20 years ago...

[Lshap]

Looking back, it was a necessary evil.

Remember how only ex-Habs were suitable candidates to act in management roles in the eyes of ownership? We needed to sink to the bottom to realize that just cause someone never wore the uniform, they could still have the Habs best interests at heart and yes, they could even be hired on account of just being a talented, smart, hard-working, up-and-coming management-type like Bergevin was at the time of he joined the Habs.

The biggest mistake the Habs never recovered from was not letting Scotty Bowman run the show and let him be the GM instead of Irving Grundman who had no direct experience. It took the team decades to recover. But, that's just hindsight, it's always perfect in retrospect.

Most of the dumb decisions can be rationalized by some mitigating factors, but I'll never get how they let Scotty Bowman slip away. I mean, he'd already proven himself among the greatest hockey minds ever. I've never really heard an explanation that made sense. Can you imagine the Habs with Bowman as the GM? The guy has done nothing but win with every frikkin team he's been with.

And continuing eyesores.

The guy in my family who became a Bruin fan, that I was mentioning in my post upstream, saw him this past weekend. He was sporting a Bruin t-shirt. And to make matters worse, his daughter was wearing Bruin apparel and mentioned to me that she was buying Booin souvenirs for her dad, for Christmas. Ugh, damn you Mario Tremblay.

Man, that's hilarious! A second-generation grudge. He couldn't have been much of a fan if his loyalty hinged upon a single incident involving a single player.

 

[japhi]

Roy was at least partially responsible for this whole mess. Tremblay clearly didn't know what he was doing either... It's a terrible combination.

Anyways, a strong GM would've stepped in and fixed this situation. But Houle was in over his head. Nobody was steering the ship and that's why things ended the way they did. But I find it very hard to forgive Roy for this whole mess. He should've handled things much differently. I remember this night pretty well. Sitting around watching the game with the guys and it just got uglier and uglier... then absolute shock when we found out that Roy demanded the trade. Again, a seasoned GM would've patched things up but... Ronald Corey probably didn't help much either.

This. Agree completely, can't add anything more you nailed it.

 

[Runner77]

Man, that's hilarious! A second-generation grudge. He couldn't have been much of a fan if his loyalty hinged upon a single incident involving a single player.

Surprisingly, he was. Roy was his favorite player and could not tolerate any unfairness toward his hero. I guess there other fans like him, where that one player makes a world of a difference. I know it wouldn't happen to me, but we're all different.

 

[deandebean]

He couldn't break Roy. He couldn't change him. He didn't have to.

Roy's personnality, even controversial, made him become one of the greatest goaltenders. You just have to accept it, let him do his job and not try to be the alpha with him. He was the worst player to pick on. Like I said, recipe for disaster.

A good coach, a good personel manager, meets one on one with his vets first and foremost. First thing that Tremblay should have done after being hired is meet with Patrick, who was the king of the hill. Go eat dinner. Just talk things, show Pat what your plan is, and tell him that you need him on your side.

Jacques Demers had a lot of faults, but one thing he had in droves was comprehension of the human being. He knew Patrick had a big ego, the biggest. He also knew that a Patrick with a great mindset is an invincible Patrick. He took care of him, made him feel like the king of the hill. Patrick won him a Cup. Demers understood IT.

Tremblay never did. Never will. It's just not him. Look at the way he reacted with the cops, after being stopped while under the influence.

Yes, Patrick had a big ego. So what. He's your bread and butter. Treat him like he's an intricate part of your success. Not as a paria. Patrick wanted to be liked by Tremblay. He said so himself in that book. He never got that until he went to Colorado, where his GM treated him like Demers did. Rest is history.

That's how you treat human beings.

 

[Brainiac]

A good coach, a good personel manager, meets one on one with his vets first and foremost. First thing that Tremblay should have done after being hired is meet with Patrick, who was the king of the hill. Go eat dinner. Just talk things, show Pat what your plan is, and tell him that you need him on your side.

