Just Another Job - A Nordiques short documentary from 1972

[Cruor]

Came across this, from the Nordiques first WHA season and wanted to share it.

Just Another Job

"This short film takes you behind the scenes of the Quebec Nordiques. Coached by the legendary Maurice Richard, the team is playing its opening World Hockey Association game at the Quebec Coliseum. Experience the pre-game tension, the on-ice action and the dream-contract signing."

Click to read more...

 

[kaiser matias]

I remember watching this years ago, and it is a great look at the inaugural Nordiques. Really shows how unsettled Richard was as a coach, too, you can hear it in his voice just announcing the starting lineup.

 

[The Panther]

Came across this, from the Nordiques first WHA season and wanted to share it.

First of all, thank you very much for sharing this! I think I had a thread, a couple years ago, asking about Maurice Richard's very brief tenure as Nordiques' coach in 1972 and it died on the vine, so my guess is that not many know much about it, so brief was it.

As kaiser matias said, Richard looks very uncomfortable addressing the full room and even reading the starting line-up. He seemed more comfortable at the start when he (and another coach... Maurice Filion?) brought Jacques Blain in to tell him he'd made the club, but maybe in front of a crowd, Richard froze up a bit, I dunno. It's also interesting that Richard speaks in French to the team before the game. It appears their first-year line-up was almost entirely French-Canadians (one exception being Brit Selby, who lasted only 7 games before being traded).

Speaking of Jacques Blain, he was already 25 years old here, having never made the NHL, and having been in the EHL for three or four years. The stats show he scored 1 goal and 11 points (on defense) for the Nordiques this inaugural season, but then he never played major-pro hockey again, so I presume he just failed to make the club again the next season. (I note that in 1985-86, for just one season, he was head coach of the Laval Titan, featuring players such as Vince Damphousse, Jocelyn Lemieux, and Sylvain Lefebvre.)

The young, back-up goalie of those first-year Nords was Richard Brodeur. Their leading scorer was defenseman J.C. Tremblay, who'd just jumped ship from the NHL. Tremblay went on to play until he was 40, right to the end of the WHA (he won 2 'Murphy' awards, as the WHA's top defenceman).

Finally, I adore 'Canadiana' like this from the late-60s to early-80s. I personally think that was a very special time in Canadian history, never to be equaled (even though nearly all of it predates my memories), for reasons I won't go into here. This is a precious time-capsule. Thanks again!

 

[BadgerBruce]

I just watched it — cannot believe I’d never seen it before. Wonderful little piece of history. Thanks for sharing, Cruor.

 

[kaiser matias]

Was also neat listening to the guy who designed the logo and uniform. You often don't hear a lot from those people, and the thoughts behind them, so having this is a nice addition.

 

[Yozhik v tumane]

Well that song at the beginning got lodged in my brain, while the lyrics made me somewhat uncomfortable.

 

[JianYang]

Just watching rocket call the lineup before the game, and then his face behind the bench.

He totally has the "Wtf am I doing here" kind of look.

I think rocket was always the quiet, and private kind of guy when he wasn't on the ice playing the game. It doesn't sound like the personality suited to be a coach.

 

[The Panther]

Just watching rocket call the lineup before the game, and then his face behind the bench.

He totally has the "Wtf am I doing here" kind of look.

I think rocket was always the quiet, and private kind of guy when he wasn't on the ice playing the game. It doesn't sound like the personality suited to be a coach.

Agreed, and I wonder how they talked him into it. By 1972, he hadn't been directly involved in the pro-game for 12 years.

It probably speaks to the fact that Rocket needed money, which is sad. I believe I read that for a while, in the sixties, he was selling fishing lures out of his house for money.

 

[JianYang]

Agreed, and I wonder how they talked him into it. By 1972, he hadn't been directly involved in the pro-game for 12 years.

It probably speaks to the fact that Rocket needed money, which is sad. I believe I read that for a while, in the sixties, he was selling fishing lures out of his house for money.

Oh my, I had no idea he was struggling financially. That certainly could be a reason for him taking the gig, but one would think that his brand was so heroic in Quebec that he should have at least been able to live a comfortable life.

Maybe he had some vices that I didn't know about, but this is the first I've heard of any financial issues.

 

[The Panther]

Oh my, I had no idea he was struggling financially. That certainly could be a reason for him taking the gig, but one would think that his brand was so heroic in Quebec that he should have at least been able to live a comfortable life.

Maybe he had some vices that I didn't know about, but this is the first I've heard of any financial issues.

Right, I'm not totally sure about this, but I know I read it somewhere.

Maybe someone more knowledgeable can chime in here...

While Richard was underpaid by today's standards, he was still making a very healthy salary in his final half-dozen seasons or more. It does seem like he could have been well-enough off, as long as he played it safe financially. But I have read otherwise, so I dunno...

 

[Uncle Rotter]

Agreed, and I wonder how they talked him into it. By 1972, he hadn't been directly involved in the pro-game for 12 years.

I found this article from The Montreal Gazette:
The Montreal Gazette - Google News Archive Search

"Why haven't you gone into coaching before? Why did you wait so long?"
For the first time since he arrived he stopped smiling and the lean hungriness came back to ignite the dark eyes.
"It's because nobody ever asked me, that's why."

Looks like it was pride.

 

[vikash1987]

Thanks for sharing. This is a great documentary. I love the scene early on in which Jacques Blain, visibly relieved when informed of the news that he's made the team, goes on to tell coach Rocket Richard that "there's nothing I want more than to improve myself," i.e. that he is coachable and has high growth potential. Also, I absolutely love those bleu, blanc et rouge uniforms of the Nordiques from that inaugural season in the WHA.