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Number 33 to join immortals?
posted by Mike Boone at 6h05 EST on Aug 29
If the story is true, at least one pundit won't be happy. In March, Red Fisher wrote:
"Canadiens owner George N. Gillett Jr. and team president Pierre Boivin should know it's a bad decision - and has been from the start ... what they must do is look long and hard at it and then decide whether retiring his No. 33 is good for the game and for the organization.
"It is not. In my view, Roy abdicated his rights to that honour with his capitulation to irrationalism on Dec. 2, 1995, when a stunned Forum crowd saw him allow nine goals on 26 shots in an 11-1 meltdown to the Detroit Red Wings. It was only then that he was taken out of the game by coach Mario Tremblay.
"Anyone who was there or viewed the game on TV can still see a furious Roy shouldering his way past Tremblay to Canadiens president Ronald Corey sitting in the first row behind the players' bench, leaning over and telling him he had played his last game with the team. That film clip has been shown over and over again following last Saturday's hockey version of road rage - and for good reason. It was unprofessional and a gross disrespect for the sweater he wore. Four days later, he was shipped to Colorado."
That said, you can't argue with numbers. Roy's team records include games played (665, including playoffs), fewest losses in a season (five in 1988-'89), longest home winning streak (14 in '88-'89), longest home undefeated streak (29 in '88-'89), most playoff games and most saves in a playoff game: a mind-blowing 60 in a 2-1 overtime conquest of Boston in 1994.
The Canadiens would not have won their two most recent Stanley Cups without Patrick Roy. Factoring in the quality of his supporting cast – in comparison to Ken Dryden's and Jacques Plante's – Roy is arguably the greatest goaltender in the team's 100-year history.
• • •
There are rumours that another number may be retired during the course of the centennial season.
Broadcaster Ron Lapointe has lobbied for raising the number 3 to the Bell Centre rafters as a tribute to Emile "Butch" Bouchard.
And you could make a very good case for number 6, worn by Toe Blake during the distinguished playing career that preceded his brilliant run as coach of a team that won five consecutive Stanley Cups.
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Roy is deserving of this, but I'm pretty sure most Habs fans will have some mixed feelings about retiring his number after the infamous "Le Trade" era, and the whole ordeal with his last game in a Canadiens uniform.
Congrats Patrick, long overdue.
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The drive for 25...
NHL Morning Papers (Saturday Edition) .. by Richard Pollock .. illegalcurve.com ..... http://www.illegalcurve.com/2008/08/30/nhl-morning-papers-saturday-editi...
The past 3 seasons it was hard for Mezaros to get into the top 2 on D. Whenever he was given the chance he really shined. I think with Redden gone this would have been a really good year for Mezaros, maybe they should stop screwing around with the D and get a goalie. I guess choosing Redden over Chara was a good call eh? NOT(Borat voice)
Who Are The 100 Greatest Habs Of All Time?
http://wwwrealitycheckeyesontheprize.blogspot.com/2008/08/who-are-100-gr...
Thats quite an undertaking on your part Robert L, of course opinions will difer, but Id have put Roy before Dryden; Claude Lemieux above Mario Tremblay; I also think Gainey and Geoffrion should be higher, but Im splitting hairs.
Rpbert - great post that's sure to stir lots of debate. I'll start! Dickie Moore doesn't belong in the top ten. I can think of 3 players who are more deserving - Geoffrion, Robinson, Cournoyer. By the way, I understand and agree with your 'choice' for 1st overall.
The Original 24 Cups
Your Moore argument is very logical. I gave Dickie the nod based on a pair of scoring titles - one with a busted up wrist. Moore was also the closest to hitting the 100 point barrier before Espo smashed it wide open. all just details, really!
If I were ranking players I have seen play in my lifetime, it would be Flower, followed by the Roadrunner, and the Pocket.
