http://www.canadiens.comRSS Feed from the Canadien's centinnial websiteen-caSat, 04 Feb 2012 10:14:08 -0500Sat, 04 Feb 2012 10:14:08 -050030Copyright/rss/http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/static/admin/images/logo.pnghttp://ourhistory.canadiens.com163122 http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Brian-Bellows http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Where-Are-They-Now-Brian-Bellows Thu, 19 Jan 2012 00:00:00 -0500
Where do you live now?

I currently live in Edina, Minnesota. It’s where I started my NHL career and we kept the house when I was traded to Montreal. We used to come back here during the summer break.

What are you doing now?

I’m a broker at Piper Jaffray – an investment bank in Minneapolis. I took summer classes when I was a player to get my diploma in finance.

How many times per year do you lace up the skates?

Occasionally. I head a Bantam team in my city and it keeps me pretty busy. I also play a dozen games a year with the North Stars alumni.

Are you still in touch with any former teammates?

I keep in pretty close touch with Kirk Muller and Mike Keane.

How many Canadiens games do you watch per year?

Between my hockey team and working at the bank I’m pretty busy, but I try and catch as many NHL games as possible.

When was the last time you were in Montreal to watch a game?

I come by the Bell Centre at least once a year. I usually rent a suite and invite a couple of clients to a game.

Is there a game in particular from your career with the Canadiens that stands out the most?

Probably my first two pre-season games with the Habs when we played the Blackhawks in London, back in September 1992. I had just joined the organization and what stood out the most for me was how disciplined the team was. I really liked that style of play and the fact that we were in the UK just made it all the better.

What is your favorite piece of Canadiens memorabilia that you own?

I’ve kept a few items, but what I cherish the most from my time in Montreal is a picture that I have in my office. I had just gotten married and my teammates had given us money to buy a gift. We were walking around the Old Port in Montreal and we had an artist paint us a picture of all our favorite moments in Quebec. Every time I look at it I get flooded by memories.

Where do you keep your Stanley Cup ring?

I still have my ring but I don’t wear it often. I’ll wear it when I catch a game at the Bell Centre or when I need to attend a special event. ]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Hard-Headed http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Hard-Headed Tue, 20 Dec 2011 00:00:00 -0500
“I got my first concussion when I was 22 years old. We were playing in L.A. and I got into a fight with Ken Baumgartner, who was a pretty tough guy,” explained the 12-year NHL veteran-turned Habs radio commentator. “I thought I was doing pretty well for myself but he caught me with a really hard right hook and we both fell down. We skate over to the box and as I’m sitting in there, I kind of realized something was wrong.”

Momesso’s suspicions were quickly confirmed when he was joined in the box by Czech blue-liner Petr Svoboda, who didn’t need a medical degree – or even a full grasp of the English language – to know something was wrong with the head of his bruising teammate.

“Petr gets a penalty so he comes in and slams the door and is all mad about the call. So now I’m there confused and concussed next to Petr who barely speaks a word of English,” cracked Momesso of Svoboda, who remains the highest European player ever drafted by the Canadiens. “I look over at him and ask ‘Hey Pete, what’s the score?’

“The scoreboard is huge and it’s literally right in front of us. He looks at me and goes ‘What do you mean, man? It’s 5-2’,” laughed Momesso, who spent three seasons with Svoboda in Montreal. “He’s all annoyed and then like 15 seconds later, I turn back to him and ask, ‘Hey Pete, 5-2 for who?’ Now he’s really getting mad and busting out all his English swear words and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We lose 5-2!’ so I’m like, ‘Ohhhhh… that’s why he’s so mad – we’re losing.’”

Unfazed by Svoboda’s waning patience, Momesso decided to push his luck with one final, burning question for his fellow Stanley Cup-winning teammate.

