To all who believed in me & helped me get to this point in my career #merci! Je suis excite pour l’annee prochaine! pic.twitter.com/9AzrdRNSHp

— P.K. Subban (@PKSubban1) June 16, 2013

Saturday night, PK Subban did something no Montreal Canadiens rearguard has done since Chris Chelios in 1989, he won the James Norris Trophy as the NHL’s best defenseman. With just one year left on the two year deal he signed at the start of this season, it’s natural to start wondering what type of deal Subban will land when he and GM Marc Bergevin renegotiate his contract.

Ryan Suter made headlines last season when Minnesota signed him to a 13-year, $98 million contract, a deal that expires when Suter turns 40. The rearguard proved his worth by turning in a fantastic season for the Wild, finishing just shy of Subban is the Norris voting. The Gazette’s Dave Stubbs tweeted out the breakdown of this year’s voting, which had Suter finishing just 36 points and 1 first place vote behind Subban.

Norris voting breakdown; #Habs Subban wins: pic.twitter.com/I9qgH1xiN6

— Dave Stubbs (@Dave_Stubbs) June 15, 2013

Does that mean Subban will be making upwards of $7 million a year to stay in Montreal for the foreseeable future? That certainly seems possible, but there are other comparables for Subban’s next

(Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports)

contract as well. Ottawa’s Erik Karlsson signed a 7-year, $6.5 million contract after taking home the Norris in 2012. The Canadiens might consider themselves lucky to get off on such friendly terms. Subban is a year older than the Senators blueliner and plays a similar game offensively, but PK also brings a physical element that Karlsson lacks.

The biggest current cap hit for a defenseman is that of Suter’s former teammate, Shea Weber. Even though Suter was an unrestricted free agent last Summer and Subban will still be restricted when his current contract ends, that might not necessarily keep his price down. Weber was a restricted free agent as well when he signed his last contract, but an offer sheet from the Philadelphia Flyers locked Weber into a 14-year $110 million contract.

Subban’s contract can fall into any of these ranges, as CJAD’s Abe Hefter said, “PK Subban is in the driver’s seat.” But unlike Hefter’s tweet suggests, Subban is not in the driver’s seat because he won the Norris trophy, he’s in the driver’s seat because he is one of just a handful of elite defensemen in the league, winning the Norris is simply validation.

Subban’s Norris Trophy will cost #Habs $$$ http://t.co/5pufar2mqS via @sharethis#CJAD

— Abe Hefter (@hefteronthehabs) June 17, 2013

The length and value of the contract Subban will sign next is almost entirely up to him at this point. While Bergevin was being heralded for getting a good deal and not caving in to the pressure of a star player sitting on the sidelines after negotiations ended in January, Subban proved something as well in those talks, he showed that he has the patience to wait for a deal of his liking.

Subban and Bergevin will likely be spending much of the next year trying to finalize a long-term deal, only now, the sooner Subban’s new contract is signed the better it will be for Bergevin. This time around, the longer Subban holds out, the more difficult it will be for Bergevin to keep his price down.

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Rob Elbaz

Rob has been blogging about the Habs since 2011 at MontrealHockeyTalk.com and can usually be heard before every Canadiens games on the MHT Pregame Show.

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This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Nathan Horton currently sits second in playoff scoring with 18 points (Greg M. Cooper-US PRESSWIRE)

With anywhere between three to five games left in the 2013 season remaining, Montreal Canadiens brass has undoubtedly began planning what moves to make in the off-season to better their club. The changes will begin on June 30th at the NHL entry draft and continue with possible trades leading up to free agecny which begins on July 5th.

Free agency seems to be the most likey way the team will make changes aside from the draft. Unless GM Marc Bergevin trades one or more of his multiple draft picks, the Habs don’t have very many tradeable assets that could fetch a valuable return. Defenseman Yannick Weber could bring back a late draft pick at best but other than him the Canadiens roster is full of core players, prospects or players past their prime or too banged up to garner any attention around the league.

There are a few players about to hit the market who could help the Habs, and today I’m going to focus on one in particular. Nathan Horton of the Boston Bruins.

