Patrick Roy's last game in Montreal

[HabsByTheBay]

Roy has said he cooled off the next morning and was willing to talk it over. Some people may be skeptical of that but Roy was under contract, they had the power to put him on ice for a couple days.

 

[optimus2861]

Despite Thibault's pedigree and Kovalenko's raw ability, everyone knew this was a terrible deal at the time. The real crime is that Mike Keane was thrown in as well. On top of him being a quality 3rd line player he was also the Canadiens captain at the time.

IIRC, didn't Lacroix ask for Keane thinking he would never get him, and Houle just agreed to it, surprising Lacroix? Anyway, what I remember most about the Keane toss-in was the locker room reaction. After Roy's suspension, the team was a bit downcast but saying all the right things: "It's a tough situation but we'll carry on," "Sorry to lose him but we gotta pull together," all that stuff. When the trade was announced and the room learned Keane was leaving, they shattered. There were guys in tears, couldn't even speak to the media. Keane himself was a wreck, as he did not want to leave and never saw it coming (much like Muller the year prior).

Reggie Houle earned my eternal scorn for that.

I was amazed the team pulled themselves together and made the playoffs.

 

[Nails Jenkins]

IIRC, didn't Lacroix ask for Keane thinking he would never get him, and Houle just agreed to it, surprising Lacroix? Anyway, what I remember most about the Keane toss-in was the locker room reaction. After Roy's suspension, the team was a bit downcast but saying all the right things: "It's a tough situation but we'll carry on," "Sorry to lose him but we gotta pull together," all that stuff. When the trade was announced and the room learned Keane was leaving, they shattered. There were guys in tears, couldn't even speak to the media. Keane himself was a wreck, as he did not want to leave and never saw it coming (much like Muller the year prior).

Reggie Houle earned my eternal scorn for that.

I was amazed the team pulled themselves together and made the playoffs.

I hadn't heard that but it's quite understandable. While I don't think anyone can argue that Roy leaving was the greater loss, at least they could come together as a "team" without the ego maniac, but moving their heart and soul captain (for the second time in 2 years!) must have been deflating. Not to mention they named Turgeon captain soon after. Talk about a guy that was named captain for his talent and talent alone...

If you look at the character that the team lost in the years following the '93 Cup, it is indeed a wonder they were able to pull it together and make the playoffs that season. I'm not even saying that these moves were terrible, just that the binding elements were lost wothout being replaced - Muller, Keane, Schneider, Desjardins and I'm sure it doesn't end there.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I hadn't heard that but it's quite understandable. While I don't think anyone can argue that Roy leaving was the greater loss, at least they could come together as a "team" without the ego maniac, but moving their heart and soul captain (for the second time in 2 years!) must have been deflating. Not to mention they named Turgeon captain soon after. Talk about a guy that was named captain for his talent and talent alone...

If you look at the character that the team lost in the years following the '93 Cup, it is indeed a wonder they were able to pull it together and make the playoffs that season. I'm not even saying that these moves were terrible, just that the binding elements were lost wothout being replaced - Muller, Keane, Schneider, Desjardins and I'm sure it doesn't end there.

if you count carbonneau too, that's three in sixteen months.

lots of key leadership that was never replaced: carbo, muller, keane, and i think you have to include roy too. whether the guys loved him or simply tolerated him, when patrick roy promises you he's shutting down the door, that gives the team a huge boost. obviously a key talent in desjardins left, and a soft, often disinterested guy in malakhov took his place. schneider at that point was a good offensive player, but hardly a key contributor to the run (they did, after all, do just fine without him when he was injured for half of the playoff run), and i'd argue that the combined losses of daigneault and, in the '96 offseason, odelein were probably bigger losses. also, losing a young john leclair and paul dipietro, who was basically done at that point but was still a surprisingly good and opportunistic playoff contributor, that's not something kovalenko or valeri bure can replace.

 

[Mad Max]

Between Corey, Tremblay, Houle, and Roy, I place the blame in the following order:


1)Corey- he hired the two morons to begin with. A head coach with literally no prior experience and a GM with literally no prior experience. Disaster waiting to happen.

