reckoning
Registered User
- Jan 4, 2005
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Badger Bob said:Once those players were all gone, Gainey had to assume a different role. Hence, he was captain in '86 on a Cup winner and in '89 on a Cup runner-up. Neither team was exactly loaded with talent. Certainly, there was a benefit from his leadership.
Yes, Gainey`s leadership was impressive after Bowman left. There was the quarter-final loss to Minnesota in `80, the 1st round sweep loss to Edmonton in `81, the first round loss to Quebec in `82, the first round loss sweep loss to Buffalo in `83, the choke against the Islanders in `84. Montreal did win the Cup in `86, but only after the top five teams in the league were eliminated in other series. It took 7 games to beat Mike Liut and Hartford. Yipppee.
Ramsay`s reputation as a top-notch defensive forward was already solidified before Jim Kelley ever started covering hockey.Seeing as though Jim Kelley used to be the president of the Professional Hockey Writers Association, somebody must've paid attention. Why is this relevent? Well, again Ramsay was always the source for stories.
On the other hand, Red Fisher was a huge Gainey supporter from the start, and Fisher had a lot of influence among the other NHL media back then.