“There’s maybe 10 seconds left in his penalty and I just look at him and go, ‘Last thing Pete – where are we?’” recalled the Montreal native. “He’s just freaking out now and goes ‘What do you mean, man? We in Los Angeles!’ All I could think was, ‘Awesome! I love L.A.!’”]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Love-For-Eddy http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Love-For-Eddy Thu, 17 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500 Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Train-Games http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Train-Games Thu, 10 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500
While on a trip to New York during the 1960s, a few of the more mischievous members of the Canadiens stumbled across a practical joke shop while walking the streets of the Big Apple. After disappearing inside for a couple of minutes, they emerged with a healthy supply of itching and sneezing powder – the perfect entertainment for the journey home.

The setup was simple: while making his way through one of the cars, a player would pretend to lose his balance and stumble. In the process, he would use the distraction to sprinkle a little itching and sneezing powder on whichever unlucky soul happened to be nearby. “We would wait a few minutes to give the powders some time to take effect and then we’d take a stroll back through the same section of the train,” recalled Habs’ former forward, Gilles Tremblay.

During their second pass through the car, they could then enjoy their handiwork and observe the confused passengers as they suddenly found themselves overcome with fits of sneezing and scratching.

After a few rounds of successfully executing their plan at the expense of the train’s passengers, the group decided it was time to set their sights on bigger game. They eventually settled on targeting the Habs’ well-liked head-coach, Toe Blake and by proximity, the team doctor who happened to be sharing his compartment.

“We managed to pour the sneezing powder under the door and through the keyhole of Toe Blake’s compartment,” explained Tremblay. “To be honest with you, we really went for broke and used everything we had left.”

Too promising to walk away from, Tremblay and his cohorts stayed as close by as they could to witness the results.

“We crouched behind the door and listened to them sneeze non-stop for a good two hours. We even heard the doctor tell Blake, ‘Hey coach, we should probably take some aspirin. I think there’s a flu bug running loose on this train,’” confessed Tremblay, who still couldn’t help grinning about the incident so many years later.

***
SEE ALSO
Give it away now
Salt in the wounds
Size does matter
Dressed for success
Up against the wall
Helmets are a player's best friend
Dude, where's my car?]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Blood-Brothers http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Blood-Brothers Thu, 28 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400
Since the birth of the Canadiens organization, 12 sets of brothers have skated together for the team. The first dynamic duo to lay stake to that claim was made up of brothers Georges and Pierre Vézina back in 1911-12. While George’s stint manning the Canadiens’ crease spanned 14 full seasons with the club, brother Pierre hit the ice for only a single game with the Habs. While that’s often how things go when it comes to brothers playing together, there have also been a number of exceptions over the course of the last 100 years.

The 1920s were a particularly prolific decade when it came to famous family members skating for the Habs. In 1924-25, out of the 13 players on the Canadiens’ roster, two sets of brothers – Odie and Sprague Cleghorn and Aurèle and Robert Joliat – managed to play together during a single game. While Robert Joliat played just one game, the Cleghorn brothers remained on the team together for four whole seasons. During the Habs’ 1921-22 campaign, Odie and Sprague ranked first and second in points out of all players on the roster. The 20s also introduced Habs fans to Sylvio Mantha and sibling Georges who came to join him in 1928-29. The two would form a defensive pairing for the Canadiens in their 1929-30 campaign.

It would take 10 more years before another pair of brothers would enter the Canadiens’ ranks. After one year with the Boston Bruins, Terry Reardon would head to Montreal to join his bother Ken as part of the Habs’s 1941-42 season. After a stretch of 46 games spread out over two seasons with the club, Terry would make his way back to Beantown while Ken joined the army to fight on the frontlines. He would continue his career with the Canadiens after the war, winning a Stanley Cup with the club in 1945-46.

Legendary

In the 1950s, Montreal was introduced to the most important pair of family members to ever play for the Canadiens in brothers Maurice and Henri Richard. Together, the duo have an accumulated haul of 19 Stanley Cup rings – all with the Canadiens – and dressed for 2547 regular-season and playoff games in Canadiens’ uniforms. They both played integral roles in the shaping of the team’s history and both have their jersey’s currently hanging from the Bell Centre rafters.

