Happy Birthday to a Canadiens Legend

A Happy Birthday to Canadiens Hall of Fame Goaltender Ken Dryden.

I’ll be brutally honest. This man is the reason I became a Montreal Canadiens fan.

At the age of 5, I one day flipped the channel from CBC-Toronto to CBC-Peterborough, which carried Canadiens games in the day, and saw the coolest goalie mask ever.

Ken Dryden playing for Cornell University

I drew that bullseye mask as a kid thousands of times. I also realized that his team won far more than they lost, and would see them take four straight Stanley Cups from 1976 to 1979.

Dryden had already won two Cups, by the time I was three, after making his debut on March 13, 1971.

To think that if I hadn’t turned that dial, or even another goalie was in net that night, I may still have been subjected to the Toronto Maple Leafs and suffered oh so much.

 Ken Dryden and Russian legend Vladislav Tretiak, Dec 31 1975

Dryden retired, after the 1979 season, with six Stanley Cups, a Conn Smythe Trophy, Calder Trophy, five Vezina Trophies (three shared), five First Team and one Second Team all-star selections, 258 wins and a career 2.24 goals against average.

All that came amidst a year off, over a contract dispute, to complete his law degree. Oh and of course he was the also part of Team Canada in the 1972 Summit Series.

As a kid, hockey news in the summer wasn’t as readily available as it is 30 years later. It wasn’t until I opened a pack of hockey cards that I saw the “Now retired” lettering printed on his card and realized he wasn’t coming back.

Dryden would go on to author what is considered the best hockey book ever written, “The Game”, in 1983 and be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame the same year.

His #29 jersey would be retired by the Montreal Canadiens on January 29, 2007.

His post career resume is by far is one of the most impressive ever for a former NHL player.

An author of five books, a commentator for three Winter Olympics (including the 1980 Team USA Miracle on Ice), lawyer, business man, active politician, one-time president of the Toronto Maple Leafs for two years…… OK so he’s not perfect.

Happy Birthday Mr. Dryden and many more!

Another great birthday tribute comes from my HabsEyesOnthePrize colleague Francis Bouchard.

Canadiens add goaltending depth by signing Curtis Sanford

Ok, cue the music and get all the Fred Sanford jokes out.

The Montreal Canadiens picked up free-agent goaltender Curtis Sanford today, signing him to a one-year, two-way contract.

The Canadiens press release does not disclose the financial terms of the deal ,but nhlnumbers.com has him pegged at $600K.

Sanford is a career 37-37-11 with a 2.76 GAA and a .901 SvPct.

He saw more action in St. Louis before serving as a backup, in 35 games for Roberto Luongo, the last two seasons in Vancouver.

With the arrival of Andrew Raycroft in Vancouver, Sanford’s services were no longer needed by the Canucks.

The 29-year-old will find himself in Hamilton as a back-up to Cedric Desjardins and likely be called up if injuries occur to Carey Price or Jaroslav Halak.

Such was the case last season with Marc Denis last season.

The Canadiens’ website also offers an interesting “by the numbers” look at the Habs’ newest goaltender.

Other tidbit: He was a team mate of Sean Avery when they played Jr. hockey with the Owen Sound Platers.

A rare goalie equipment find at the North St. Lawrence Market

After my recent visit to the Hockey Hall of Fame, I was making my way past the St. Lawrence Market.

The main market was closed on Sunday, but across the street I saw a building full of vendor tables. With some time to kill I made my way through.

The North St. Lawrence Market offers a variety of collectibles from tea cups to vintage vinyl albums. I even saw a Russian fighter pilot’s helmet.

Items ranged from a few dollars to the hundreds.

I didn’t see much in terms of hockey items, until I came across this one table. Amidst a collection of china plates and knick knacks, two items were on the table that did not associate with the rest.

One was a pair of binoculars, the other was a vintage goalie glove.

The glove appears to be a late ‘70s to early ‘80s model. It is a Cooper GM12 for the right hand.

The words “Diamond 25” are enscripted in the palm with “Snap Action”, “Professional” and “Custom Edge” down the edge.

The glove appeared to be in great shape with some wear and rub marks.

The price on the sticker was $35. I thought about it and offered $25.

“Sure! Sure!,” the man said and I turned over the cash.

Clearly the vendors did not know what they had and I figure they acquired a box of odds and ends elsewhere and didn’t know what to sell it for.

I’ve seen equipment like this go for a lot more than that on eBay, so I think I got a bargain!

If anyone has any insight into this piece of equipment , please leave a comment or email me.