100 Years Ago Today, Silver Miners Taught The Habs To Play...

Hey, our last big anniversary gave us a cracking result. Maybe we can count on the same luck again. If only we were so lucky as to be playing the team they now ice in Cobalt Ontario...




Anyway, if you're not full of centennial fatigue after a good holiday, then I recommend checking out the Our History entry on the Canadiens first victory on January 5, 1910. It is made more interesting by the newspaper clipping which puts Montreal's victory against the mining town into harsh perspective (Ottawa pummeling the challengers for their Cup).

If you want more newspaper clippings and stories of the days that followed, check Habs Eyes on the Prize, the keepers of the Habs history flame.

Putting History To Bed My Habs Centennial

I had a great weekend.


Not least because I can stop searching through the archives for a while. Not least because it felt like we finally put the unruly child that was the Canadiens Centennial celebrations to bed.


December 4th was excellent

I have to say, watching the Canadiens game last Friday night was certainly the highlight of this whole year of celebration so far. The pre-game skate, the player presentations, Viggo presenting Le Demon Blond in French, Gordie Howe holding up Maurice's #9, the sweater retirements, Patrick Roy's bursting enthusiasm – they couldn't fail to eclipse even the previous high of Patrick Roy night.

The faces
One of the greatest thrills of the evening was to see all the old faces come back to visit. I think we all knew the ubiquitous Richer and Houle as well as all the greats would. But, honestly, did anyone expect to see Brent Gilchrist? Mats Naslund? Seeing those alums back for the first time in ages was brilliant. And to see their wide smiles as they recalled their times playing in front of us all, well that was brilliant too.

The current team
After the pre-game extravaganza, I was resigned that the game on this night would be a secondary attraction. However, in one of the most unexpected turns of events all evening, the current team showed once again, if not for the very first time, that they wanted to continue the tradition of effort, of innovation, of winning at least as long as they wore the sweaters.

Tobalev did the full recap, so I won't o over everything. But might I say that the performances of a few of the players on this night were nothing short of stunning.

We start with Carey Price, who following his discovering that working hard in practice is worthwhile, took a massive step in this game by going beyond solid angle play to simply willing a win from himself and ultimately his teammates. If there was a final lesson for Carey, it was this. Big games will come again and soon, but we can at least allay our fear that all the good work will crumble under the application of heat. Carey won the first true must-win game since the playoffs.

Words escape for the display that Cammalleri left on the ice. His hat trick a stunning display of timing and opportunism – something the Canadiens most recent 50-goal man in the audience must have recognised from the early 1990s. We've seen hat tricks and nights of dominance before, but seldom on such big occasions as this. The fact he didn't take a full night off the night before is certainly an endorsement for the hockey player Bob Gainey managed to sign this summer.

Others made sure to turn up as well – Metropolit looked ready to play 60 minutes, Gomez decided to showcase the passing only he possesses on the team, Marc-Andre Bergeron playing as if he's still playing for ice time (I guess he is), Sergei playing for the team, and more.

I have some experience with big occasions in sport myself. I know there are three types of athletes – those that find energy and inspiration from the bigger stage, those that simply offer what they always offer and those that buckle under the pressure of the whole affair. There's optimism to be taken from this Centennial night: it seems we have more vaulters than bucklers.

Surprises
One of the things that made the experience of watching the event so special for me was being able to watch the game as a naive viewer.

Usually, I might have spent some time surfing various blogs and tracking twitter in the lead up to the game. Thanks to the World Cup draw and a last minute job, I had to forego the last 5 hours of ceaseless conversation about the celebrations. As such, I was positively giddy to spot Patrick Roy leading the Habs out the gate, genuinely surprised to watch M. Bouchard and Mr. Lach step to centre ice with the banners to watch them raised amidst proud tears. Coming into the event naive made it so much more special in the end – a throwback to another time almost.

Tobalev, who watched the whole thing unfolding on RDS and CBC informed me that is was not just so for him and those watching the pre-pre-game. Apparently Fracois Gagnon went for the scoop and gave away the ending – a sweater retirement kept secret from even Elmer Lach himself until Friday am.

The National Post cites 4 pm as the time when rumours began to pour onto the internet about the details of the ceremony which was set to begin a mere 2 hours later.