Jacques Demers had a lot of faults, but one thing he had in droves was comprehension of the human being. He knew Patrick had a big ego, the biggest. He also knew that a Patrick with a great mindset is an invincible Patrick. He took care of him, made him feel like the king of the hill. Patrick won him a Cup. Demers understood IT.

Tremblay never did. Never will. It's just not him. Look at the way he reacted with the cops, after being stopped while under the influence.

Yes, Patrick had a big ego. So what. He's your bread and butter. Treat him like he's an intricate part of your success. Not as a paria. Patrick wanted to be liked by Tremblay. He said so himself in that book. He never got that until he went to Colorado, where his GM treated him like Demers did. Rest is history.

That's how you treat human beings.

Agreed. Demers knew how to get the most out of his guys. Tremblay just came in and decided he should be the alpha male.

Today, we've got Therrien and I'm not sure how he is, to be honest. Some days it looks like he's just a great motivator, but then he goes and screw up the lines and bench management big time.

 

[Runner77]

They had a clip of Mario Tremblay on AC this evening where he was giving his version on the incident. He claims that Roy had gotten under his skin by making fun of the way Tremblay spoke English. After so many years of seeing the incident rehashed on anniversaries, I had never heard it mentioned.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

Therrien has changed a lot since his junior days.

Back then, he was a real bully.

If you want to survive in the NHL today, you can't work like that anymore.

 

[SergeConstantin74]

They had a clip of Mario Tremblay on AC this evening where he was giving his version on the incident. He claims that Roy had gotten under his skin by making fun of the way Tremblay spoke English. After so many years of seeing the incident rehashed on anniversaries, I had never heard it mentioned.

Go the the pages of Roy's book I posted on page 2 of this thread (post #35).

 

[Runner77]

Go the the pages of Roy's book I posted on page 2 of this thread (post #35).

Just saw it, thanks.

 

[CapSpace]

**** Tremblay, **** Houle and **** Corey. Damn I just can't think about that again.

 

[Redux91]

lol worst day ever... i was 9 years old and lost his idol..

 

[Runner77]

Scotty Bowman was PO'd when he heard the Nords/Avs got Roy... he then hit the roof when he heard Keane was an add-on.

"The worst part was why did they have to add Keane as well? Inexperience showed on Montreal part, they should have stayed patient."

Yeah that confirms what I think basically.

Was Keane laughing out loud ? No, he had the good sense to hold it in.

No question that Tremblay and Houle were the wrong men for the job, but Roy to me is the biggest culprit. He didn't have to do any of what he did.

As per the text from the bio excerpt, Keane may have been holding it in but was still obvious. Since it was clear that he had partaken in ridiculing Tremblay, Keane also had to go.

Unfortunately, they moved too quickly and had incompetent people at the helm, making a reasonable return impossible.

 

[Hackett]

You have to wonder what was going through thibault's mind as well. Here's a 20 year old kid thrust straight into the fire in the most demanding market, trying to replace one of the most legendary goaltenders ever.

Yeesh, you begin to wonder how his career may have turned out different if he had a different route.

When I watched thibault, I thought he was talented, and that he even had some good stretches, but he just couldn't grab the reigns completely.

But hey, I was just a kid back then. I think we all see players differently in our childhood.

 

[Deluded Puck]

Roy was in the process of of raising a big middle finger at everyone who doubted him, but look who is standing up for his goalie at 3:32...

 

[SergeConstantin74]

As per the text from the bio excerpt, Keane may have been holding it in but was still obvious. Since it was clear that he had partaken in ridiculing Tremblay, Keane also had to go.

Unfortunately, they moved too quickly and had incompetent people at the helm, making a reasonable return impossible.

Keane didn't have a good season either with only 7 assists in 20 games or so.

 

[MasterDecoy]

Roy was in the process of of raising a big middle finger at everyone who doubted him, but look who is standing up for his goalie at 3:32...