2)Tremblay- he was the coach, he should have been able to control things without Corey getting involved

3)Roy- he didn't act much more mature than Tremblay

4)Houle- as horrible a GM as he was, he didn't have a feud with Roy, nor did he start this. He made a bad trade with Roy and numerous others, but in this situation, Houle had very little(if anything) to do with the bitter rivalry.

 

[JaymzB]

The interesting thing was there was a lot of excitement in Montreal heading into the 95-96 season. People were wondering if Montreal could end up having 3 100 point players (Damphousse, Turgeon and Recchi), the Calder Trophy favourite (the buzz around Koivu was quite high, with more than a few people thinking he was the best player outside of NA) plus another exciting rookie in Bure. That the Defence was extremely weak was glossed over. Despite missing the playoffs for the first time in 25 years the previous season, it was shocking when the team started 0-4 that year.

 

[Nails Jenkins]

if you count carbonneau too, that's three in sixteen months.

lots of key leadership that was never replaced: carbo, muller, keane, and i think you have to include roy too. whether the guys loved him or simply tolerated him, when patrick roy promises you he's shutting down the door, that gives the team a huge boost. obviously a key talent in desjardins left, and a soft, often disinterested guy in malakhov took his place. schneider at that point was a good offensive player, but hardly a key contributor to the run (they did, after all, do just fine without him when he was injured for half of the playoff run), and i'd argue that the combined losses of daigneault and, in the '96 offseason, odelein were probably bigger losses. also, losing a young john leclair and paul dipietro, who was basically done at that point but was still a surprisingly good and opportunistic playoff contributor, that's not something kovalenko or valeri bure can replace.

I would definitely include Carbo in that "glue" group- actually realized I forgot him on my way home from work. Was a bit rushed on the last post, being on the clock and all. Apparently I'm supposed to "work."

Maybe I'm just thinking of a more recent version of Schneider and including him in that character group, but I would expect that he was a better dressing room guy than Desjardins (who I maybe should not have included in that group) and certainly more than Leclair. Don't get me wrong, the loss of Leclair is obvious in hindsight, but I don't think he was one of the guys who was at the heart of the team, and while Desjardins developed into a leader in Philly, he was still pretty young at the time.

Odelein and Daigneault were two vets I overlooked and I definitely agree on Roy. He was an enormous part of the team's identity. His swagger was irreplaceable. However, had they kept some of the "leaders" around it would likely have helped offset his loss. In sum, losing three captains in the span of 3 years or so without replacing them with equal leaders is bound to lead to instability- even if you don't trade an all-world goalie in the same time span.

 

[Peter9]

if you count carbonneau too, that's three in sixteen months.

lots of key leadership that was never replaced: carbo, muller, keane, and i think you have to include roy too. whether the guys loved him or simply tolerated him, when patrick roy promises you he's shutting down the door, that gives the team a huge boost. obviously a key talent in desjardins left, and a soft, often disinterested guy in malakhov took his place. schneider at that point was a good offensive player, but hardly a key contributor to the run (they did, after all, do just fine without him when he was injured for half of the playoff run), and i'd argue that the combined losses of daigneault and, in the '96 offseason, odelein were probably bigger losses. also, losing a young john leclair and paul dipietro, who was basically done at that point but was still a surprisingly good and opportunistic playoff contributor, that's not something kovalenko or valeri bure can replace.

The loss of Carbonneau just stunned me and left me disenchanted with the club I'd supported since 1953. There are very few players who consistently perform at a level greater than the sum of their individual talents, and Carbonneau was one of them. He could literally lift the entire team through sheer effort. You don't trade away the heart and soul of your team. His loss just broke my heart. And then much later I learned about the alleged reason for the trade--something about flipping the bird at a golf tournament in violation of the Jean Beliveau code of conduct for captains of the Canadiens. That infuriated me.