I understand the internet – heck, I'm a blogger – but the question that comes to mind:

What on earth for?

Why would someone like Francois Gagnon who just learned of a surprise that has been hush hush for months decide to spill the beans minutes before the wonderful surprise. Why did Robert Lefebvre (who I know values a good touching moment in history) set right to writing this article when he heard the news?

My experience was a salient reminder of the power of surprises, of pleasant surprises. It was a reminder that seeing Patrick Roy ("No it isn't it can't be. Quick. Quick come see this...") and the sweater retirements without prior knowledge was better than any rush I could have achieved by being the 47th person to read the tweet. For me it was the most satisfying end to a year of constant speculation, research and looking back. A reminder that I'm still as big a fan as I ever was.


Putting the history bed

Anyway, December 7th, 2009 now. As many have said it is now time to take a break from the history game.

I'll be happy to put the history on the backburner for a while as we turn our focus to real hockey games. But unlike the Jack Todds of the world, I don't think that means we must bury this forever. I think Habs history has had a long day and could use a rest, but this team still has stories for us to discover, still has lessons to offer the fans of today.

I hope we can reawaken the history again after a good solid rest.

Habs Hating: Mocking The Canadiens In Vogue Again

When new items and pieces on the shelf converge. That's what happened this morning in my Google Reader.

Pulled in through the Carey price tag, I got this article from a Boston man, who claims to be a Montrealophile in all but hockey.

It synced very nicely with an idea I've been kicking around for some time about how fans of other teams see us. And how many of them loathe us. And, actually, I came across one of the very best examples of this just the other day on a typical July trawl through NHL searches.


James Murphy – the "laughingstock" file

When it comes to Habs hating and baiting it is unsurprising to start our survey in Boston. Boston and Montreal have a deep-seated hatred of one another's hockey teams – one which I fully subscribe to.

That said, Mr. Murphy is using cheap tricks here. Calling the Canadiens a laughing stock in Boston is not new and it's certainly not news. The Canadiens are a laughing stock in those parts 3 days after an unprecedented comeback in the playoffs against the tilt of the home ice.

And, I suspect if he were only writing for Boston he would have found another story. However, I think James picked up on something of a trend. The trend being that people outside of Boston are becoming more and more keen to read and write themselves about the laughable situation in Montreal. His piece is symptomatic of the trend and not causative, however.


The Cynical Anaesthesiologist and the eloquent – the evolution of distaste

Back in 2007, the Four Habs Fans were drumming up some controversy and interest with back and forth volleys between themselves and rival bloggers. It was good fun. The Habs hate was written up, but in retrospect, a bit ad hoc – not very sophisticated. A lot of the ideas were old and many just misunderstandings. You could almost tell the Blueshirt Bulletin, for example, did not have their hearts behind their disdain.

But you know what, it seems 3 years of endless ceremonies, a winning and losing ride complete with bandwagon couplings and unhitching, a riot for riot's sake and some scandal dusted on top have fed some fuel to the real fire.

More recently, there are people who care enough about hating the Canadiens to sit down and take some time to flesh it out, to express what they mean. And though it might be more convincing if this MD didn't also hate everything else, he still provides a nice vignette of what I mean:

"Every year I live in dread of another Stanley Cup for Montreal (which has happened 12 times in my life). My obsession is deep seated."

It got even better this season with "No Habs No" adding a very humourous and more sophisticated take on hating the Habs in the internet age. It even has its own (very well supported) 6-man Facebok group. For me, however, it all culminated in the brilliant eulogy written to the Canadiens season by the Pension Plan Puppets – experts in seasons like these.

I don't want to dissect arguments or question why people are supporting teams 30 years after their brother told them to, all I wanted to do was show how Habs hating has come a long way. As James Murphy suggests, there are echoes of George W. Bush in this affair. Habs hating is very much in vogue.


Understanding the hatred

I may have trouble pinpointing how this trend I feel around me has come about, I have no trouble understanding how an opposing supporter would hate me or my team. I am interested from a purely academic curiosity as to why it seems to be mounting. I suspect it has a lot to do with us not being a write-off anymore. There's certainly that annoying arrogance we all get tagged with thanks to the amassing of a more connected and active "24 Cup brigade" – they say as much. The seemingly endless 100th anniversary (built up since season 97) is some bait, no doubt.