I’m not Horton’s number one fan seeing as how he is on the Bruins and has adopted the typical Bruins mentality of “everything we do is fine and the rest of the league are a bunch of dirty players and divers”. Horton is also one of the last players who I could see coming to Montreal by choice seeing as he has never been one to enjoy being anywhere in the vacinity of Norris Trophy winner, P.K. Subban.

At the end of the day however, money talks. If Bergevin made the right offer it wouldn’t be the most shocking signing in hockey history if Horton became a Hab. Horton is on the last year of a six year $24 million deal he signed in 2007-08 with the Florida Panthers with an annual cap hit of $4 million. In those six years, he tallied 125 goals and 147 assists for 272 points in 383 games. During that time, Horton also accumulated 346 penalty minutes and a +39 rating.

As for playoffs he notched 17 points in 21 games in 2010-11 when the Bruins *shudder* won the cup and is currently second in scoring with 18 points in as many games while leading the league with a +22 rating.

His success in these playoffs assures two facts. One being that the Bruins will do what they can to re-sign him, and seeing as how he has one Stanley Cup ring and a second Stanley Cup final appearance in the three years he’s donned the black and gold he may lean towards staying in Beantown. Secondly, he’s looking to make more money on  his new contract.

After buying out Tomas Kaberle, the Canadiens will have some money to spend, it’s just a matter of how much they would be willing to give to Horton who plays a rough game and has had injuries in his past. In game one of the 2011 Stanley Cup Finals he suffered a concussion and missed the remainder of the series. Horton also left early in game one of these Stanley Cup Finals but returned for game two.

Horton may be worth the risk if signed to a three to four year contract at $5 million. He is only 28 years old and adds size with his 6’2″ 229 pound frame. Players with his size and skill aren’t easy to find and so Bergevin should jump on the oppurtunity to add him to the roster.

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Sean Lloyd

Writer for www.HabsAddict.com, MontrealHockeyTalk.com and TheHockeyWriters.com

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The Blackhawks-Bruins Stanley Cup Finals is the first Original Six matchup since 1979 when the Canadiens played the Rangers. credit: Sylvain Martineau

This year’s Stanley Cup Finals between the Chicago Blackhawks and Boston Bruins marks the first time two Original Six teams are facing off against each other in the Stanley Cup Finals since 1979. That year saw the defending cup champs Montreal Canadiens defeat the New York Rangers in five games for their fourth Stanley Cup in a row.

Pretty much everyone across the hockey world thought it would be a slam dunk for the powerful Canadiens; and though the Habs would eventually dispose of the Blueshirts in five, it wasn’t that straight-forward.

Lambert!!!

Here’s Tremblay, hitting the Boston line. Tremblay cutting, centrering… they score!!! Lamberrrrrt!!!!

The Canadiens win the Stanley Cup!!! No wait! It’s just the semis…

Yes it’s that “too many men on the ice” game 7 again from 1979 where the Canadiens took advantage of a sloppy line change by the Bruins to tie the game late in the third and then win in OT.

Bruins goaltender Gilles Gilbert skates away as Yvon Lambert gets mobbed after scoring the series winning OT goal in 1979.

Looking back, many still think that actually won the Canadiens the Stanley Cup but that’s not the case. It was just the semi-finals — as it was called back then. But the game was such an emotional battle it was if the cup was won — kind  of like the “Miracle on Ice” from the 1980 Lake Placid Winter Olympics. That’s when the upstart United States beat the heavily-favoured Soviets.

Yet people forget that wasn’t the gold medal game. It just felt like it. The Americans still had to go on and beat Finland for the gold. And so the Canadiens still had to go on and face the New York Rangers — who were waiting to see who they’d face after already defeating the top team in the NHL that season, the New York Islanders, in six games.

It was supposed to be a formality. But nothing is a given in sports and especially in hockey. The effort still has to be there otherwise the puck can bounce the other way. Take this year’s choke-tastic game 7 between the Maple Leafs and Bruins. The Leafs were up 4-1 with eleven minutes left in the game. Suddenly they stopped playing and went on to lose in OT. But that’s the Leafs: they have an extraordinary ability for finding record-breaking ways to lose.

Now the Bruins are in the finals and I hate to say it but they deserve to be there, especially after the way they so methodically dismantled the talent-ladened Pittsburgh Penguins.

