Not necessarily saying it shouldnt have been (well, actually I am), but does he really belong with the Rocket, Lafleur?.....Beliveau...Doug Harvey?
Does anyone really belong alongside those men? Pretty noble aspirations, I'll admit, but yeah, he deserves to have his sweater hoisted.
He was a ponderous defenceman who had a frightful bit of injuries after a great start that may have robbed him of much more than 1 second all star team selection. But so what?
When dealing with any sports legend, oversoming serious injuries is usually part of the myth. Savard did that and performed among the best in the game after coming back. Poderous? I dunno, if you're referring to a supposed lack of speed, it was the same criticism that came Harvey's way. Do not remember any other defenceman having a phrase coined about any of their manuevers, be it by Danny Gallivan or any other commentator. He did ponder, however and was one of the smartest guys on the ice in most games, also like Doug Harvey. In terms of losing out on All-Star mentions, I think it was more a matter of offencemen attracting the attention of fans and voters, as has been historical practice.
He was a member of the Big Three? Yes, the worst one. And the others havent had their numbers retired and it appears Lapointe will be overlooked.
They were known as The Big Three for a reason. If Savard didn't deserve to be mentioned in the same breath as Robinson and Lapointe, they would have been referred to as The Big Two, Dominating Duo or some other moniker would have been stuck to them. That Robinson and Lapointe were able to put up such impressive offensive numbers was largely a function of them knowing that they could join the attack since Savard covered a lot of ground behind them, should things go awry. Doesn't seem fair to blame Savard for any lack or delay of honours to Lapointe.
In his prime, he was consistently behind Lapointe in the Norris votes and all star team votes. And if you watched, there was a good reason Lapointe was considered just behind Orr and Park and then Larry was up there with Potvin and Salming. Savard - great but not a superstar.
A restatement, on a wider scale, of the criticism you had about Savard being as significant as #19 or the #5 that hasn't yet been recognized. Once again you list an impressive array of offencemen, each and every one of them effective in their own end but more renowned for their eploits at the other end of the ice. There are still a few folks around who can appreciate the role of the guys who is there to stop opponents rather than score on them. Takes you away from your initial topic of discussion, which dealt with the Habs, not the NHL. Can not foresee any movement within the Montreal organization to retire sweaters from other teams.
He was also booed heavily near the end of his habs stint.
Which, if I'm not mistaken, puts him right up there alongside Morenz, Richard, Harvey, Beliveau, Geoffrion, Lafleur and many many more. By this reasoning, there shouldn't be any individual banners hanging from the rafters.
As Bring Back Doniar-Bucky likes to point out there was a nasty bit with the cops recently too.
It seems that the person to whom this opinion is attributed and their supposed frequent propagation of it is not accurate, the person credited with it denying the veracity in no uncertain terms.
I smell politics. 1 English 1 French like last year? Maybe old friend Gainey pulling strings?
Everything is political in Quebec. That being said I find it interesting that you would suggest that Mr. Gainey,who has never sought political office and is regarded as one of the game's most solid citizens, would lower himself to the point of favoring one ex-teammate over another, actually lobbying on his behalf.
In any case..... a travesty that a sublime human like Dryden had to share the spotlight
Never having met Mr. Dryden I can not comment from personal experience as to his character but I do seem to remember a young goaltender who walked out on a signed, valid contract when the team wouldn't grant his wish and renegotiate his salary upwards. His name ecapes me at the moment but I have always felt that the honourable thing to do, particularly for someone with a law degree in his hand, would have been to suck it up, play out the contract and then ask for more money the next time around.
I'm pretty sure there are a number of folks around the Leafs organization who do not share your glowing assessment of Mr. Dryden's moral worth.
Probably too ponderous a post to be entertaining but I felt that at least once, your merited the courtesy of a somewhat coherent reply.
