Donnie Marshall won five Stanley Cups, all of them as part of the Montreal Canadiens’ dynasty that won every year between 1956 and 1960

The NHL and the Montreal Canadiens have lost a big part of their history with the passing of Don “Donnie” Marshall.

Marshall, the last surviving man who played for all five Canadiens teams that won five consecutive Stanley Cups between 1956 and 1960 - perhaps the NHL's greatest dynasty - was 92 years old. The date and cause of his passing were not immediately made public.

Born on Mar. 23, 1932, in Verdun, Marshall grew up playing in the Montreal farm system and played his first NHL game Jan. 26, 1952, as a call-up from the Junior Canadiens. After two excellent seasons in the minors with the Cincinnati Mohawks of the International Hockey League and the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL, Marshall started the 1954-55 season with the Montreal Royals of the Quebec League. He was promoted to the big club in December 1954 and never returned to the minors.

Although he had been a top scorer in junior and in the minors, Marshall recognized that the Canadiens were stacked with future Hall of Famers at every position on the first two lines, especially after Toe Blake took over as coach in 1955. The first line was Jean Beliveau at center with Bert Olmstead and Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion on the wings. Henri Richard centered the second line with Dickie Moore and Maurice “Rocket” Richard flanking him.

Marshall settled into a role as left winger on the Habs’ third line, a defensive specialist who could kill penalties with the best of them. He led the NHL with three shorthanded goals in the 1956-57 season.

“He was a third-line player,” Red Fisher, a veteran newspaper man who began covering the Canadiens soon after Marshall joined the club, told writer Brian Biggane of the Palm Beach Post in 2004. “But you have to remember he was playing behind some of the greatest players in Canadiens history. Everybody was a third-line player after those guys.

“The Don Marshall who played in a six-team league in those days would be pretty close to a superstar today.”

Despite his diligence in defending, Marshall was well regarded as a clean player, finishing second in voting for the Lady Byng Trophy for sportsmanship in 1957-58. Ironically, his 14 penalty minutes that season were a career high; he compiled only 125 PIM in 1,176 career regular season games.

“I never dealt with a more gentlemanly player on or off the ice,” veteran NHL referee Frank Udvari told Biggane. “If they were all like that, I could still referee today.”

Marshall was the last survivor of 12 players who were members of all five teams that made up the Canadiens’ dynasty of the late 1950s. The others were Beliveau, Geoffrion, Moore, the Richard brothers, Doug Harvey, Tom Johnson, Jacques Plante, Claude Provost, Jean-Guy Talbot, and Bob Turner. Coach Toe Blake and general manager Frank Selke were also part of all five teams.

Three players still survive who won Cups as part of the dynasty. Phil Goyette and Andre Pronovost each played for four of the five championship teams, from 1957 to 1960, and Marcel Bonin was there for the last three triumphs.

Marshall’s time with the Canadiens ended in 1963 when he, Plante, and Goyette were dispatched to the New York Rangers in a massive seven-player deal that brought Gump Worsley to Montreal. Finally able to contribute more from an offensive standpoint, Marshall registered five straight seasons of 19 or more goals and was named a Second Team All-Star in 1966-67.

Chosen by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1970 expansion draft, Marshall scored 20 goals in his one season with the Sabres and spent his final campaign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.

All told, Marshall dressed for 1,270 games over parts of 19 NHL seasons, including playoffs. He scored a total of 273 goals and 612 points.

“The Canadiens extend their deepest condolences to Donnie's family, friends and loved ones,” the team said in a news release announcing his passing. “Our thoughts are with them at during this difficult time. He will always be remembered as one of the great champions in the history of the organization.”