Little “M”, Big”M”

The 1970s marked the era of the Mahovlich brothers, Frank and Peter, who saw their names etched together on the Stanley Cup on two separate occasions – the first in 1970-71 and the second in 1972-73. During the regular season in 1973, Frank ranked second among his teammates in scoring, with 93 points, and his brother fourth with a haul of 59. By the end of their 1973 cup win, they had tallied 36 points together in 17 games played.

The brotherly duos that would follow the Mahovlichs would only have the chance to play together for a very short time. Larry Robinson, for instance, would play only one game in the company of his brother Moe in 1979-80. It was the same story in 1988-89 when Jocelyn Lemieux would skate with his brother Claude for a single, fleeting game. They would get a better crack at some ice time together the following year when the two were reunited to play just over 30 games together. Jocelyn was eventually traded to the Chicago Blackhawks that same season, while Claude would finish out the year in Montreal before being traded to the New Jersey Devils.

It was a similar case for Stéphan and Patrick Lebeau during the 1990-91 season when Patrick played only two games in Montreal, spending the majority of the season with the Fredricton Canadiens. Despite only having a few NHL games under his belt he recorded a goal and an assists during those games.

The last duo from recent years was lucky enough to enjoy a little more time together as part of the organization. The Kostitsyn brothers were reunited in Montreal in 2007-08 where they played the majority of the season together, with Sergei also having a short stint with the Hamilton Bulldogs. In 52 games with the Canadiens that year, the young Kostitsyn amassed a total of 27 points. Andrei, who then was playing his first full season with the Habs, put up 53 points, ranking him sixth among the team’s leading scorers. From 2008-10 the brothers continued to play together in Montreal before Sergei was traded to the Nashville Predators on June 29, 2010.

SEE ALSO - VIDEOS
Famous Brothers - Sedin
Famous Brothers - Niedermayer
Famous Brothers - Lundqvist
Famous Brothers - Staal
Famous Brothers - Miller
Famous Brothers - Bure]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Mother-Russia http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Mother-Russia Fri, 08 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400
“One of the coolest experiences I had with the Canadiens was our trip to Russia during training camp,” described Ewen, whose team headed to Moscow and Riga to take on the best the Soviets had to offer that fall. “It was a very different world than we were used to.  From the second we arrived, we had our own private security detail of KGB guys following us around everywhere.

“There’s nothing that makes you feel less safe than walking around with guys with AK47s strapped to them. I never wanted anything more than to have a black trench coat to wear around so I could blend in. Instead we walked around in the most conspicuous red-white-and-blue tracksuits imaginable.”

With the 1975 New Year’s Eve battle with the Canadiens still fresh in the mind of the Soviets, the bleu-blanc-rouge tracksuits proved the perfect target for the still-bitter Russians. 

“There was such a rivalry between the Red Army and the Canadiens – they wanted nothing more than to beat us,” explained Ewen. “The difference was, they had been training for half a year just to play us and we were in training camp – and back then you didn’t come to camp in game shape, you used camp to get into shape.

 “We did pretty well, though,” added the bruising winger, whose team left the Soviet Union with a 2-2 record. “The last game [against CSKA Moscow] got a little physical and then the fans started whistling and throwing coins at us that must have weighed like five pounds each. It was a really unique experience over there, to say the least.”

 The adventure continued for Ewen & Co. back at the hotel later that night. After having carefully locked away all their valuables in their rooms, the team returned to discover all of their wives’ makeup had been stolen for sale on the black market. At a 400% markup, makeup may have been a hot commodity in Moscow, but ultimately it was the team’s brand itself that carried the most value.