Back in 1979 everyone pretty much agreed whoever won the Boston-Montreal series would steamroll over the Rangers to win the Stanley Cup. Actually a Bruins-Rangers cup finals would’ve made for some interesting storylines. The Rangers hadn’t been to the finals since 1972 when they were defeated by the Bobby Orr-fueled Bruins. Phil Esposito could have had the chance to face his old team, and the same goes for Hall of Fame defenseman Brad Park who was a star on that earlier Rangers team.

But fate intervened and shucks, that would be as close as Brad Park would come to getting his name engraved on the Stanley Cup. Instead, the Canadiens went on to win their fourth in a row. But it didn’t start off that great.

A Typical Emotional Let-Down

After the emotional high of defeating the Bruins in that topsy-turvy game 7, it was completely natural for the Canadiens to have an emotional dip coming into the Finals. And no doubt, it didn’t help that it seemed like all Montreal had to do was show up to the rink and they would win. But that’s not what happened.

John Davidson helped the Rangers upset the up-and-coming New York Islanders all the way to the cup finals in 1979.

The Rangers had a talented group of forwards lead by the aging but still potent Phil Esposito, along with Ron Duguay, Ron Greschner, Ulf Nilsson and Anders Hedberg. The veteran blueliner Carol Vadnais added experience to a young group of d-men like rookie Mario Marois.

They also had an experienced coach in Fred Shero and a young and eager goaltender in John Davidson. Yes, that John Davidson. Davidson grabbed the crease for the Rangers in the playoffs and in Steve Penney fashion stood on his head helping the Blueshirts upset the Islanders in the previous round.

Here’s game 1 of the finals in its entirety with surprisingly good visual quality. No Danny Gallivan though, apparently he was off sick:

A couple of interesting stats displayed during this game:

1)      The Rangers won 3 of 4 games in Montreal that season;

2)      The Canadiens made the finals 11 of 15 years!!

And so, the Rangers surprised the heavily-favoured Canadiens beating them 4-1 to take game 1 at the Forum in Montreal.

Bunny Gets Bonked and the Rest is History

Ken Dryden took back his crease in game 2 of the 1979 Stanley Cup Finals after Doug Riseborough blew one off of Bunny Larocque’s noggin in the warm-up. And the rest as they say, is history.

The Canadiens came out flat in game 1 and the Rangers took full advantage. Scotty Bowman even went so far to pull Dryden, replacing him with Bunny Larocque, to shake up his team. Obviously Bowman was not pleased and as good coaches do, he reacted right away. Whether or not he actually blamed goaltender Ken Dryden for the loss, the message was definitely made loud and clear when the legendary head coach decided to start his backup for game 2, also in Montreal.

The Rangers must have been thanking their lucky stars. Here they were, up one game to none and facing the Habs rarely-played backup. Maybe it was a classic Bowman psychological ploy? Maybe he never intended to play Larocque in the first place? But as fate would have it, in the warm-up Bunny took one off his noggin and suffered a mild concussion. So Dryden ended up playing anyways and the Habs cruised to a 6-2 win.

One interesting fact stemming from Bunny’s concussion was that Richard Sevigny was called up to dress as Dryden’s backup for the rest of the series. So Sevigny lucked into having his name engraved on the Stanley Cup for the Canadiens’ 1978-79 triumph. It would be his only time.

And the rest as they say, is history. That is what they say, right!? The Canadiens won the next two in New York after the series switched to Madison Square Garden for games 3 and 4; then returned home to defeat the Rangers 4-1 for the Canadiens first Stanley Cup win on Forum ice since 1968. Bob Gainey won the Conn Smythe trophy as the playoff MVP.

Find Ari Grief on Facebook and Twitter @HabsFanLeafLand where he’ll gladly gloat to you that as a goaltender, he’s never been pulled. Then again, there’s no backups in recreational hockey.

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Ari Grief

I'm a goalie -- apparently that says a lot. Writer, producer and bon vivant I'm from Montreal but live in Toronto and write from that perspective on HabsFanInLeafLand.com. Young enough to be hip; old enough to remember where I was when Guy Lafleur scored against the Bruins in the infamous "too many men" game in the '79 playoffs. Can you say that? You can contact Ari Grief on Facebook or on twitter @habsfanleafland

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This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

That’s when I came across my remaining 100 or so Topps hockey cards. What a spectacular let-down.