China blocks YouTube, mind telling who is standing up please?

 

[Deluded Puck]

Our current GM.

 

[Sterling Archer]

Truly the Habs darkest day.

Taken 20 years to recover from the cluster***** of a deal.

Just as terrible then as it is now to terrible to rekindle that memory.

 

[Habs 4 Life]

What still get's to me is that with all of the young stars the Avs had back then, that's all we came out with. I mean the Avs new that with Roy they were over the top, Houle should have played his cards better and tell Lacroix it's this or I'm trading him to Detroit ....

I think Roy had this planned all along, the moment Tremblay was hired he wanted out. Don't think they got along at all

 

[Sterling Archer]

What still get's to me is that with all of the young stars the Avs had back then, that's all we came out with. I mean the Avs new that with Roy they were over the top, Houle should have played his cards better and tell Lacroix it's this or I'm trading him to Detroit ....

I think Roy had this planned all along, the moment Tremblay was hired he wanted out. Don't think they got along at all

Wasn't it Mike Vernon who said he had a talk with Roy after he got traded from Calgary and how happy he was in a less crazy hockey market and the rumour/conjecture was Roy wanted out and used that game as an excuse to get his way.

Even if true, doesn't excuse the garbage we got in exchange. Should have landed at least ONE of their young/star players.

 

[Jay Wolf]

Since the incident, I liked neither Roy nor Tremblay. I find them both to be egotistical sh**heads. The difference at the time was Roy had the right to be an egotistical sh**head - he was the star player with 2 cups unDer his belt. Tremblay should've done a better job of keeping his team together. Well, what do you expect when you put a novice coach with an axe to grind behind the bench?

To add insult to injury, Houle, who was completely lost at his job as well, made one of the worst trades ever. A decade-defining debacle to end all.

Glad that whole mess is done with...

 

[groovejuice]

Sergeant Pepper taught the band to play?

 

[Price is Wright]

Wasn't it Mike Vernon who said he had a talk with Roy after he got traded from Calgary and how happy he was in a less crazy hockey market and the rumour/conjecture was Roy wanted out and used that game as an excuse to get his way.

Even if true, doesn't excuse the garbage we got in exchange. Should have landed at least ONE of their young/star players.

Mike Vernon claimed that. Nothing in history supports it.

 

[DenverHabsFan]

What still get's to me is that with all of the young stars the Avs had back then, that's all we came out with. I mean the Avs new that with Roy they were over the top, Houle should have played his cards better and tell Lacroix it's this or I'm trading him to Detroit ....

I think Roy had this planned all along, the moment Tremblay was hired he wanted out. Don't think they got along at all

This!

My lasting impression was that Houle could only deal with Lacroix because he couldn't speak english or something dumb like that. Why else would you not raise the stakes and talk to their most hated rivals in Detroit? Or if he really wanted to dump him, why not some struggling team outside your conference?

That trade was not only the worst because of the returned assets but it was awful in terms of optics. Why would you send him to a contender and former super rival and watch him enjoy tremendous success?

At the time, I think a lot of fans didn't realize how that event would derail the franchise for decades. Lots of fans I knew thought it was time for Roy to move on. One of the reasons in my mind was that Roy wasn't all that great during the season. His numbers were average and he often looked like his best years were behind him so it was easy to forget his playoff performances.

I think he was ready to move away from all the pressure and I always suspected his reaction was staged because he wanted a fresh start. I'm not saying he planned it that way but maybe he had a vision that if he were to be humiliated one more time, he would ask for a trade. Tremblay gave him the perfect opportunity to leave without having to leave his fans.

 

[FrankMTL]

It was such a horrible trade. The only decent player we got out of it was Martin Rucinsky who did have 297 points in 432 games with us.

He actually played up until last year (44 years old) and had 54 points in 51 games in the Czech league. I want to know what these Czech players eat and drink to be able to play competitive hockey well their 40's