Remember in the mid 70's when LaFleur was out (was it when Sittler hacked his wrist?) and the press was all over the team? Would Cournyer be able to lead the team? Could Yvan pick up the slack? Wow, they really gave it to them. And the team just played it's game. If I'm not mistaken Yvan scored big time that next game, maybe five. That shut everyone up:)
There have been some great Montreal teams, and great players Robert. But during the 70's, man, that was a team. When the Red army came to play the NHL the Flyers beat them up, but the Habs simply said let's play whatever game you like. The game was a tie but there was no doubt in the end we had just seen the best two teams in the world play hockey. LaFleur must have gone through a deck of smokes.
Did the players make that team, or did that team make the players?
Great list, everytime I would think about moving a player up or down, there was a reason not to. Gilles Tremblay was so good, nice to see him on there too.
Thanks
I agree for the most part, I think Jan Bulis should be in the top ten somewhere. LOL, good job Robert. I never really understood all the hype about "The Rocket" but after watching that movie I now know. What a great story.
Jimmy Roberts was a great guy but top hundred Hab players of all times...nah.
I understand your take, but Roberts did alot of what Gainey did, minus the body slams. He shut down some great offensive players, like Hull and Esposito, without much fanfare.
Both incidently, were products of the Peterborough Petes.
Sen's GM Murray on the trade .. Ottawa Sun Excerpt ..... It got to the point where the dollars were just too much for us," Murray said in a conference call last night. "We thought it was at a point where we weren't going to be able to do it. I wasn't able to make the adjustment with my salary structure.
"The last two years, (Meszaros' play) has left a lot to be desired. I know Filip Kuba well and he's really going to help us. I know he's excited about this change. As for Picard, he's local guy with a lot of potential. We feel good and the first-round pick is also going to help us."
Murray said Kuba, Chris Phillips, Anton Volchenkov and Jason Smith will be club's top four blueliners this season.
The word is the Lightning didn't want to part with Picard, but the Senators insisted that he was part of the deal.
Bryan Murray may have finally done something right since he first joined Ottawa. We all realize that the NHL salary structure for young, unproven players has gone to hell in the past few years but I iamgine it the was length of term that finally broke off negotiations. Meszaros could be a great defenseman for years to come but the jury is certainly out on that happening anytime soon. Ottawa still received a 1st round pick and Picard is at least worth a 2nd rounder in anyone's eyes. As well, Ottawa gets Kuba who can step in right now and perform. He has to be a better choice than a 3rd rounder, as very few 3rd round picks ever make the NHL as regulars.
Kuba would have been a great addition to tighten up our defense for this year. More and more Plan B players are disappearing as we continue the Sundin watch. It's pretty well a lock now that Brisebois will be our 7th defenseman for this year. Cross your fingers that nobody gets hurt on the Montreal blueline this season.
The Original 24 Cups
Steve - First of all i'm not sold on Meszaros at all but he is young and could be an all around "D" for years but IMO he is not nearly as good as Dean The Blow Hard Brown and the Ottawa press made him out to be but he does have an upside potential and fits the model of future "D" in the New NHL. I like Kuba but he's been caught playing with a strict defensive team (Wild) and the opposite with the Bolts and as one scout said at intermission last year on Tampa radio that he felt sorry for Filipa cuz he turns it on when he should lay back and then vice versa , in other words he was mixed up especially when Boyle was out. Picard was shopped around for a year and a half before Tampa bit and is known to be error prone and his defence hasn't improved but theirs talent there but unproven and the 1st round pick would probably be around the 25th. I think Murray got the best of the deal but after losing Redden and Meszaros whose going to move the puck for them ?
Nightmare ; TSN poll has 61% agreeing with you.Believe the 1st rounder puts it over the top big time.
It seems as we stand today ,they are planning on Dandy being the 7th defenseman.
HaFab - If Dandy is our 7th defenseman for the entire year then you can kiss any chance of a Cup goodbye. He's much better off filling the role of being an extra forward. I don't think he played more than a handful of games on defense last year. In fact, it may have been a handful of shifts rather than games.
The Original 24 Cups
Talk to Gainey then, they have him back on defense on the roster and there is no room for him up front.
