Guy Carbonneau 92-93 season

[cujo1117]

Before that year Carbonneau was always a 45 to 55 points player. Just had a quick look of the 93 stanley cup roster and was astonished of the season that guy had... 61 games and only 17 points for the captain. Was he ripped by the media for his play that season? I was not born yet so somebody could give his opinion of what happen and how he was perceived for that year ?

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[Patty Roy]

If memory serves me correctly that was the first season where he really went from being a 3rd line C to our 4th line C. Again a bit sketchy on this but from what i remember the lines, and especially during the post-season that year were basically:

LeClair-Muller-Bellows
Damphousse-Lebeau-Keane
Dionne-DiPietro-Savard/Leeman
Brunet-Carbonneau-Ronan

Note that that season was really Denis Savard's big slide year as he went from top 2 lines to 3rd line and ultimately a 4th liner in the playoffs before getting hurt.

As much as Paul DiPietro and Gilbert Dionne never really ended up amounting to much both were excellent in the 92-93 playoffs!

I don't really remember the media ripping on Carbo so much that year but it was a year later when he flipped off someone in the media while golfing and was subsequently traded.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Before that year Carbonneau was always a 45 to 55 points player. Just had a quick look of the 93 stanley cup roster and was astonished of the season that guy had... 61 games and only 17 points for the captain. Was he ripped by the media for his play that season? I was not born yet so somebody could give his opinion of what happen and how he was perceived for that year ?

The emergence of Lebeau relegated Carbo to 3-4 instead of 2-3.

They already had Muller and Savard on top of having Carbo and then Lebeau.

Damphousse could also play center despite playing on the wing.

 

[JuJu Mobb]

Lebeau was playing C instead of Damphousse?

I've always thought Lebeau was a winger...

 

[LaP]

Lebeau was playing C instead of Damphousse?

I've always thought Lebeau was a winger...

No Damphousse was playing on the wing in 92-93.

 

[hotcarle]

The emergence of Lebeau relegated Carbo to 3-4 instead of 2-3.

They already had Muller and Savard on top of having Carbo and then Lebeau.

Damphousse could also play center despite playing on the wing.

This made me think about how lebeau had such a short career . He had an upward trajectory, scored 80 pts, won the cup, was traded the next year, and out of the league soon after.

Then there was his brother Patrick. Late pick, put up big numbers in Q and A. Gets a call up and does well. Never heard of him again. I still have his rookie card.

 

[Patty Roy]

Lebeau was playing C instead of Damphousse?

I've always thought Lebeau was a winger...

Yes...Damphousse didn't start playing C until the 1995-96 season, which also happened to feature by far the best group of Centers the Habs have had in my lifetime as a fan with Pierre Turgeon centering the 1st line, Damphousse the 2nd line and a rookie Saku Koivu on line 3.

 

[Dick Duff]

Yes...Damphousse didn't start playing C until the 1995-96 season, which also happened to feature by far the best group of Centers the Habs have had in my lifetime as a fan with Pierre Turgeon centering the 1st line, Damphousse the 2nd line and a rookie Saku Koivu on line 3.

For me, over the decades, the true strength-down-centre was with Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard and Ralph Backstrom during the 1960s...

 

[JianYang]

Yes...Damphousse didn't start playing C until the 1995-96 season, which also happened to feature by far the best group of Centers the Habs have had in my lifetime as a fan with Pierre Turgeon centering the 1st line, Damphousse the 2nd line and a rookie Saku Koivu on line 3.

That is pretty rich. Damphousse is probably one of those guys just short of a HOF career. Turgeon can still make it IMO, and a guy like koivu on the 3rd line is just nasty.

I don't think we will see center depth for the Habs like that again, and I think I took it for granted back then.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

This made me think about how lebeau had such a short career . He had an upward trajectory, scored 80 pts, won the cup, was traded the next year, and out of the league soon after.

Then there was his brother Patrick. Late pick, put up big numbers in Q and A. Gets a call up and does well. Never heard of him again. I still have his rookie card.

Ditto. Had forgotten he even existed.

 

[Scintillating10]

Before that year Carbonneau was always a 45 to 55 points player. Just had a quick look of the 93 stanley cup roster and was astonished of the season that guy had... 61 games and only 17 points for the captain. Was he ripped by the media for his play that season? I was not born yet so somebody could give his opinion of what happen and how he was perceived for that year ?

Been too many years ago I can't remember a fine detail like that. I suspect maybe playing part of year with injury. But don't know for sure. I do know Carbo was outstanding shadowing Gretzky in the Finals though

 

[yianik]

If memory serves me correctly that was the first season where he really went from being a 3rd line C to our 4th line C. Again a bit sketchy on this but from what i remember the lines, and especially during the post-season that year were basically:

LeClair-Muller-Bellows
Damphousse-Lebeau-Keane
Dionne-DiPietro-Savard/Leeman
Brunet-Carbonneau-Ronan

Note that that season was really Denis Savard's big slide year as he went from top 2 lines to 3rd line and ultimately a 4th liner in the playoffs before getting hurt.

As much as Paul DiPietro and Gilbert Dionne never really ended up amounting to much both were excellent in the 92-93 playoffs!

I don't really remember the media ripping on Carbo so much that year but it was a year later when he flipped off someone in the media while golfing and was subsequently traded.

Literally. I think there was actually a picture of Carbo with his middle finger up, flipping the bird to the media. Might be wrong on the picture, but that is what he did.

 

[MrNasty]

He was an important player in the postseason in a shut down role, faceoffs etc. He is a good example of how important veteran leadership was/is needed in the post season. Those bottom two lines overperformed in the 93 playoffs.