 

[Nails Jenkins]

The loss of Carbonneau just stunned me and left me disenchanted with the club I'd supported since 1953. There are very few players who consistently perform at a level greater than the sum of their individual talents, and Carbonneau was one of them. He could literally lift the entire team through sheer effort. You don't trade away the heart and soul of your team. His loss just broke my heart. And then much later I learned about the alleged reason for the trade--something about flipping the bird at a golf tournament in violation of the Jean Beliveau code of conduct for captains of the Canadiens. That infuriated me.

He flipped off a reporter and camera man who were hiding in the bushes at the golf course flashing pics of he and his teammates. Wound up front page in the papers the next day. That's Montreal though, can't have a moment's peace. I agree, huge loss for the team.

 

[JaymzB]

Maybe I'm just thinking of a more recent version of Schneider and including him in that character group, but I would expect that he was a better dressing room guy than Desjardins (who I maybe should not have included in that group) and certainly more than Leclair. Don't get me wrong, the loss of Leclair is obvious in hindsight, but I don't think he was one of the guys who was at the heart of the team, and while Desjardins developed into a leader in Philly, he was still pretty young at the time.

I thought I remember hearing something about Schneider's less than appropriate dealings with another players wife, but I could be sorely mistaken?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

I would definitely include Carbo in that "glue" group- actually realized I forgot him on my way home from work. Was a bit rushed on the last post, being on the clock and all. Apparently I'm supposed to "work."

Maybe I'm just thinking of a more recent version of Schneider and including him in that character group, but I would expect that he was a better dressing room guy than Desjardins (who I maybe should not have included in that group) and certainly more than Leclair. Don't get me wrong, the loss of Leclair is obvious in hindsight, but I don't think he was one of the guys who was at the heart of the team, and while Desjardins developed into a leader in Philly, he was still pretty young at the time.

Odelein and Daigneault were two vets I overlooked and I definitely agree on Roy. He was an enormous part of the team's identity. His swagger was irreplaceable. However, had they kept some of the "leaders" around it would likely have helped offset his loss. In sum, losing three captains in the span of 3 years or so without replacing them with equal leaders is bound to lead to instability- even if you don't trade an all-world goalie in the same time span.

the second half of my post was just about talent, not leadership. although what makes you suspect that desjardins was less of a leader than schneider? i never heard about any problems with him and i think they were the same age, with desjardins being the more important player (on-ice) from day one. and there were rumours not only about a serious dressing room issue with schneider (see below), but also the same nightlife stuff that led to the disastrous chelios trade.

re: leclair and dipietro, there was a clutchness to those guys that wasn't replaced by the offensive support players that replaced them-- brian "mr. september" savage, rucinsky and kovalenko, the "other" pocket rocket, etc. it doesn't compare in magnitude to the loss of roy, but you lose a bit of swagger without those guys too.

I thought I remember hearing something about Schneider's less than appropriate dealings with another players wife, but I could be sorely mistaken?

the rumour i heard was mrs. roy, actually.

 

[Ivan13]

Sorry for the bump, but I didn't want to open a new thread.

Anyway Patrick Roy said something really interesting about his departure from Montreal, in his interview with Michael Farber he mentioned that he was really disappointed with how Tremblay handled Damphusse's late arrival to the building that day. Supposedly Vinny overslept and Mario told he's going to handle it when he arrives there, but when Vinny finally showed up Mario didn't say a thing to him, which really hurt Roy since Mario was always hard on him, he felt like he was singled out and that the coach plays favorites which is something he really dislikes, since according to him everyone should be treated the same, no matter what role they play on the team.

 

[Big Phil]

Even though I always loathed the Habs, they never had a circus surrounding them up until 1995. They were a well run organization from day one. They had this mystique about them, they almost seemed infallible, and Roy being there made it feel that way more so since they were always a contender with him in net.

All of that changed in December of 1995. In fact, maybe it changed even before that when they got rid of Jacques Demers and Serge Savard, two months earlier. Then replaced them with Tremblay and Houle, both who go down among the worst ever in NHL history at their jobs.