Frank - Most websites and magazines have Dandy listed as a Dman but I don't put much stock in that. Gainey and Carbo sure didn't play him much on the back end even though he has a long history of being a defenseman. Right now, I would imagine that Dandy and TTB are the two 'subs' on the Habs depth chart at forward. Presently, we are one player under the limit in terms of signed contracts so that will probably go to Brisebois depending on the Sundin saga. Either way, Dandy won't be happy being a bench player (at forward or on defense). Regardless of where he plays, I'm not happy paying a spare player $1.7 for the year.
I'm not dumping on Dandy as a player as he has been a solid Hab, it's more the circumstance that surrounds his spot on the roster and the possible role that he might play this year on the team. As I stated before, we'll be in big trouble if one of our top three guys gets hurt because there is no suitable long term replacement in sight.
The Original 24 Cups
Steve,think that until training camp is over, all is moot and we are just playing GM's.However, it is the Canadien's website that I quoted,and just for kicks, we are carrying 3 goaltenders for our 23 player roster at the moment,either out of respect or condition of signing Denis.As for Dandy's future, so much depends on whom we finish off our roster with.I believe that Gainey will ride out the Sundin thing to the end and then go after a player from the teams over cap (bargain shopping) plus he knows that nightmare wants that money spent.And that until further developments, Dandy is our 7th defenseman and honestly don't see much difference between him at 32 and Brisebois at 37.
My gauge has always been that the team who gets the best players usually wins.
I see Bryan Murray destroying a strong Senators club one move at a time.
And I'm loving it!
Robert - Glad to see that you were listening during the Pollock years! In fairness to Murray, this wasn't a typical NHL trade. Many moves are made today due to cap/budget circumstance. I still think this is a better deal than taking the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd round draft picks from a declined offer sheet. As I mentioned in my original post, Murray hasn't done much in Ottawa. In fact, his actions remind me of the Quinn/Ferguson regime in lafftown. Death by a thousand cuts. The reality is that the Sens have basically wasted their window of opportunity to win the Cup while they had the best line in the NHL.
The Original 24 Cups
"The reality is that the Sens have basically wasted their window of opportunity to win the Cup while they had the best line in the NHL."
Very succinct! I wonder if Eugene Melnyk seizes this as well!
Murray should have signed Mez, and then traded him. He got spare parts in return for what could be a stellar D-man one day.
The Senators have Phillips and Volchenkov returning from last season. After adding Jason Smith, the remainder is a patchwork defense.
Yikes!
The Pens and the Bolt's are still working on a minor deal which should involve the Lightning's excess forwards while Mike Russo of Russo Rants reports ..... The Wild has had a number of talks with the agent of longtime checking center Stephane Yelle, but right now, Yelle’s agent Larry Kelly says the Wild has informed him they are “holding off.”
Paper Plane Observer Francois Gagnon will join Michel Bergeron on RDS this coming season for the Habs hockey broadcasts , Bergeron will replace Benoit Brunet who became the new color man when Yvon Pedneault was fired (french version) .. by Pierre Trudel .. lapresse.com ..... http://www.cyberpresse.ca/article/20080829/CPSPORTS/808290810/6881/CPSPO...
Paper Plane Observer - lol. Show me the pictures Francois.
If Gagnon is the observer, what does that make Mr. Boone who so quickly grabbed on to this big story, & gave it the attention it deserved? We have:
Paper Plane Pilot - Michael Ryder
Paper Plane Observer - Francois Gagnon
Critic of Paper Plane Pilot - Mike Boone
Ed - LOL , that one was for you. I like that Paper Plane Pilot and i'm hummy it to the old Beatle tune Paper Back Writer and it's a bit appropriate.
Paper Plane Ryder?
I had a feeling that you were like the salmon fisherman, throw out the bait & see if you could get a rise out of me. Of course, I could not pass it up. It's funny as I too thought of that Beatles song, but unfortunately I can't carry a tune.
Great minds think alike and fools seldom differ.