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Post by franko on Sept 5, 2007 19:36:33 GMT -5
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Post by Skilly on Sept 5, 2007 21:34:43 GMT -5
So when they say darkest days ...they mean trades or missed opportunties?
I was expecting to see the death of Howie Morenz on the list ... can't get much "darker" than that. I never liked the three amigos (Damien Cox, Steve Simmons, and Michael Farber ...dont get me start on that yahoo Hodge either). They never stray far from the immediate past and always state the obvious.
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Post by habmeister on Sept 6, 2007 0:49:45 GMT -5
i cried the day they traded roy. i knew the chances of a cup every spring were going to be gone for a long time. i believe and hope that carey price will make us forget about that terrible terrible day.
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Post by CentreHice on Sept 6, 2007 2:20:34 GMT -5
Death/injuries aside.....the whole Roy event was truly dark.
You gotta know that Tremblay had it in for him....I mean, who leaves their goalie in for all those goals on home ice...on HNIC no less?
There must have been a feud going on which came to a head that night.
Yeah, Roy has a big ego....but he won 2 Conn Smythes in leading us to two unexpected Stanley Cups.
Totally mishandled by Tremblay, Houle, and Corey.
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Post by Doc Holliday on Sept 6, 2007 6:38:48 GMT -5
My own 5 darkest days were in order:
1- The Roy trade
2- The missed opportunity to draft Esposito
3- The Turgeon trade
4- The Ribeiro trade
5- The firing of Savard/Demers
Those are the decisions/events that I remember being the most angry/disapointed with.
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 6, 2007 9:29:53 GMT -5
Son of a gun ... good find, Franko. Here's my five darkest days in franchise history:
#1. Montreal Stanley Cup riots of '93.
This gave our fan base a huge black eye other fans around the league and it hasn't gone away yet. No excuses for this whatsoever. As one Montreal citizen said on TSN, "... why don't they call in the army? They knew this was going to happen."
#2. Guy Lafleur forced into retirement
They tried to say this was Guy's decision but as time went on everyone found out this was bogus. Yet, when he came back with the Rangers, the smile was back on his face and bounce was back in his step. Later, I saw t'Guy play against the Habs as a member of the Nordiques. Every time he touched the puck the entire building echoed, "GUY GUY GUY!!" Still gives me goosebumps as I write this out.
#3. The Richard Riot
Granted, I wasn't even born back then, but it has since been proven that it was a Campbell-led conspiracy that decided Richard's suspension. The Habs were simply too strong with Richard in the lineup and the league couldn't handle that.
#4. The LeClair trade
The main player going to Philadelphia was Eric Desjardins. Yet, he was a general on our blueline; our best defenceman. While Mark Recchi was an excellent hockey player, Eric Lindros credits LeClair with saving his career. Unfortunately, Habs-killer-number-1, turned out to be the object of Serge Savard's trade talks several times before Big John was moved.
#5. The hiring/firing of Rejean Houle and Mario Tremblay
Ronald Corey took a gamble by hiring Houle, Tremblay and Cournoyer, and it failed miserably. Yet, another image that remains with me is a Gazette photo of Houle sitting in the stands after his acceptance press conference. His eyes were closed, elbows on his knees and his hands cupped around his nose and mouth ... the stress had only begun.
Granted they deserved to be fired, but the humiliation to which both were subjected stays with me today. It seems to be the Montreal way but there's simply no excuse for that.
Cheers.
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Post by Boston_Habs on Sept 11, 2007 11:53:30 GMT -5
You know as horrible as it was, I don't put the Roy trade up there among the darkest moments. The circumstances were ridiculous but I was never against the idea of trading Patrick Roy. Besides, there were far more damaging trades than that as I'm not sure we would have been a better team with Patrick Roy and Houle/Tremblay at the helm - they just would have found another way to f^ck it up.
1. Firing of Savard/Demers and hiring of Houle/Tremblay.
Bar none the worst thing that ever happened to this franchise. The ripple effects are still being felt today with a series of bad trades and bad drafts. Really I put Ronald Corey at the head of this disaster who showed spectacularly bad judgement. The Houle regime was a disaster before it even started.
2. Chelios for Savard
As far as I'm concerned this was the most damaging trade in the modern history of the Habs. Chelios was an All Star with a real edge to his game bordering on dirty. We have not had a player like that since then. Great teams are also tough and the 1993 Cup team nothwithstanding, we have not been a tough team since Chelios left town.