Then the Detroit game happened. I remember they kept showing the goals on updates from the Leaf game on HNIC. It was a rout. And that famous moment where Roy makes an easy save from Fedorov and then raises his arms in mock salute, watch what happens to the puck. Roy just sort of leaves it beside the net, hoping his defenseman would get it and then gives the "salute" to the fans. The only thing is if you watch closely Fedorov almost steals the puck right beside the net and had he done that then Roy would have been too busy giving the finger to the fans to make the save. This tells me that he had enough of Montreal by then.

From December of 1995 onwards the Habs made bad move after bad move. Letting Roy just rot in the net was wrong. Roy demanding a trade looked bad on the Habs part too. Then throwing in Mike Keane. Wow, that was a shocker. I can remember Keane in tears during an interview. Then the strangest announcement was Turgeon taking over as captain. I didn't understand it. You had Damphousse and Recchi there and they picked Turgeon? A year later Turgeon is traded for Shayne Corson (hey look I know Turgeon had his issues but his talent outweighed the heart of the washed up Corson), then letting Damphousse and Recchi go. It was strange to see a legendary team who almost always ran like a well oiled machine unravel in front of our eyes and Mario Tremblay is where I put the initial blame.

 

[DisgruntledGoat*]

Sooo... Is this the most famous/infamous last game for a franchise by any player ever?

Are there even any other contenders?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Sooo... Is this the most famous/infamous last game for a franchise by any player ever?

Are there even any other contenders?

it probably is. but other contenders that come to mind immediately: gretzky in edmonton (stanley cup, conn smythe, team photo that some claim was the first post-cup team photo ever), mcsorley in boston (stick swing at brashear), lindros in philly (stevens, scott), bourque in colorado (a happy one), lanny in calgary (another happy walk-off).

 

[Killion]

...It was strange to see a legendary team who almost always ran like a well oiled machine unravel in front of our eyes and Mario Tremblay is where I put the initial blame.

Yes, as a long time admirer of that organization rather sad to see what theyve become, far cry from what I grew up with, well into the lands of my own Leafs Im afraid. Wheels falling off that wagon well before they won their last Cup in 1967..... In Montreal, the wheels really started to loosen up way back in 1970 when Montreal lost its exclusivity of Quebec born francophone players, Gil Perrault winding up in Buffalo.

.... Two years later, the Nordiques enter the scene, a team that is wildly supported by just about everyone from 50 miles north of Montreal & even in the city itself. In 1978, Sam Pollock retires and a year later Scotty Bowman, having won 5 Cups in 7 years moves on. In 1982, Rod Langway is traded for moving & spare parts, going on to have 2 Norris Trophy Seasons elsewhere. No way anyone could claim that 1986's Cup was anything other than a Cinderella Story lead by Gainey & Roy, the Habs far from being the best team in the league by that time.

... in 1990, they trade Chelios to Chicago for Denis Savard (who they passed on in 1980's Draft to take Doug Wickenheiser instead) who's Best Before Date had passed expiration. A HHOF francophone player who would have made a big difference in Montreal had he played his full career with the Canadiens..... 1993, another Cinderella Cup, really a fluke, won largely by Roy & excellent defensive work, far from the Firewagon Hockey of yore' to wit the franchise is beyond famous for. 1995, the notorious Roy incident, Ronald Corey now at the helm and never has the organization had a weaker President. Buck stops on his desk & its there that I lay the blame.

March of 1996 & the closing of the Forum to me was like a Funeral (as it was with the Gardens), the last vestiges of the Montreal Canadiens glorious past celebrated & put to rest and like Toronto, not a whole lot to look forward to. The Habs like the Leafs selling history in order to stay relevant today, but goin nowhere fast, dysfunctional. Kids born & raised in Quebec or Ontario since the 60's in the latter case, the 80's in the former having no big dreams of playing for Toronto or Montreal. Indeed many preferring any destination BUT those locales if they have a choice, and with RFA / UFA they eventually will & do.

