Team Toe Blake is happy to select, as
centre #3, Elmer Lach
Elmer James Lach (born January 22, 1918) is a retired
Canadian professional ice hockey centre who played 14 seasons for the
Montreal Canadiens in the
National Hockey League. He was born in
Nokomis,
Saskatchewan.
Lach was the recipient of the first official
Art Ross Trophy in 1948 and the
Hart Trophy in 1945. He did lead the NHL in scoring during the
1944–45 season with 80 points, but this was before the creation of the Art Ross Trophy. Elmer was the centre of the great "
Punch line" with
Toe Blake and
Maurice Richard. He was inducted into the
Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966.
Elmer won the
Stanley Cup three times in the years
1944,
1946, and
1953.
In 1998, he was ranked number 68 on
The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
If he was good enough to centre Richard, he's good enough for my team. at 91 years old he is the oldest surviving Canadiens player.