Georges Vézina
After losing fourteen games and finishing last in the NHA in 1914–15, Vézina and the Canadiens won sixteen games during the 1915–16 season, and the team ended up first in the league. As league leaders, the Canadiens were chosen to play in the 1916 Stanley Cup Finals, where they played against the Portland Rosebuds, champions of the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association. The Canadiens defeated the Rosebuds three games to two in the best of five games series, winning the Stanley Cup for the first time in team history. Vézina's second son was born the night of the fifth game, which coupled with a bonus of $238 each member of the Canadiens received for the championship, led to him considering the series as the best part of his career. The next season Vézina again led the NHA with the fewest goals against, the fourth time in seven years he did so, helping the Canadiens to again reach the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Seattle Metropolitans.