Habby 100th Birthday Montreal

I just wanted to take quick moment to wish the Montreal Canadiens a Happy 100th Birthday. Last week the Habs celebrated the only way you’d expect, with a poignant and classy display.

Say what you want about the Canadiens, they are second to none when it comes to pre-game festivities and they pulled out all the stops, and a few old sweaters for this one.

Even though this celebration was special, I still believe when they closed the Forum and had the celebration that night it was their finest moment. Of course it didn’t hurt that Maurice “The Rocket” Richard was still alive and the amazingly long standing ovation he received that night will never be outdone. I never saw Richard play but as a life long Habs supporter, I know the history and know what he meant to the franchise.

I was lucky enough to be in the crowd at Maple Leaf Gardens the final time the Montreal Canadiens and Toronto played in that old hockey shrine. Prior to that game there was another impressive and lengthy standing ovation as The Rocket and Tedder Kennedy were introduced and came out to drop the puck. This was one of the few times when both Habs and Leafs fans stood unified in celebration and I felt privileged to be there. I think Montreal won that night as well.

The Montreal 100th celebration was unique in its own way with about 30 of the club’s greatest names, led by goaltender Patrick Roy, donned their equipment and sweaters (many retired) and took part in a pre-game skate and warm-up. Ken Dryden looked awesome and he even pulled the old mask out of retirement. It was the first time he’d worn goalie equipment since he last played for Montreal in 1979…even if he did have to borrow the pads from Carey Price. Long-time trainer Eddie Palchak was there to dump the pucks on the ice one more time.

Even non-Montreal fans had to feel a bit like kids again watching legends like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Henri Richard, Guy Carboneau, Mats Naslund, Guy Lapointe, Serge Savard and the Mahovlich brothers being introduced. It was legend after legend with the biggest living legend Jean Beliveau the last to appear.

That alone would have been amazing but it went beyond that with "Mr. Hockey" Gordie Howe carrying out Maurice Richard’s #9 sweater, speaking and introducing Beliveau and a taste of Hollywood with Viggo Mortensen introducing Lafleur.

Then you add two more retired numbers as 91-year-old Elmer Lach’s #16 and Emile (Butch) Bouchard’s #3 were raised to the rafters. To cap it all off there’s nothing like a group photo for a keepsake as the legends were joined by the current Canadiens players.

It’s amazing that Montreal has won 24 Stanley Cups and has 54 members in the Hockey Hall of Fame but it was even better to see these legends on the ice one more time. Could you imagine if they were all in their prime still? What a team that would be. It’s as Larry Robinson said, “When you think of Canada, you think of hockey. And when you think of hockey, you think of the Montreal Canadiens.”