I started collecting in the Twin Cities suburb of Mounds View in the late 1970s. My family lived remarkably—disturbingly—close to a 7-11. When I first began to buy the wax packs, the 1977-78 Topps set awaited me. I was six, I had no idea what kind of lasting impact these cards would have.

Back then, a player’s hockey card might be all you got of the guy. Maybe he’d appear in the papers once or twice, but it was the image chosen no doubt with total flippancy at Topps that became ingrained in your young mind.

TOPPS 77-78

Is it therefore any wonder that my relatives could not convince me that this out-of-shape, baby-faced ‘Bobby Orr’ guy who I knew nothing of and never saw was all that great?

For goodness sake look at him. The clerk at 7-11 actually looked a bit like him. 

I had been told he was a Bruin.

A hero in Boston.

Overtime Cup winner.

I’m six. I see the 7-11 clerk.

But Topps was already grooming his successors at the D position.

Look at the Islanders’ Denis Potvin. He looks positively gasssed!

This guy’s been battlin’ and hustlin’ and he’s ready for another face-off.

There’s nothing jovial about this warrior.

No wonder I hated Potvin when the Isles swamped Minnesota in the ’81 Cup Finals.

As for Brad Park …

Well to this day I’m not sure what Park is doing with his mouth, but at least he’s in motion.

Two hands on the stick.

Trying to climb out of Orr’s shadow, or so I heard.

That year’s Topps set will soon show its Montreal bias, but it did not begin to do so in net.

What is the premier goalie of the decade doing?

Where’s the kick save? The lightning quick glove hand?

Today I would call this card ‘Ken Dryden, Contemplative.’ If he was already at work on The Game so be it, I’m six.

The only reason I bought into Dryden’s greatness was because he proved it every time Montreal played the North Stars. Ok, Ok, this guy’s good, I get it.

Enter the Montreal bias with one of the best cards in the set: LaFleur.

Look at his hair! I’d heard about that hair from radio play-by-play guy Al Shaver.

This is an action shot befitting the most exciting player in the league at that time.

Topps got one right.

Make that two right.

Yvan Cournoyer.

I pronounced it Ivan Cornower.

‘Unpredictable’ and ‘super-skilled’ and ‘fast’ are all over this card, just like his game.

Plus he was a lefty, like me. That went a long ways back then.

Whatever excitement Montreal brought to the rink, these next guys sapped it.

Because of this card, because my own father appeared to be in better shape than Esposito, I took a shine to Tony.

Remember, I’m six.

But this man looks uninterested.

Tired. Gloomy.

Hey, I’m sorry the trade that sent you out of Boston didn’t work out, but why punish me?

As another member of the lurking pot-belly line, Marcel Dionne’s card did nothing to enhance his status to me.

Not to mention I was a Minnesota Vikings fan.

Minnesota was purple. I didn’t know what this was.

But it wasn’t purple to me and I didn’t like it.

Plus, Los Angeles was a foreign country to me.

This needs little in the way of snark.

Jean Ratelle’s got 400 goals.

And Topps had to paint some action into his skates.

Well I’m six, I don’t know how he got that many goals but he must not be good anymore.

The same went for teammate Johnny Bucyk, who completed the Pot-Belly Line.

The game changer arrived in the following season set with serendipitous timing.

Look at that [Montreal bias] blast!

Guy-La-Point was my guy, because my first stick was a Canadien model #5 Guy LaPointe.

I- rather, Guy- cranked so many game-winners in my garage that season I surely lost count.

I have no doubt that this required some extra effort on the part of the Topps photographers, but it was worth it.

This was hockey.

This wasn’t contemplating or being jovial or falling out of shape, this was hockey.

Nostalgia? No Thanks 

Regardless, all these players, all their achievements, for me call up these mental images. To this day. In an era before multi-media, you got one image and you ran with it. For all the nostalgia this post is oozing, I’ll take today’s thousands of images over one.

Although some cards made the era worth it.