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

Even though I always loathed the Habs, they never had a circus surrounding them up until 1995. They were a well run organization from day one. They had this mystique about them, they almost seemed infallible, and Roy being there made it feel that way more so since they were always a contender with him in net.

All of that changed in December of 1995. In fact, maybe it changed even before that when they got rid of Jacques Demers and Serge Savard, two months earlier. Then replaced them with Tremblay and Houle, both who go down among the worst ever in NHL history at their jobs.

Then the Detroit game happened. I remember they kept showing the goals on updates from the Leaf game on HNIC. It was a rout. And that famous moment where Roy makes an easy save from Fedorov and then raises his arms in mock salute, watch what happens to the puck. Roy just sort of leaves it beside the net, hoping his defenseman would get it and then gives the "salute" to the fans. The only thing is if you watch closely Fedorov almost steals the puck right beside the net and had he done that then Roy would have been too busy giving the finger to the fans to make the save. This tells me that he had enough of Montreal by then.

From December of 1995 onwards the Habs made bad move after bad move. Letting Roy just rot in the net was wrong. Roy demanding a trade looked bad on the Habs part too. Then throwing in Mike Keane. Wow, that was a shocker. I can remember Keane in tears during an interview. Then the strangest announcement was Turgeon taking over as captain. I didn't understand it. You had Damphousse and Recchi there and they picked Turgeon? A year later Turgeon is traded for Shayne Corson (hey look I know Turgeon had his issues but his talent outweighed the heart of the washed up Corson), then letting Damphousse and Recchi go. It was strange to see a legendary team who almost always ran like a well oiled machine unravel in front of our eyes and Mario Tremblay is where I put the initial blame.

my first favourite team was the habs in late 80s/early 90s. basically the roy era, beginning with the '86 cup run, rooting against the flames in '89 once i'd started to understand as a youngster in vancouver that i was supposed to hate those guys (plus, otto kicked it in), and getting really caught up in the '93 run. roy was my first favourite player, before pavel bure came along. and it was painful to watch the mismanagement of the habs in the post-serge savard era. i mean, you went from serge savard, who made some pretty big mistakes (chelios, desjardins/leclair, carbonneau, lefebvre, claude lemieux) but who still won two cups and was a highly credible legend of the game, not to mention awardee of the order of canada in '94, to ex-hab dregs like houle and tremblay. and all of this while watching minnesota make it to the finals and then later becoming a powerhouse in dallas under bob gainey, jersey winning the year roy was traded under lemaire and robinson, and later bowman in detroit and of course roy himself in colorado. the entire late 90s and some of the early 2000s (nine straight cups) were dominated by ex-hab hall of famers -- not to mention ex-hab role players being leadership and "glue" guys on three of the era's four dominant teams. and in all of this time, the actual habs franchise looks like a farce.

so i'm trying to think about this from roy's perspective. the man seemed to love being hab, and you can still see that from the great interview ivan13 mentioned above. but at the same time, i think we all know that being a hab when things are good might be the best job in hockey, or at least a close second to being a leaf during good times. but the job also comes with things that suck: the fans can be great or they can be a nightmare, and when times are bad the constant scrutiny and especially the rabid press is not something you'd want to deal with. but you take the bad because the good can be so good, and for the honour and pride of wearing that uniform and being a part of that history and walking in the footsteps of morenz, rocket, beliveau, flower, etc.

so i'm thinking i'm patrick roy in 1995. the fans have turned on me, tremblay is probably trying to be tough like scotty bowman but failing miserably at it (plus i already hate the guy from my playing days), rejean houle is just a figurehead who can't stand up to an increasingly out of touch ronald corey (notice it's not houle that roy tells he's played his last game), i've probably heard rumours that my captain is on his way out because he won't learn french (and probably suspecting also that the next captain is going to be the french speaking wiener who was hiding on the bench with his head down while my brother was kicked in the head), the habs had just missed the playoffs for the first time since... i was 5 years old, while lemaire and robinson had just won a stanley cup with a young french goalie and my old buddies claude lemieux and stephane richer and i'm stuck with tremblay and houle.

even taking the embarrassment, disrespect, and his pride and ego out of the equation, patrick roy was a smart guy. i wonder if in the moment the fans were giving it to him after the easy fedorov save he decided in his head: "you know what? what's the point in dealing with the bs of being a hab if this franchise isn't even really the habs anymore?"

