A Montreal Canadiens fan blog
Posts tagged History
100th anniversary ceremonies
Dec 5th
Last night was a magical night for Montreal Canadiens fans. I thought they would have some special surprises planned but I couldn’t have guessed how it would have unfolded.
I watched RDS for many hours before the game and was impressed from the beginning. I thought it was just great.
When they dimmed the lights in the Bell Center I almost felt goose bumps all over.. I knew something pretty neat was gonna take place.
Then… when the pucks were dumped on the ice and I saw Patrick Roy walking on the ice in full gear…. I was in awe. It was awesome. Seeing all those guys jump on the ice brought back alot of memories. One guy I hadn’t noticed walk on the ice was Mats Naslund… later when he was introduced I was so pleased to see him there. He was one of my favorite players in his time in Montreal.
I won’t try to name every player that skated with the alumni… but let’s just say I thought it was very classy and very cool for the die hard Canadiens fans. Many of those guys I hadn’t seen in their playing days but like some of you (I’m sure) I’ve read about them and have seen their statistics over and over again. I’m not just really a fan of the Montreal Canadiens I’ve seen on the ice….. I’m a fan of the Montreal Canadiens rich history as much as I am the current team they ice year after year.
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Happy 100th to the Montreal Canadiens!
Dec 4th
Today marks the 100 year anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens. There are many, many, many, many things that could be written about the 100 years that have gone by. Great hockey legends and hockey moments…. dynasties the likes will never been seen again.
The Montreal Canadiens certainly have an incredibly rich tradition and huge fan base…
The Habs have seen many Stanley cups, many awards, many players come and go… the Habs have seen great celebratory parades and have also seen some riots… who could forget the passion and anger shown at the suspension of the Rocket on March 18th 1955….
The list of great players who’ve suited up and played in Montreal is about a mile long. The Rocket, Belliveau, Morenz, Robinson, Harvey…. there is a treasure of information over at the http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/home website.
I remember being a young kid in the early 80s and watching the Habs play their local rival Québec Nordiques…. the passion, the brawls… memories that will be with me forever. I remember going to my grand fathers place and watching several games there on his small tv.
Back in 1993 I remember the Canadiens having to face those same Nordiques who had a host of great young players… the series started badly, but the Habs got hot and rode it for the entire playoffs… winning their 24th cup. The stars just seemed to align…
There are many fond memories of watching the 80s teams…. Mats Naslund was one of my favorites as well as Gainey… cup in ’86 and the finals in ’89.
I want to keep this short… so… Happy Birthday my beloved Montreal Canadiens!!
Habs history – Frustrating look at John LeClair
Aug 4th
John LeClair was one of those guys who you would want on your team, big power forward with good hands.
John LeClair played an important role in Montreal’s stanley cup win of 1992-1993.
Soon after in 1994-1995 LeClair was traded to Philadelphia along with Eric Desjardins and Gilbert Dionne for Mark Recchi and a third rouner.
Frustrating for Canadiens fans was the fact that as soon as LeClair hit Philly his numbers soared.
The next 3 full season in Philadelphia LeClair score 51,50,51 goals respectively and the 2 season after that he notched 43 and 40 goals respectively. He averaged 89.6 points a season for the 5 full seasons after being traded to Philadelphia. (From 1995-96 to 1999-00)
John LeClair’s numbers in Montreal
224 games played, 49 goals, 69 assists and 118 points.
Points per game: 0.53
Goals per game: 0.21
Assists per game: 0.30
John LeClair’s numbers after Montreal
743 games played, 357 goals, 344 assists and 701 points.
Points per game: 0.94
goals per game: 0.48
Assists per game: 0.46
His offensive production pretty much doubled after leaving Montreal as he was teamed up with Eric Lindros and Mikael Renberg. Their line was affectionately (by Phily fans) “The Legion of Doom”.
I believe the 3rd round pick the Montreal Canadiens had acquired was either Miloslav Guren or Martin Hohenberger. Either ring a bell??? Not for me.