As I mentioned I really only "hate" one team in this NHL and that is the Bruins. I hate their players, I hate their philosophy to team building. The Leafs have been there too, but nowadays I find it hard to muster the strength to really hate them. Everyone else just fits somewhere else on the spectrum of dislike. Philly somewhere near the head of the list and Edmonton somewhere near the "almost like" extreme.

If you're not hated by other teams fans, your team's doing something wrong

I think that conventional wisdom holds for us here in a big way, and my own targets for negative energy are telling. If people are indifferent towards your team (like they are to the Kings, say, or the Thrashers) then it's because they're not doing enough to be hated. In sports, that means you really do suck.

It's a relief then to think that the Canadiens and us fans are generating more hate nowadays among our rivals. After all, think of the alternative, we could be the Sabres...

Canadiens Wrap Up Their "100th Season" Celebrations

Last night, while the Canadiens players put on a show against a team of NHL novices to a subdued crowd of what might as well have been a few hundred given the excitement; the Canadiens organisation and extended family were busy filling the Bell Centre with the customary roar of applause.



By all accounts, the celebration was great and on a great scale. This blogger expresses his amazement at the sight of so many Habs greats, the thrill of mingling with politicians and mentions how the orchestra played hockey music where they could (such as the HNIC theme, among other tunes).


The Gazette covered the story in its entertainment section, but all proof of its existence on the sports pages or their satellites seems to be missing. It nevertheless gave the impression that this was the show to watch if you wanted to be entertained from 7:30 pm last night:

But again the proof was in the performance, galloping and remarkably clear. Nagano, looking animated, got much more than sheer sound out of the 1,500 singers. As for the solo quartet: two minutes for sounding so good.

The night sounded like an out-and-out success. Certainly from an entertainment and musical standpoint. The night also served as the launch for the MSO foundation, which it self was a smashing success to rival a 5-1 playoff-solidifying romp, as a whopping $2 million was raised!

At the beginning of the year, I remember writing that this would be one of the absolute highlights of the Canadiens celebratory calendar. I remember others saying as much. But I sit here feeling like the only one to remember the big party even happened.

April 2009
2. Montreal Symphony Orchestra Concert at the Bell Centre
Opening of the Montreal Canadiens Hall of Fame

Never mind that "Canadiens Hall of Fame" comes up with virtually no relevant results despite the fact it was meant to open this week. I did manage to find (with some trouble) that it does exist.

Considering all the fanfare that surrounded the initial announcements and the early events like the Builders' night, this decline is surprising. It's clear the ADD media gang moved on long, long ago on this one; but have the Canadiens moved on too? If so, does anyone think they're regretting starting their 100th season celebrations in their 99th season of play? Will anyone be able to muster any excitement by the time the 100th anniversary rolls around 4 years after that first press release?


Have the Canadiens soured on the whole thing at this point?

As I was saying, it seems to me that we are hearing less and less about 100 seasons these past few weeks than we had been for the preceding few hundred weeks (the first press release was 3 1/2 years ago). The players have other things on their minds, as do the coaches and GM (/coach). One has to think the fact the owner and his administrative support also have other things on their minds just now as well.

If the MSO concert had taken place in October with the parade of Cup winners who turned up, this event would surely have made the front page of the Gazette. Probably even the sports pages, and Habs Inside/Out would not have overlooked it altogether.

Even the whole shirt thing has been played down more recently than say in December. Tobalev was right to point out that the Canadiens wore a different shirt than the one they were slated to wear.


According to RDS:
"Le Canadien devait porter son uniforme dit de "barbier" de la saison 1912-1913. Bob Gainey a estimé que ce costume n'était pas approprié pour un match aussi important. Il s'est tourné vers l'uniforme plus sobre de la saison 1915-1916."


