The Habs legend they called Cannonball

When Jack Laviolette was given the task of putting together a newly formed NHA team in the fall of 1909, the first man he recruited to join him was his good friend Didier Pitre.

Pitre, born on this day in 1883, had played with Laviolette in Valleyfield, QC and with the Michigan-Soo Indians in the IHL.

The 5’11” 190lb, muscular winger/blueliner was exceptionally fast for a man of his stature. The story goes that he could even skate just as fast backwards as he could going forwards.

His combination of speed and size, along with blistering shot that terrorized goalies, had earned him the nickname “Cannonball”.

Laviolette sent for Pitre, who had been working the off-season in Sault-Ste. Marie, ON, via telegram.

The key phrases of that telegram read, “New League formed. New Canadien team formed. Big Money available. Come to Montreal.”

Pitre immediately quit his job and hopped a the first train available to unite with his longtime friend.

Unbeknownst to Pitre, the Montreal Nationals of the CHA were also in the midst of recruiting him for their team.

Pitre met up with a Nationals representative on the train ride to Ottawa. Thinking this was the team Laviolette spoke of, he signed on with them en route.

Realizing his error on meeting Laviolette, Pitre signed with the Canadiens.

The Nationals filed legal action to prevent Pitre from playing with the Canadiens, but on January 5, 1910 , the night of their inaugural game, a judge ruled in favor of the Canadiens.

“The Flying Frenchmen” Jack Laviolette, Didier Pitre and Newsy Lalonde

Pitre scored 10 goals in the Canadiens first twelve-game season. he would score 19, 28, and 24 goals in the following three seasons.

He went to the Vancouver Millionaires for the 1913-14 season, but returned to Montreal the following year bagging 30 goals in a 20 game season.

He won his only Stanley Cup during the 1915-16 season after leading the NHA is scoring with 39 points.

While his offensive totals continued to be impressive, Pitre’s speed over the years was slowing tailing off.

In his final two seasons, Pitre found himself concentrating on playing as a defenseman.

His final game was the second game of a two-game total goals series, versus the Ottawa Senators, for the NHL title in 1923.

The Canadiens lost the series by one goal. Despite the losing effort, being overweight and used as a substitute during most of his final season, the 39 year-old saved his best defensive effort for his last game.

“Didier was sensational on defence,” wrote La Presse.

“One expected him to be exhausted after a few minutes, but he was like a wall against the Ottawa attack.”

The last of the original Canadiens announced his retirement after the series, finishing with 220 goals and 59 assists in 254 games with Montreal.

In light of his size and the brutal physical game of the era, Pitre played with a sportsmanlike attitude.

It is even said that he was once criticized by his coach for apologetically helping an opponent up after he had knocked him to the ice.

Elmer Ferguson, who wrote about Pitre through his career, had this to say.

“Many played brutally, but Pitre was not one of them. It is doubtful if the big, good-natured Frenchman ever did a mean, or unsportsmanlike thing in his whole career.”

“Pitre was a very loyal player with a generous heart,” wrote an unnamed journalist.

“The fans liked his lively character, his engaging repartee, his extraordinary drive and the unbelievable speed of his rushes.”

Pitre died in 1934 and was enshrined in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1962.

Other notes about Didier Pitre

• Before his first Stanley Cup win, he competed in the Cup final in 1909 with Edmonton, and again with Montreal in 1917 and 1919.
• Hall of Famer Cy Dennehy called Pitre one of the fastest skaters of all time.
• In a January 16, 1919 game against the Ottawa, Pitre and Jack Darragh, of Ottawa, each had natural hat tricks in a 10-6 win for the Canadiens. That feat was not repeated until Jonathan Cheechoo, of the San Jose Sharks, and Ryan Smyth, of Edmonton Oilers, each did in a 6-4 Edmonton victory on October 19th, 2006
• Became a coach and referee in the Michigan-Soo area after his retirement as was also named to the NHL’s officiating staff.
• Played alongside 22 Hall-of-Fame players during his career.

The Canadiens first captain would be 130 years old today.

Jean-Baptiste “Jack” Laviolette was born in Belleville, ON on this day, in 1879.

Growing up in Valleyfield, QC, Laviolette was a two sport star athlete in both lacrosse and hockey and eventually gained stardom, in the International Hockey League, with the Michigan-Soo Indians before joining the Montreal Shamrocks in 1907.

Laviolette as a member of the Michigan-Soo Indians

In the the late fall of 1909, he was approached by J. Ambrose O’Brien, to not only play, but also captain, coach and assemble a new French-speaking pro hockey team in Montreal for the newly formed NHA.

He quickly worked to bring on long-time friend Didier Pitre and Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde to the new franchise.

As exciting a chance it appeared to be for Laviolette, the ambitious challenge soon turned to discomfort as the Canadiens finished dead last in their first season with a 2-12 record.

Laviolette turned the captaincy of the team over to Lalonde the following season, and brought in a goaltender by the name of Georges Vezina. The team improved to .500 that year, but failed to reach the playoffs.

Laviolette found himself captain again in 1911-12 when Lalonde left the Canadiens.

The struggling start to the franchise would later become success as  the Canadiens won their first Stanley Cup championship in 1916. By that time, Laviolette was only with the team in a playing capacity.

The Canadiens claimed a second NHA title the following season, but they would lose to Seattle in their quest to repeat as Stanley Cup champions.

In the 1917-18 season, the Canadiens were part of the newly formed NHL.  Montreal would take first place that season.

His playing career ended in the spring of 1918 when he lost his right foot in a car crash. The Canadiens held a benefit game, for their first on and off-ice leader, in 1921 where Laviolette participated as a referee.

Laviolette died in 1960, and would be inducted, as a lacrosse player, into the Canadian Sports Hall of Fame later that same year.

He would become an honored member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, posthumously, two years later.

One-game NHA players with the Montreal Canadiens

 

In conjunction to my series of players who played their lone game in the NHL in a Canadiens uniform, I have made a list of the seven players known to have represented hockey’s most storied franchise, in the NHA, for just one game.

Five of the seven played in the Canadiens first season.

Links to my previous series, on one-game NHL players that wore the Bleu-Blanc et Rouge, are below:

Part One (A to E)  Part Two (F to L)  Part Three (M to Z)

 

Marcel Beliveau – LW

Beliveau signed as a free-agent with Montreal on November 23, 1914. He was released on January 4, 1915

Joseph (Jean) Bougie – C

Loaned to Montreal by Valleyfield (SWQHL), Bougie played his one game in the Canadiens’ first season on February 1, 1910.

Ed Chapleau – Rover

Chapleau signed as a free agent when the Canadiens broke ground in December 1909. He registered three penalty minutes in his only game. Maybe a typo, but the Canadiens’ site states he played in two games.

Pat Larochelle – G

Larochelle won his lone game, as an injury replacement, in a 4-3 72-minute overtime game in the 1909-10 season.

The Canadiens history site acknowledges Larochelle’s appearance, but does not indicate any statistics.

Sarsfield Malone - D

The SIHR player database states that Malone got his one appearance in the NHA during the Canadiens 1913-14 season. The Canadiens site shows no record of him.

 

Ed Millaire – Rover

Millaire recorded three penalty minutes in his one game during the 1909-10 season. He later became a medical doctor.

 

Pierre Vezina – Forward

Vezina joined the Canadiens for a tryout, along with brother Georges, on December 10, 1909.

Record has it that Pierre did not make the team, while brother Georges would go on to become one of the first Hall of Fame members with the Canadiens.

He is reported however, to have played in the Feb. 10, 1912 game (in Quebec City against the Bulldogs) by the Quebec Chronicle.