“You would not believe how widely recognized the CH is internationally. It’s phenomenal,” marveled Ewen. “That logo means so much across the world. We’d put on our Canadiens gear and everyone wanted to get a hold of it – it’s the tradition and the pinnacle of hockey. Or maybe there was just an appreciation for loud Habs tracksuits that we didn’t know about!”

See also
Sticking with it
Arrested development
Stuck on you
Attention to detail
Welcome to the Rock
Hull's not-so secret admirer
The Man With One Red Shoe]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Dude-Where-s-My-Car http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Dude-Where-s-My-Car Mon, 04 Jul 2011 00:00:00 -0400
That’s a lesson Habs rookie Mario Tremblay had to learn the hard way in 1974-75 when he started showing up to practice in his shiny set of wheels. The 18-year-old forward loved nothing more than speeding up to the Montreal Forum and parking his brand-new toy in the exact same spot every morning. That was his first mistake.

Looking to prove to head coach Scotty Bowman that he deserved a spot in a lineup that included the likes of Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire and Yvan Cournoyer, the eager young winger was always willing to put in a little overtime on the ice when practice was over. 

“The other guys would get off earlier but all of the rookies used to stay out longer to get more ice time,” explained Tremblay, who was totally oblivious to what the wily veterans were cooking up in the dressing room without him. “A week after I bought my brand-new car, they found the keys in my pocket and took them while I was still on the ice.”

When he strolled over to his usual spot to find his car – and the registration documents that were inside – missing, Tremblay sprung into action to declare the car stolen. He wasted no time calling the dealership in Lac-Saint-Jean to get copies of the serial number and license plate before pouring himself over a mountain of paperwork for the next two days to try to get his car back.

“The guys started to see how crazy I was getting about losing my car. At first, they thought the whole thing was hilarious,” recalled Tremblay with a smile. “But with all the annoying stuff I had to go through to process the police report and everything, they decided to throw me a bone and send me an anonymous message.”  

The little birdie informed Tremblay that his ride hadn’t been stolen afterall – just temporarily “misplaced”. Eventually, the stressed out rookie found the car parked safely in the Alexis Nihon plaza lot just down the street. Though he’ll never know for sure, Tremblay has an idea of which of his teammates was the mastermind behind the caper.

“For sure it was Guy Lapointe,” chuckled Tremblay of the notorious prankster. “Who else could it have been?”


See also
Flower Power
Tom and Dickie
The Welcome Wagon
A Sticky Situation
The old switcheroo
Mikey Scissohands
The Bear Essentials]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Howe-Could-You http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Howe-Could-You Tue, 14 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400
During a scouting trip that year that included a look at the Red Wings’ affiliate in Omaha, Canadiens general manager Frank Selke was blown away by the performance of a promising young prospect named Gordie Howe. After doing a little digging, Selke discovered that Howe had been left off the Red Wings’ negotiation list by Knights coach Tommy Ivan, making the future Mr. Hockey available for any NHL club wishing to claim him.

Before heading back to Montreal, Selke stopped into Detroit to have a little chat with Red Wings GM Jack Adams.

“I can tell you that you have an Omaha Knights player who is better than any of the protected players on your negotiation list,” warned Selke. “You have one day to claim him, otherwise the Canadiens will sign him.”

Wisely, Adams took Selke’s warning to heart, quickly determined the player in question was Howe, and then added him to Detroit’s negotiation list. The rest, of course, is history. Howe would go on to become one the greatest players in league history, not to mention a perennial thorn in the side of the team which had the opportunity to claim him.

The question, of course, was why did Selke do it? How could he let Howe slip through his fingers? Years later, his son Frank Jr. explained the reasoning behind his father’s decision to take the moral high road.

“Over the years, my dad and Tommy Ivan had become close friends,” said Frank Jr. “My father would never have done anything to harm Ivan’s reputation. In fact, my dad even swore that he wouldn’t share the story with anyone. True to his word, my father only disclosed the details of that fateful scouting strip long after Ivan passed away. My father was driven to build a winning team, but he wanted to do so on his own terms.”