Like John Davidson’s twenty-five hole.

As Topps would do back then, they included some trivia on the back of his card:

“[Davidson's] acrobatic up-and-down style is fun for Rangers fans to watch.”

I would insert some more copy: “Although they’d really just prefer to win.”

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Ross Bonander

Ross Bonander is a freelance health writer and quotations editor. His work includes Hockey Talk, a collection of memorable hockey quotes and So So In Centerfield, an unusual collection of baseball quotes. He writes extensively for the Lymphoma Information Network.

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This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Playing in Montreal at the old Forum at the corner of Atwater and Ste. Catherine was a challenge for visiting teams and the Canadiens took full advantage.

Last year when Geoff Molson turned the page after releasing Mr. Pierre Gauthier from his managerial duties with the Montreal Canadiens, he stated his desire to usher in a new, championship era for his once-proud franchise: Everyone in this organization, including our players, expected better. Our fans care deeply about our team and want nothing more than a winning team, one that follows in the tradition of our storied past. This season did not deliver on those expectations. Our fans can trust that ownership will accept nothing less than a winning culture in this organization. – Geoff Molson

Now one season removed from stating these intentions, Molson’s Canadiens have indeed taken their first baby steps in this direction. From 15^th to 2^nd overall in the Eastern Conference is an accomplishment that should not be minimized. Making the playoffs and giving their young players a taste of playoff hockey is a rite of passage that had to be experienced. Losing to the Ottawa Senators in the first round hurt, but it’s true that all great teams need to learn how to lose first in order to win. At least that’s the positive spin after losing, right!?

Geoff Molson made the right decision in bringing on a savvy upstart Montrealer like GM Marc Bergevin. Bergevin surrounded himself with a smart managerial team and coaching staff led by Michel Therrien. Now it’s time for Molson to turn his attention to some of the other small but important aspects that once made his franchise great: the complete at-home winning experience.

The Montreal Forum Was a Tough Place to Play

Home ice advantage is just that: an advantage for the home team. But why is playing at home an advantage? Well, the crowd gets behind their team; the beer is to their liking; they sing and cheer for their hometown heroes; this creates bursts of energy in their heroes; the ice and rink nuances are known by the players; they get to sleep in their own beds; the visitors spend their night before games at Chez Parée hotel bars, etc.

The rink itself can be a determining factor. In the old days of great hockey stadiums, the Blackhawks’ Chicago Stadium was known to be the loudest in the league. It completely rocked. And now, to nobody’s surprise, their new arena is also one of if not the loudest in the league. It rocks too.

The “Madhouse on Madison” is a tough place to play right now because they have the entire experience firing on all cylinders. The Bell Centre should follow suit. (Rob Grabowski-USA TODAY Sports)

The venerable Montreal Forum used to psyche out opposing teams the second they entered the building. There was something special that emanated from that edifice. That… yes why not… that je ne sais quoi described as the “ghosts of the old Forum.” The “ghosts of the old Forum” eh? Maybe it should be the “winning ghosts of the old Forum.” Because them ghosts — they carried a lot of cups. Total number of Stanley Cups hoisted by the Canadiens at the Bell Centre?

Zero.

The Canadiens had the advantage. The home ice advantage. From the roar of the crowd chanting “Go Habs Go!” at all the right times — especially when the team was down on the scoreboard — to an emotional singing of the national anthems, the Canadiens had a leg up on their opponents when playing at the Montreal Forum. Upon his hiring, Michel Therrien said he wanted the Canadiens to be a tough team to play against. He is well on his way to making this a reality. Great. Love it. But now it’s time to take things to the next level: it’s time to make the Molson Centre a tough place to play for visiting teams.

You can pass the flame, the torch, whatever incendiary device of your choosing around all you like. What I want is the Stanley Cup passed around the Bell Centre ice and the crowd singing “Na Na Na Naa — Na Na Na Naa — Hey! Heyyy! GOODBYE!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Habs had the Best of Everything

Back in the eighties the Canadiens were still considered to be one of the top teams in the NHL, even if their last dynasty where they won four cups in a row was already in the rear-view mirror and the New York Islanders were busy growing playoff beards on the way to four straight of their own. Winning in the NHL, whether it’s today or in days gone by, requires a balanced team of talent, character and depth. You need terrific and timely goaltending. And you need a coach who can pull it all together to get the most from his players. Scotty Bowman had that ability. Players didn’t necessarily like the man, but they liked the results. Let’s just say they weren’t inviting him over for dinner or going for drinks with him after the game like it was with Don Cherry when he coached the Bruins.