(i mean, for all the crap we give kevin lowe, craig mactavish, and associates today, houle and tremblay were probably worse in terms of being incompetent cronies)

 

[Big Phil]

my first favourite team was the habs in late 80s/early 90s. basically the roy era, beginning with the '86 cup run, rooting against the flames in '89 once i'd started to understand as a youngster in vancouver that i was supposed to hate those guys (plus, otto kicked it in), and getting really caught up in the '93 run. roy was my first favourite player, before pavel bure came along. and it was painful to watch the mismanagement of the habs in the post-serge savard era. i mean, you went from serge savard, who made some pretty big mistakes (chelios, desjardins/leclair, carbonneau, lefebvre, claude lemieux) but who still won two cups and was a highly credible legend of the game, not to mention awardee of the order of canada in '94, to ex-hab dregs like houle and tremblay. and all of this while watching minnesota make it to the finals and then later becoming a powerhouse in dallas under bob gainey, jersey winning the year roy was traded under lemaire and robinson, and later bowman in detroit and of course roy himself in colorado. the entire late 90s and some of the early 2000s (nine straight cups) were dominated by ex-hab hall of famers -- not to mention ex-hab role players being leadership and "glue" guys on three of the era's four dominant teams. and in all of this time, the actual habs franchise looks like a farce.

so i'm trying to think about this from roy's perspective. the man seemed to love being hab, and you can still see that from the great interview ivan13 mentioned above. but at the same time, i think we all know that being a hab when things are good might be the best job in hockey, or at least a close second to being a leaf during good times. but the job also comes with things that suck: the fans can be great or they can be a nightmare, and when times are bad the constant scrutiny and especially the rabid press is not something you'd want to deal with. but you take the bad because the good can be so good, and for the honour and pride of wearing that uniform and being a part of that history and walking in the footsteps of morenz, rocket, beliveau, flower, etc.

so i'm thinking i'm patrick roy in 1995. the fans have turned on me, tremblay is probably trying to be tough like scotty bowman but failing miserably at it (plus i already hate the guy from my playing days), rejean houle is just a figurehead who can't stand up to an increasingly out of touch ronald corey (notice it's not houle that roy tells he's played his last game), i've probably heard rumours that my captain is on his way out because he won't learn french (and probably suspecting also that the next captain is going to be the french speaking wiener who was hiding on the bench with his head down while my brother was kicked in the head), the habs had just missed the playoffs for the first time since... i was 5 years old, while lemaire and robinson had just won a stanley cup with a young french goalie and my old buddies claude lemieux and stephane richer and i'm stuck with tremblay and houle.

even taking the embarrassment, disrespect, and his pride and ego out of the equation, patrick roy was a smart guy. i wonder if in the moment the fans were giving it to him after the easy fedorov save he decided in his head: "you know what? what's the point in dealing with the bs of being a hab if this franchise isn't even really the habs anymore?"

(i mean, for all the crap we give kevin lowe, craig mactavish, and associates today, houle and tremblay were probably worse in terms of being incompetent cronies)

Nice analysis, and I never thought about it that deeply. The entire NHL did have some sort of ex-Hab tie to them, and they were all winning. The Habs miss the playoffs in 1995 which was something that Montreal simply didn't do - ever. I often wonder, was the fact that the fans were giving it to him at the end of the night the final straw for Roy? If the fans didn't give him a hard time that game but Tremblay was still a jerk with what he did would he still have left? I remember thinking that after it happened and the trade happened. Not like the fans assumed they would be the final straw, but you wonder why they didn't see the situation a bit better. Roy was the biggest star on the team and had been for a while. I suppose you could say the Habs finally have Price and Subban on the team and they can qualify as stars, but until then I would say Roy was the last star the Habs ever had on their team.