Don't blame the barber shirt

While we're all a bit fatigued by the centennial celebrations, I imagine. One can't really take it all out on the barber shirt can they? I mean, we saw it for all of 3 hours (except for that guy in the low bowl of the Bell Centre every game...). Even it's record isn't dismal enough to be blamed for the slide:

1970-71: 2-0-0, 8 GF, 4 GA
1945-46: 0-2-0, 2 GF, 5 GA
1915-16: 2-1-0, 12 GF, 8 GA
1912-13: 0-1-0, 1 GF, 3 GA

If you remember, that game was a tight 3-1 affair against the Bruins. We lost, but it also happened to be our best game over the span of a month. You could be forgiven for blaming the 45-46 vintage, which certainly didn't help anyone emulate the Punch line.

If you want something to blame, blame the whites that seem to bring the road play home:

White sweaters (Present day, 1970-71, 1945-46): 18-21-3
Red sweaters (Present day, 1915-16): 22-5-7



Alas, I'm sure Bob Gainey would put an end to the white sweaters and, more importantly, the road games if he could. Instead, he seems to have taken a look and don't what he could by putting a lid on the celebrations for the rest of the season, not just the fancy dress show. He seems to have realised that this team exists for the fans that watched a certain game in Long Island and not really those who went to meet Damphousse and Quintal after they trotted out to the strings of Beethoven.



Perhaps he was tired of giving the visitors one more reason to want to spoil the party. Or, maybe he realised that like the team did over this hockey season, this 100th season needs a rest, a talking too and a reboot before the big push:

2009-2010 SEASON

October, November, December 2009
Centennial Jersey Nights (1910 – 1911, 1909 – 1910)

December 2009
Public launch of the Canadiens motion picture « Pour toujours, les Canadiens ! »

4. Centennial game at the Bell Centre
5. Centennial Gala

I appreciate the pageantry when I see it, but I certainly don't mind waiting if Gainey thinks that might mean some more games against Boston or Washington...

One Of These Things Does Not Belong Here

Speaking of omens:


Since when did wearing retro uniforms invove wearing arch-rivals uniforms?

Not a good way to start a month for the superstitious amongst (what day is it?).

The 1912 Canadiens never wore a blue helmet with a white maple leaf on it. I hope we never have to again...

Koivu Can't Buy A WingerEven TSN All-Time Habs Effort Begrudges Him A Scorer

It must be a great honour to make TSN's all-time Habs team. Kind of like making this year's all-star starting lineup.

You start to feel really proud of yourself and your career and then you look over and see Mike Komisarek beside you. It doesn't bear reason.


If you want to look at the piece (which is sure to generate more traffic for their website than had they done a serious attempt) click here. The pathetic reasoning for their choices is here. Their choices here are akin to responding Farhan Lalji when asked who the best hockey media person of all time would be – short on work, long on ignorance.

They threw all their effort into being able to write this (to hook people in):

"What, no Guy Lafleur?"

"Where's Patrick Roy?"

TSN staff watch too much Toronto hockey

Two top right wingers – impossible. 6 defencemen that can play with the puck – never been seen. A second goalie who can step in and win some games when the other gets injured – why bother?


Even their attempts to choose reliable, unspectacular players are silly. Top of that list is Mike Komisarek who can't hold a candle to Eric Desjardins, let alone Tom Johnson or Emile Bouchard. And adding the late John Ferguson would have been fine on the fourth line, but line 2. We know you liked his son, but come on – where's Aurel Joliat.


Koivu gets honoured then stiffed

It's a stretch to put Saku Koivu in as the number two centre of all time for the Habs, especially with Morenz and Lach not even scoring a place at all. But then to give him Ferguson on the left and Rousseau on the right is nothing more than a reminder of his last 8 years on the team – toiling with what he's given.

Had a Hab fan made the team (and kept Koivu), we would have at the very least endowed him with Toe Blake and Bernie Geoffrion, if not Lafleur and Joliat.


Third and fourth lines to shut down their better-thought out all time Leafs

Since when does an all-time team need 2 lines to kill time and penalties. Most decent GMs in the league now know that this strategy is for incompetents who haven't bothered to stock their minor league system for the past 9 drafts (hence, Toronto's initial instinct). I'm scrapping the "energy" line and putting in forwards that played with energy and skill (believe it or not, it's possible). Put Lemaire in there with Riseborough and Lambert for all I care, at least we'd be using some of the assets TSN left on the bench.


