Gazette.
  7. ↑ "Elmer Lach Retires From Hockey". Ottawa Citizen. April 4, 1949. p. 18.
  8. 1 2 3 Bonander, Ross (April 4, 2015). "Remembering Elmer Lach". Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  9. ↑ Frayne, Trent (1950). "You Can't Kill a Hockey Player". Saturday Evening Post.
  10. ↑ Stubbs, Dave (April 4, 2015). "In appreciation of a hockey icon, my friend Elmer Lach". Montreal Gazette.
  11. ↑ O'Byrne, Ryan. "Canadiens celebrate 100th anniversary". ESPN. Associated Press. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Elmer Lach back home in Pointe Claire". West Island Gazette. May 24, 2011. Archived from the original on August 14, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Lise Lach Obituary". Montreal Gazette. October 18, 2014. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Private golf clubs are elegant, entertaining - and exclusive". Montreal Gazette. June 23, 1982. p. E-10. Retrieved April 5, 2015.
  15. ↑ Mahiban, Dhiren (April 4, 2015). "Habs' great Elmer Lach dies at 97". NBC Sports. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  16. 1 2 "Elmer Lach statistics". Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  17. ↑ "Elmer Lach". SIHR. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
  18. ↑ "Elmer Lach - Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame". Saskatchewan Sports Hall of Fame. Retrieved April 4, 2015.
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