Selke did exactly that in leading the Canadiens to a league-record five straight Stanley Cups from 1956 though 1960.

Read also
Sticking with it
Arrested development
Stuck on you
Attention to detail
Welcome to the Rock
Hull's not-so secret admirer
The Man With One Red Shoe
]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Sticking-With-It http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Sticking-With-It Fri, 03 Jun 2011 00:00:00 -0400
“Doug would always be the first guy at the rink, so whenever you arrived, he’d have already been there for at least a half hour,” recalled Dykhuis, who played with Gilmour from 2001 to 2003 in Montreal. “One morning he had a gag he pulled on all of the younger guys.

“He used one of those old two-piece Easton sticks specialized to his pattern. He went up to the first guy in the room and just said, ‘Hey, I think my stick is crooked – can you check it out?’” recounted the 13-year NHL veteran. “This was Doug Gilmour – he’s the leader of the team – so of course we’re all jumping to help him out.”

What the then-Habs blue-liner didn’t know was that Gilmour had already spent plenty of his pre-practice time tinkering with his customized stick.

“I wanted to be helpful so I grabbed it and checked it out, but he told me I could only really see it if I tilted it up toward the light,” explained Dykhuis. “I didn’t even question it; if Doug tells me to do something, I’m doing it. So I tilt it up... and the stick is full of water! It just poured all over me, so I was soaking wet.”

Never one to rest on his laurels, Gilmour wasn’t about to stop at drenching just one gullible teammate. Once he had tricked his victim, the sneaky veteran would head to the shower, refill the shaft, and patiently wait for his next target to surface.

“He’d get guys one by one before they even made it into the dressing room, so they were in full suits,” added the now 38-year-old. “And you’re definitely not going to warn them because once you get wet, you want to make sure it happens to as many other guys as possible!

“Dougie didn’t pull pranks all that often so you didn’t expect it, but he was a really funny guy,” revealed Dykhuis. “He always knew when guys were feeling a bit too tense and he’d crack a joke or pull a stunt like that and it always loosened everyone right up.”]]> Players http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Arrested-Development http://ourhistory.canadiens.com/article/Arrested-Development Tue, 17 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400
With just a few months left before their respective wedding days in 1987, Canadiens defensemen Mike Lalor and Chris Chelios left the Forum after practice one afternoon to meet some of their teammates for lunch. Unfortunately for the grooms-to-be, Montreal’s finest had other ideas in store.

“On my way down to the restaurant, one of the police officers that patrolled the Forum on his beat pulled me over,” recalled Lalor. “He said ‘Mike, what’s going on here? It looks like you have some parking tickets you haven’t paid.’

“I had no idea what he was talking about,” the former Habs’ blue-liner continued with a chuckle. “And the cop said, ‘We have a warrant out for your arrest.’ He was being nice, but he was like, ‘Mike, we have no choice here,’ and he cuffed me.”

Luckily for Lalor, he wasn’t about to spend the afternoon in solitary confinement.

“They got Chelly at the exact same time. I saw them bring Chris in and he was telling all the other cops that the guy must’ve been a Nordiques fan or something,” recounted Lalor with a laugh. “The officer just kept right on with it, telling us there must be some misunderstanding and that they would figure it out, but in the meantime, they were going to have to keep us there locked up overnight!”

Spending the evening in the clink wouldn’t be necessary thanks to teammates Chris Nilan and Guy Carbonneau, who came to the rescue and bailed out their caged buddies.   

“We were in there for at least an hour-and-a-half, and we started getting pretty nervous. Knuckles and Carbo arrived and pretended they’d just heard about it on the radio and came as fast as they could,” described Lalor. “We knew as soon as we saw them there smiling that they’d planned the whole thing.”

They may not have had to actually post bail, but at least the devious Habs pranksters covered the engagement lunch after springing their teammates from the big house.]]> Players