All purpose D for me

No disrespect to Mike Komisarek, but he isn't even one of the top three D on the team now. In fact, in domes at LIW he's still in 5th (even without injury, he's been far worse than the top three). I understand that the staff have to watch their own channel and thus only see what passes for hockey in Toronto. But one must cast an eye beyond blocked shots and hits – especially when those actions haven't been helping the team with defending the net by and large.

The Canadiens haven't been as well endowed with defencemen as forwards but I'd still put together this group and pick the pairings later:

Harvey, Robinson, Savard, Bouchard, Chelios and Johnson


If you want a better idea of the top team, have a look at this from a while back.


I rarely read TSN. It takes something really extraordinary for me to bother commenting on something those guys say. So I guess their mission is accomplished. I'll be watching this story with intent, but after that? Maybe a hiatus from their general shoddiness?

Even so, their tactics are interesting – I think I'll talk to Tobalev at getting Racine, Dirk, Traverse and Laflamme back in the figuring for our top 100...

99 Years Ago TodayMontreal Gives Birth To A New Hockey Team

It was 99 years ago today (or maybe yesterday, or the day before – it was a long meeting) that the Montreal Canadiens were born to take part in the brand new NHA. It all happened in the Windsor Hotel (which you may all think of as the building which now houses Le Piment Rouge restaurant on Peel):

During a meeting of the National Hockey Association (NHA), held in Room 129 of the Windsor Hotel, the Canadiens are founded by J. Ambrose O'Brien, a sportsman from Ottawa, with financial support from another magnate of the time, T.C. Hare. The latter providing the $1,000 required for the formation of a team as well as the $5,000 to guarantee the players' salaries. Mr. O'Brien delegates the task of forming and managing this new, largely francophone team, to Jack Laviolette.
– Habsworld.net

Hence begins the 100th year of the Montreal Canadiens existence – the Jubilee Year. Now all the stories of 100 Decembers or Februarys are actually accurate.

If you want to get a flavour for the team 99 years ago, I urge you all to visit Robert L's site and find his retrospectives on the teams of yore (this is a link for 1909-10).


The game
Somewhat fitting I think that the game will be played against the New York Rangers. The Rangers have been a long-time rival. Their owner came up with the name Habs (allegedly) and they have the biggest draw of any American team – therefore the biggest possible audience pan-North America. Luckily, games with this team have also tended to be exciting recently, which should add to the spectacle.

If you can afford the time (and I know you can because you read blogs...) you will not want to miss the Canadiens game tonight. There will be a ceremony (I'm sure that will be to the usual standard, and fun even if you're ceremonied out). But for me, the particular excitement will be to see which sweater the Canadiens take to the ice with. Given the date and the ties with the very earliest of Canadiens teams, I have a good feeling that the Rangers won't be the Blueshirts in tomorrow's papers...



Inauguration of the Centennial Plaza
The other main excitement will be the unveiling of the plaza. I am excited to see all the statues and stones. Particularly excited, however, about the stone I share with my road hockey crew.


Knowing that I would not buy a stone for myself as my Expos brick lays in ruin, my friends pooled together and got me the stone as part of a wedding present this fall. And prior to the street hockey game that kicked off the bachelor weekend, they presented me with the certificate and the news – so I have been waiting to see what the brick will look like and which moments in Canadiens history it will be near. If there's a sense of our history in the Canadiens organization, the stone will be beside the one commemorating Brain Skrudland's Game 2 OT winner (and series turning point) in 1986:

From the faceoff, McPhee brings it in with Skrudland. HE SCORES!!
—Don Whitman calling Brian Skrudland's overtime goal in game two.

Pre-game ceremony
I expect tonight's game will also be preceded by an on-ice ceremony – which by all accounts is due to begin at 6:30 pm EST. It won't be Patrick Roy night perhaps, but expect to see some old-time Habs in attendance.


Tickets
I'm gonna watch the proceedings from afar this time. But for anyone who wants to be at the heart of the action, there's at least one seat in the Reds going at a decent price to be had for tonight (Craig's list).

Ceremonies On The Rise

I think other teams will dread playing in Montreal even a little bit more this season. From the looks of things, most games will be preceded by a ceremony of some kind.