The Montreal Forum 1955 / PD

Now many could argue that even a chump guy like Don Cherry could have won in Montreal with the teams Montreal GM Sam Pollock put together in the late seventies. They arguably had the best defensemen in the league led by the “Big Three” (Robinson, Savard and Lapointe); the best goaltender (Dryden); the best sniper (Lafleur); the best two-way forward (Lemaire); and the best defensive forward (Gainey). Bowman was the best coach in the league (yes, better than Cherry or Arbour) and Pollock was the best GM. The key word here is “best.” The Canadiens had da best. Of everything. Forget about the players. They also had the best rink announcer (Claude Mouton), the best radio/television announcing team (Danny Gallivan & Dick Irvin), the best anthem singer (Roger Doucet) and the best crowds. And on their way out, teams would be serenaded by “Na Na Na Naa, Hey Hey Heyyy! GOODBYE!!!” And that was that.

The Canadiens had the best experience:

How on earth could a visiting team win in Montreal when Roger Doucet was the man at the microphone!?

It didn’t happen very often.

Roger Doucet had the ability to give the Montreal crowd goosebumps when he sung the National Anthem. Now I may be biased because I grew up on the guy, but others like “Sports Illustrated” writer Paul Zimmerman also took notice writing back in 2004 that he used to love covering Canadiens games because “…people would cry when he finished that song. And it never ran longer than 47 or 48 seconds.”

Now nothing against current anthem chanteur Charles Prévost Linton, but does he create that kind of reaction among Habs faithful before puck drop!? The guy is a good singer, sure. But he’s a bit of a dud too, no?

The Canadiens need to get a singer who not only pumps up the team and the crowd, but somehow psyches out the opposing team at the same time. That’s what Roger Doucet used to do. It’s what the late Kate Smith did for the Philadelphia Flyers. Now there’s an idea!? The Flyers like to play a recording of Smith on the scoreboard singing “God Bless America” during the playoffs and Lauren Hart, their current anthem singer, performs a duet with her. It has the desired effect.

Hey Heyyy Goodbye To Olé Olé Olé

In 1996 when the Bell Centre (née Molson Centre) opened its doors, the torch was passed to a new era. Maurice Richard, emblem for all of the franchise’s past glories, touched centre ice with the flame and the deal was done. A new era was underway.

Bell Centre in Montreal. (cr: alexcaban@Wikimedia)

But something was lost. The ghosts of the old Forum apparently couldn’t find their way down Ste. Catherine St. to their new home. Maybe they couldn’t afford the tickets. But whatever the reason, the experience of attending a Montreal home game changed. The audiences changed. Now opposing teams actually like playing in Montreal. They are the ones who get pumped up, instead of being deflated.

Somewhere along the line, Montreal audiences adopted the European soccer anthem “Olé Olé Olé” which is fine. But I say it’s time to give the boot to “Olé Olé Olé” and give it a worthy sendoff. So all together now:

Na Na Na Naa — Na Na Na Naa — Hey Hey Heyyy! GOODBYE!!!!

“Olé Olé Olé” is a soccer chant folks!! Now I know, there are many who like it. It’s fun to sing after goals. But these are people who never had a taste of the winning years. Many of Montreal’s current fans don’t even remember the last cup from ’93.

Though I remember the Lafleur-powered dynasty of the late seventies, the first Stanley Cup championship that I could truly call my own was the ’86 championship, where young upstarts like Patrick Roy, Claude Lemieux and Stéphane Richer combined with a seasoned group of veterans like Mats Naslund, Bobby Smith and Ryan Walter to bring the cup home. It seemed like forever since the Habs had won it all but in reality it was only seven seasons. Man were we spoiled. Today if a team wins two cups in seven years it’s practically a dynasty.