 

[ItzaGreat]

Yes...Damphousse didn't start playing C until the 1995-96 season, which also happened to feature by far the best group of Centers the Habs have had in my lifetime as a fan with Pierre Turgeon centering the 1st line, Damphousse the 2nd line and a rookie Saku Koivu on line 3.

I remember Koivu also got a some ice time playing on the Left of Turgeon.

 

[peate]

Funny thing about Carbo, after a while, the fans loved him so much they gave him the Guy Guy Guy chant reserved for the Flower, who had left shortly before. I remember him saying how he was embarrassed by the crowd's reaction, didn't deserve the adulation.

 

[Patty Roy]

I remember Koivu also got a some ice time playing on the Left of Turgeon.

Could be, although i don't remember that personally. I do remember a brief run by the "smurf" line of Koivu, Valeri Bure and Oleg Petrov which was fun to watch!

I remember Pierre Turgeon briefly playing some LW on a line with Damphousse and Recchi. I think Turgeon actually had 4 or 5 points in his last game in Montreal...weird!

 

[beowulf]

Literally. I think there was actually a picture of Carbo with his middle finger up, flipping the bird to the media. Might be wrong on the picture, but that is what he did.

If I recall that was a year later after the early exist was it not?

 

[Shabs]

IIRC, Carbonneau had bad knees and had surgery on both after the 92-93 season. That and the fact that the dead puck era was starting I think might explain the point totals.

I remember the photo well. It was a big deal. Carbonneau was golfing with Roy and damphousse. The optics weren’t good. There were big expectations after the cup but they lost in the 1st round vs the bruins. I think Roy was supposed to be sick or something too. A reporter from the Journal followed them onto the golf course.

 

[Tighthead]

In today’s world flipping the bird is such a minor optics offence. I love the fan expectation, which the media fuels, that after a playoff loss you should be grieving privately. Part of being a pro at anything is getting on with life.

I don’t specifically recall Carbo getting much flack that season. Roy did - as great as he was in playoffs, his regular season play was often inconsistent. Stars are lightning rods.

I will say this about Carbo - he was one of the last true heart and soul Habs, and trading him was a disgrace. I still recall the Globe headline when he was deadly, I think it was a Brunt column - lMoney Lenders Were Running Temple When Carbonneau Dealt”. Someone who had been such a devoted player deserved better.

Carbo was part of the old era when Captains weren’t always first line players. He came up under Gainey and Robinson and it showed. He led by example with relentless effort. His battles with Stastny, another big game player. were epic.

When he was playing, I expected him to be a Hab for life. I know his first coaching stint when poorly, but he should have been groomed for the front office or something. When I hear him interviewed now he seems thoughtful and smart.

One small memory I have I’d him - in the dressing room celebration of 1993, he took a moment to mention that Claude Mouton died that year and he was very much in their thoughts. It was unprompted and genuine.

21 will never hang in the rafters, but Guy Carbonneau was as true a Canadien as any who ever put on skates.

 

[Jee]

He was not a great coach, but at least his team was fun to watch. I miss that time.

 

[optimus2861]

This made me think about how lebeau had such a short career . He had an upward trajectory, scored 80 pts, won the cup, was traded the next year, and out of the league soon after.

Then there was his brother Patrick. Late pick, put up big numbers in Q and A. Gets a call up and does well. Never heard of him again. I still have his rookie card.

Stephan shattered his ankle -- I forget if it was before or after his trade to Anaheim. He was never the same after that and it doomed him in the NHL. Ended up in Europe.

I remember Patrick. I lived near Fredericton the first year that they had the AHL team. Patrick scored 50. Trying to remember now, I think Dionne got 40, and at least one other guy, either DiPietro or Jesse Belanger, also got 40, and the fourth guy fell just short at 39 (quick search: DiPietro hit 39). That was a hell of a fun team that year, just no depth after that top 4. They blew a 3-1 series lead in the first round to Springfield.

I think Patrick was just a bit too small, not fast enough, to successfully make the jump to the NHL. Played a few games. Scored a goal on a give-n-go with his brother, I seem to remember. Then they played together in Europe for at least one season.

 

[WickedPegJets]

It's interesting that Guy Carbo was an offensive guy in the minors and AHL. I think he and Steve Penney came up the same year to the senior club and thwarted Jean Ratelle and the Bruins in the playoffs. Later on, Carbo became a defensive specialist along the line of Bob Gainey and Jacques Lemaire (who started off as a prolific scorer).

 

[WickedPegJets]

It's interesting that Guy Carbo was an offensive guy in the minors and AHL. I think he and Steve Penney came up the same year to the senior club and thwarted Jean Ratelle and the Bruins in the playoffs. Later on, Carbo became a defensive specialist along the line of Bob Gainey and Jacques Lemaire (who started off as a prolific scorer).

When GM Bob Gainey fired Carbo, that was a black spot on the Habs' history.

 

[LaP]

It's interesting that Guy Carbo was an offensive guy in the minors and AHL. I think he and Steve Penney came up the same year to the senior club and thwarted Jean Ratelle and the Bruins in the playoffs. Later on, Carbo became a defensive specialist along the line of Bob Gainey and Jacques Lemaire (who started off as a prolific scorer).

There was less teams back then. In today's NHL i think Carbo would be a 2nd line center.

 

[donghabs98]

He was not a great coach, but at leadt his team was fun to watch. I miss that time.

Defense was often a afterthought but boy were games fun to watch. It will be sometime untill we see another team like the 07-08 Habs. They may have choked in the playoffs but in the regular season it was very much a run and gun offense.