Yesterday, the Canadiens revealed their plans for the next 15 months leading up to their 100th birthday. By and large, there was nothing unexpected – no outdoor games, no fan participatory events. 90% of goings on will be pre-game material.

Looking at the list of events, the highlights have to be:

1. The MSO concert and opening of the Canadiens Hall of Fame
2. Patrick Roy's sweater retirement
3. The inauguration of the community outdoor rink programme

Beyond those events, I think it will certainly be very special to watch the Canadiens to play in different sweaters here and there and to learn more about the teams that wore those now-defunct editions of the Sainte-Flanelle.

But, in the same vein as my opinion piece on the Victoria Cup participation, I think the Habs have stopped a bit short on their list here. I'll tell you why.

First of all, over the past years, the Canadiens have made ceremony and presentations for just about everything imaginable. Olympians get honoured, I've been at games honouring Jacques Villneuve, Andre Dawson, and even the vilified GM Rejean Houle (after the GM bit, if you can imagine). Even last year, they honoured rivalries like that with the Red Wings. as a result of all this, it is my belief that others (based on my own example) may be desensitized to the merits of the ceremony. Just a thought.

Secondly, fans on TV (where you would find the vast majority) are most often deprived of the chance to see any of the ceremony as it happens and have to catch it in clips on TSN or RDS later. RDS in particular generally seem to prefer the chance to speak for the 80th hour of that week about line combinations, breakfast choices or contrived goalie controversies. So, most fans will not be privy to any of these ceremonies anyway (barring a dramatic change of heart from RDS, that is). Also, take into account that some people must be rushing to eat or clear up dinner (as I do) and will miss it even if it is shown.

Basically, my opinion is that the team should unveil another series of events that foster public (or at least fans at large) involvement, even participation. The Victoria Cup may not be participatory, but it would give the fans a thrill (at least one of us, anyway) to have another meaningful prize to shoot for. Other possibilities off the top of my head could be things like:

• A testimonial game (former and Canadiens) but at a large outdoor venue – a bit like the Heritage Classic
• A tour of small towns for next exhibition schedule – maybe the prominent hometowns of former greats (Thurso, anyone?)
• Something special against the Ottawa Senators, who it could be argued have the oldest name in the history of the NHA/NHL
  
• Games against thee top teams from the original opponents from 1909 (Montreal B and C teams?, Ottawa, Renfrew, Cobalt, Halleybury)
• Dedicate a new trophy for something like the best amateur team in Montreal or Quebec – it could be a tournament or a challenge Cup
• Plaques for important sites (Provigo on Mont-Royal?)

I could go on. Basically, my reaction here should not be construed as negative. I merely expected to be surprised by some of the events being announced. Quite simply, I wasn't.

I think particularly that the Habs should be honouring the earliest seasons of their history, which many fans (including myself up until I started writing more seriously) know nothing about. Honouring the original six is interesting and fine. But let's be honest, it has been done. What's more, though we know why the Canadiens loved the Original 6 era (Cups galore), it's strange to keep focusing again and again on an era that constitutes less than a third of a team's total history – I mean the Penguins have been in the league more than 40 years now guys...

Not to fret though, there's still plenty of time to surprise us all – I expect they will somehow. And if there's one thing the Canadiens have shown a penchant for, it is creating the most meaningful moments and ceremonies with no lead time – I'm thinking particularly of the reception they afforded Saku Koivu upon his return.

Big Big News

This would be big news for the hockey fans of Montreal.

100 years after the inception of the NHA (now NHL), the Canadiens will play to the biggest indoor audience in hockey history. According to CKAC Sports, the Habs will play a game in front of 70,000-plus at Stade Olympique next December 4, 2009, exactly one-hundred years after the team was founded by J. Ambrose O'Brien as charter members of the National Hockey Association.

This is big news, as the Olympic Stdium will rock on this occasion. With the echos in there louder than any arena I've been to (We once made a pitcher throw 4 straight balls...), the opposing goalie won't stand a chance.

Nice, I think that the will honour the actual 100th birthday of the team name. Nice that they will be closer to the rink where they played their first game in January 1910.

The only question remaining is, what will they do when they sell out and win by the biggest margin in team history? Oh, and when and where will the snow fall through the roof?