Rightly so, Habs fans were super-excited and after the usual embarrassing riots downtown, Montreal celebrated its championship with a cup parade “along the usual route” with lots of singing. No “Olé Olé Olé” here (wait until the end of this clip as they go to commercial):

As it turns out, I’m not alone in this. After polling my twitter followers this week, I was somewhat surprised by the instant reaction this tweet received, which tells me a lot of folks feel the same way:

#habs fans should lose OLE OLE OLE chant for home games and go back to tried tested and true Na Na Na Na Hey Hey Hey Goodbye !! Yes? No?

— HabsFaninLeafLand (@HabsFanLeafLand) May 28, 2013

The majority of responders agreed that “Olé Olé Olé” should get the boot in favour of the tried, tested and true “Goodbye!” song. Some pointed out that “Olé Olé Olé” is reserved for goals scored by the home side and that “Goodbye!” is for when the game is won; others mentioned that bringing “Goodbye!” back could rattle a few separatist sabres.

@habsfanleafland They are NOT the same chant.Ole is more equivalent to Go Habs Go while Na Na Na is the victory song.

— Ben Kerr (@LastWordBKerr) May 28, 2013

 

@habsfanleafland ole ole ole no. Na na na na yes.

@habsfanleafland ole ole ole no. Na na na na yes.

— petit cake shop (@petitcakeshop) May 28, 2013

 

The fact is, “Go Habs Go!” is the chant that should be used throughout the games, immediately after a goal is scored but even more importantly, as I mentioned earlier, when the team is down and needs a lift. Then, and only when victory is assured, the crowd is to give the losing visiting team the boot with a loud and passionate “Goodbye!” chant.

Is that so hard!?

Follow Ari Grief on Facebook and twitter under code name @HabsFanLeafLand where he will gladly answer all of your tweets, indicate how many times he cried during the writing of this article and where he enjoys ranting, raving, calling out Charles Prévost Linton and drinking imported beer.

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Ari Grief

I'm a goalie -- apparently that says a lot. Writer, producer and bon vivant I'm from Montreal but live in Toronto and write from that perspective on HabsFanInLeafLand.com. Young enough to be hip; old enough to remember where I was when Guy Lafleur scored against the Bruins in the infamous "too many men" game in the '79 playoffs. Can you say that? You can contact Ari Grief on Facebook or on twitter @habsfanleafland

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This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.

Patrick Roy was a rookie goaltender with a killer instinct when he won the Stanley Cup for the Canadiens in 1986.

Patrick Roy is arguably one of the most popular players to have ever suited up for the Montreal Canadiens, joining an elite group of Hall of Fame players like Maurice Richard, Jacques Plante, and Guy Lafleur, all who possessed the unique combination of superstar hockey talent, consistency and French-Canadian charm.

Roy’s passion for the game, his passion for winning and his ability to rise to the occasion when his team needed it almost single-handedly allowed the franchise to hoist two more cup banners to the rafters (1986 & 1993) during his playing time in Montreal.

So when Roy’s name was in the mix for the head coaching position with the Habs this time last year, many hoped he would get the job. I wasn’t one of them. Not because I don’t love and admire what he’s accomplished for the Canadiens. Actually, it’s these very reasons why I didn’t want to see him just yet coach the Habs. Does his legendary status and eight years in the QMJHL as Head Coach of the Quebec Remparts, winning the Memorial Cup in 2006 — make him worthy of the job right now?

Legendary Head Coaches

The Montreal Canadiens have had 27 Head Coaches in its illustrious history including coaching legends Dick Irvin Sr., Toe Blake and Scotty Bowman. Many of them had NHL experience coming into the position. Others did not. Toe Blake for instance was an all-star forward for the Canadiens centering the famous “Punch Line” with Elmer Lach and Maurice Richard before moving behind the bench in 1955. He then led the Canadiens through their first true dynasty when the team won a record five straight Stanley Cups (1956-1960). In total Toe Blake coached the Canadiens to 8 Stanley Cups in 13 years.

Not bad. Let’s see Dan Bylsma do that.