Recchi had a few decent years in Montreal notching over 30 goals twice.
Looking back who won that trade?
What’s your opinion?
I think the Flyers certainly did getting both LeClair AND Desjardins.
Player comparison – Koivu vs Moore
Aug 3rd
Since I got hooked in reading some forums over at the Montreal Canadiens website I got into some discussions.
I participated a bit more in the “Should Koivu’s number be retired” article I wrote earlier.
I did a little comparison just for fun. The reason for this comparison was that I’ve seen some people state that Saku Koivu’s performance over his career was “sub par”. So I’ve compared him to the great Dickie Moore.
Here’s the comparison as I wrote it in the forum’s thread.
I’m still trying to figure out why some people are thinking Saku was “sub par”.
I’ll trespass into the nostalgic for fun and lets compare 2 players and where they rank in the history of the Montreal Canadiens.
Saku Koivu totals – playing in the dark ages
Games played : 792 – 19th all time
Goals scored : 191 – 27th all time
Assists : 450 – 6th all time
Points : 641 – 10th all time
Career point per game : 0.80Dickie Moore totals – playing in a golden age
Games played : 654 – 28th all time
Goals scored : 254 – 14th all time
Assists : 340 – 16th all time
Points : 594 – 13th all time
Career point per game : 0.90The point of this is to compare Koivu to a legendary Habs player who had his number retired keeping in mind who Dickie Moore had to play with..
Some of Dickie Moore’s team mates?
Rocket Richard, Elmer Lach, Bernard Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Émile Bouchard,Jean Béliveau, Henri Richard, Ralph Backstrom, Bobby RousseauThose were some of Dickie Moore’s team mates for many years.
Who could we compare to those players that played with Koivu for the last 13 years.
Not many.Saku’s point per game is just below Moores average. I’ll bet a dollar if Koivu would have had a Rocket and a Belliveau or an Elmer Lach… his average would be a bit higher.
I honestly can’t understand how some people have stated that Saku’s performance has been sub par. Because in the history of the habs, his numbers speak quite the opposite.
If you don’t like him. That’s ok.
But please acknowledge what he’s accomplished without the team that our many greats have had.
How do you see Koivu’s career in Montreal historically? Think he deserves a look?
Question – Should Koivu’s number be retired?
Aug 3rd
I recently joined the Montreal Canadiens forums and have enjoyed reading through some of the threads and discussions going on over there.
On thread kind of struc me.
“Should #11 be retired?” is the name of the thread and there is a poll attached to it.
I was kind of surprised at first that it would be discussed so early, but then after reading for a minute I was no longer surprised… I mean, we’re Habs fans right? (at least some of us are.. if you’re not and reading this site… welcome!)
So the discussion rages. Some say no, some say yes….
One of the points I saw on there was that Koivu doesn’t warrant it because his production over his career in Montreal isn’t “super”.
Well, I guess I disagree a bit for what it’s worth.
There’s a difference between the Habs of the mid/late 90s, the Habs of the 2000s and the Habs of the 70s, the 60s…etc.
Traditionally, the Habs have had some very strong teams for many years. Some of the other legendary Habs were surrounded by other “legends”.
Koivu really doesn’t have to many players who played along side him that stand out to me as being future legends.
Early in his career just after the 93 cup he had some talent around him with Damphousse..etc.. At the end of his tenure with the Habs he had Kovalev and Tanguay.. played well with Higgins and Ryder when used together.
But there many years that he was just on a struggling team. No doubt about it.
Here’s how he finishes his career all-time in the canadiens uniform:
2nd longest serving captain
5th power play goals
6th in assists
7th game winning goals
8th short handed goals
9th minutes played
10th in points
19th games played
27th goals scored
And he managed to put up with more crap then anyone I know with class.
It’s my opinion that he deserves a fair look at having that number 11 retired. Some say his production wasn’t “super”. But I’m not sure just how good he was expected to be on a mediocre team for so many years.
Saku, I think you deserve it mon capitaine.