Lastly, the closing of the Montreal Forum was one of the most emotional moments in hockey history. What a moment. Sadly, Roy wasn't there and I wonder how much that has eaten away at him over the years. Even at that time in March of 1996 you see all of these past great Habs come on the ice and all of the captains sort of line up and then the torch is passed to the current captain...............Pierre Turgeon. Hmmm. I don't know, but even as a guy who hated the Habs at the time I never felt a lot of optimism for that franchise. No one thought the Habs would win the Cup in 1996. Everyone knew there was always a chance with Roy. Things had just changed. It reminds me of the Yankees in baseball. The game is always in better shape when they are an elite franchise. You hate the Yankees and you cheer against them but it is better for the game when they do good. Same with the Habs. You want them to be good. You want your enemies to be dangerous because with that comes a great rivalry from a historic franchise. No one cares if the Florida Panthers are competitive. Personally, I cared that the Habs weren't competitive anymore with the elite teams. And I felt that at the closing of the Forum that the future was dark for them.

 

[tony d]

Remember it very well, the look Tremblay gave as Roy walked by showed a lot. That was the moment that changed that team and 1 they've never recovered from.

 

[Dark Shadows]

IIRC, didn't Lacroix ask for Keane thinking he would never get him, and Houle just agreed to it, surprising Lacroix? Anyway, what I remember most about the Keane toss-in was the locker room reaction. After Roy's suspension, the team was a bit downcast but saying all the right things: "It's a tough situation but we'll carry on," "Sorry to lose him but we gotta pull together," all that stuff. When the trade was announced and the room learned Keane was leaving, they shattered. There were guys in tears, couldn't even speak to the media. Keane himself was a wreck, as he did not want to leave and never saw it coming (much like Muller the year prior).

Reggie Houle earned my eternal scorn for that.

I was amazed the team pulled themselves together and made the playoffs.

As I recall, Keane was one of the guys who went over Tremblay's head directly to Houle because of his mistreatment of Roy(Shooting pucks at his throat in practice. Giving him the 3rd degree for showing up only 20 minutes for warm up's, while letting Damphousse off the hook for showing up only 10 minutes before). It did not work out like he expected.

Tremblay had such a smug look on his face when he finally pulled Roy. You could just see in that brief exchange that Roy was too proud to ever play for him again. And you knew exactly what he said when he did not say a word to Tremblay and went right to Corey.

Hard to Blame Roy for the situation in any capacity.

 

[Ivan13]

Losing Patrick hurt and it still does, but IMHO most of the people realized he was gone, putting Keaner in that deal was like a slap in a face to every sensible Habs fan out there.

Vadim did bring up a great point, it was tough to watch the Habs turn to non-factors once the playoffs rolled along knowing full well that the guy who started of as Habs were now helping others win SC's.

 

[Hasbro]

Sooo... Is this the most famous/infamous last game for a franchise by any player ever?

Are there even any other contenders?

Likewise has any newbie coach that ran off the team's star player ever worked out? I remember thinking about this incident when McDaniels drove Cutler out of Denver.

 

[Big Phil]

Tremblay lasts one more year in Montreal and then he's gone. He's never been behind an NHL bench since. Coincidence? Not at all. One of the most disruptive coaches in NHL history, and he only lasted two years. Meanwhile, how did that Roy character fare in Colorado?

 

[mobilus]

The grand irony I find to this whole story is that Detroit now had to go through Roy almost every playoff year. Would Detroit have won more Cups if Roy never made it to Colorado?

 

[vadim sharifijanov]

The grand irony I find to this whole story is that Detroit now had to go through Roy almost every playoff year. Would Detroit have won more Cups if Roy never made it to Colorado?

or i've always wondered: would detroit have won all the cups if they had gotten him? if thibault, rucinsky, and kovalenko could get you roy and keane, why not osgood, kozlov, ciccarelli, and lapointe? throw in dandenault if they need a second french guy. if you absolutely have to, include primeau for one of those pieces; you don't get shanahan the next year but come on it's patrick roy.