Scotty Bowman, considered the be the best NHL coach of all-time – at least in the modern era – was still finding his way in the NHL as a Head Coach when he was hired by Canadiens GM Sam Pollack in 1971. Though he was probably the talk of the league. Stepping behind the bench of the expansion St. Louis Blues in 1967, he helmed the team to three cup finals in a row.

Not too shabby. Of course the Blues lost each time. And what you’re thinking is right. That moment captured in time with Bobby Orr flying through the air after scoring in OT on St. Louis Blues’ goalie Glenn Hall to win the Stanley Cup in 1970, Scotty Bowman saw it all unfold in front of him as Blues Head Coach:

It’s okay. Bowman would get his revenge on the Bruins, and then some. He’d win a record total of 9 Stanley Cups as Head Coach.

Michel Therrien, who was eventually hired by GM Marc Bergevin last year in his second go-around with the team, hasn’t won any. No matter.

Or does it!? I think it safe to say that even the naysayers can admit that Michel Therrien did a terrific job this year behind the Canadiens’ bench with his newly installed staff. But with the announcement this week that Patrick Roy would become the next Head Coach and VP of hockey operations for the Colorado Avalanche, I’m sure it left many thinking what could have been with St. Patrick behind Montreal’s bench.

It would surely be entertaining.

Patrick Roy is a winner. He has the fire burning inside of him, that competitive edge that makes winners well… winners. But was he right for the Canadiens at this point in their history?

I don’t believe so.

Experience is Important in Today’s NHL

Somehow the Canadiens became the league’s testing ground for Head Coaches. Sure the Habs once had success with Jean Perron who seemingly came out of nowhere to lead the Habs to a championship in 1986; or with Pat Burns, who also took the team to the finals in 1989. Both were rookie NHL coaches.

But since their last cup triumph in 1993 under the careful, wise and experienced coaching of Jacques Demers, the Canadiens went on a run of hiring coaches with absolutely no NHL coaching experience. Starting with Mario Tremblay in 1995, the torch was handed to Alain Vigneault, Michel Therrien in his first go-around, Claude Julien, Bob Gainey (who replaced Julien), and finally Guy Carbonneau.

Pat Burns took the Canadiens to the cup finals as a rookie head coach in 1989; and that experience would help him to eventually win the cup with the New Jersey Devils in 2003.

Guy Carbonneau was one of my favourite players with the Canadiens and the one thing I regretted when he was hired by Gainey to coach the Canadiens was that he would eventually be fired. It’s tough. I loved Mario Tremblay as the fiery player that he was, but hated him as Canadiens Head Coach, and now love him again as RDS hockey analyst.

Tremblay would eventually go on to a solid career as an assistant coach with Jacques Lemaire. We all know what Vigneault went on to do with the Vancouver Canucks. Therrien honed his skills with Sidney Crosby and Evgeni Malkin taking the Pittsburgh Penguins to the cup finals in 2008. Julien bounced around before landing in Boston where he led that squad to their first cup in almost forty years in 2011.

All of these men made their first steps as NHL head coaches with the Canadiens, but I would prefer to see our rich hockey talent go get their experience with other teams before returning to Montreal. That’s why I approved of the hiring of Jacques Martin. Here was an experienced coach with a lot of games – and wins – under his belt. It didn’t lead to a championship, but he did a good job and it’s arguable he was the victim of poor managerial decisions.

It’s also why I was happy for Guy Boucher when he was hired to lead the Tampa Bay Lightning. Let him go get his coaching chops with them; then he can come to the Canadiens some day a much better coach than he was a few years back. That’s exactly what happened with Michel Therrien. He’s better now.

And that’s what’s going to happen with Patrick Roy. He might do well with Colorado and I hope he does. But the reality remains: one day he will be fired from the Avalanche. And when that happens, his time will come to return to the bleu-blanc-et rouge as an experienced NHL coach.

Author information

Ari Grief

I'm a goalie -- apparently that says a lot. Writer, producer and bon vivant I'm from Montreal but live in Toronto and write from that perspective on HabsFanInLeafLand.com. Young enough to be hip; old enough to remember where I was when Guy Lafleur scored against the Bruins in the infamous "too many men" game in the '79 playoffs. Can you say that? You can contact Ari Grief on Facebook or on twitter @habsfanleafland

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This article was originally published at: The Hockey Writers.