3. The Turgeon trade
As crazy as it sounds right around the 1996/97 timeframe we were actually building somewhat of an offensive, go-go squad led by Turgeon, Recchi, Damphousse, Koivu, Rucinsky, Bure, Richer and with grinders like Darcy Tucker, Scott Thornton, Benoit Brunet and Marc Bureau. Turgeon was coming off a 96 point season before being dealt for.... a washed up and always overrated Shayne Corson and Murray Baron von pylon. That was pretty much the end of the story.
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Post by Doc Holliday on Sept 11, 2007 12:28:06 GMT -5
2. Chelios for Savard As far as I'm concerned this was the most damaging trade in the modern history of the Habs. Chelios was an All Star with a real edge to his game bordering on dirty. We have not had a player like that since then. Great teams are also tough and the 1993 Cup team nothwithstanding, we have not been a tough team since Chelios left town. On the surface I somewhat agree with you but the trade of the young, wild and team disturbing Chelios for a cup focused leader like Savard was a decisive move in capturing our very last cup. A heavy price, I'll agree with you. You know as horrible as it was, I don't put the Roy trade up there among the darkest moments. The circumstances were ridiculous but I was never against the idea of trading Patrick Roy. Besides, there were far more damaging trades than that as I'm not sure we would have been a better team with Patrick Roy and Houle/Tremblay at the helm - they just would have found another way to f^ck it up. Roy's days were numbered with or without Houle. Serge Savard had a deal in place for Fiset/Nolan before getting fired. That deal would have brought back a young Owen Nolan and we can only dream about how exciting a Turgeon/Nolan combination would have been in Montreal for years and years. The deal actually marks the end of an era where Montreal always had a league-wide recognized franchise player on its roster. The start of mediocrity which got secured by the Turgeon trade. We traded 2 warships for a bunch of rowboats and that was the end of it. |
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Post by Disgruntled70sHab on Sept 11, 2007 12:39:55 GMT -5
2. Chelios for Savard As far as I'm concerned this was the most damaging trade in the modern history of the Habs. Chelios was an All Star with a real edge to his game bordering on dirty. We have not had a player like that since then. Great teams are also tough and the 1993 Cup team nothwithstanding, we have not been a tough team since Chelios left town. On the surface I somewhat agree with you but the trade of the young, wild and team disturbing Chelios for a cup focused leader like Savard was a decisive move in capturing our very last cup. A heavy price, I'll agree with you. Have to agree with both opinions here. Chelios went on to be a stalwart defender with an excellent NHL career. While Savard was in the twighlight of his career he ended up being one of the most respected guys in the dressing room and on the ice. Case in point; Guy Carbonneau unselfishly called Savard over, stepped out of way and allowed Denis to accept the Cup in his civvies. If there is to be a thread on the "Hab's top-five best moments" this would undoubtedly be on my list. Cheers. |
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Post by CentreHice on Sept 11, 2007 18:27:11 GMT -5
#3. The Richard Riot Granted, I wasn't even born back then, but it has since been proven that it was a Campbell-led conspiracy that decided Richard's suspension. The Habs were simply too strong with Richard in the lineup and the league couldn't handle that. Campbell had it in for Richard since the year before. In 1954, Geoffrion and the Rangers' Ron Stewart got into a stick swinging incident...and were suspended. The Rocket, in an article he wrote for Samedi-Dimanche, called Campbell a dictator. He was told by the league to post a $1000 bond and desist from writing any more articles. The Laycoe incident the next season left the door WIDE OPEN for Campbell. How ironic that Richard publicly defended Geoffrion in his suspension.....as a year later, Geoffrion beat a suspended Richard for the Art Ross on the last day of the season. The fans booed Boom Boom. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Do you guys know that the Habs were a fluke and a suspension away from winning 8 Cups in a row? If I've posted this before....excuse please. 1953: Cup 1954: Game 7 Finals vs. Detroit. OT. The puck was flipped toward the Montreal net. Doug Harvey reached up to knock it down. It glanced off his glove and past Gerry McNeil for the winner. It's reported that the Habs were so disgusted, they skated off without shaking hands. 1955: Richard suspension. Without the Rocket, chances were slim...although they did take it to 7 games....again against the Wings. 1956: Cup 1957: Cup 1958: Cup 1959: Cup 1960: Cup |
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