The Rocket’s Eight Point Night, Vezina’s Assist and the Habs 20,000th Goal

On this day in 1944, Maurice Rocket Richard scored eight points, then an NHL record, in the Canadiens thumped the Detroit Red Wings 9-1.

Richard scored five goals and three assists in the game.

There is a couple variations to the legend behind this historic moment.

Both are correct that Richard was given the morning off to help move. After spending a day of moving furniture, one would suspect that he would be rather tired from the busy day.

This is where the story splits into fact and fiction;

In a fictional variation, was made famous on the Histori Canada commercial below, which has it that Richard was going to be given the night off to move, but then called in to play.

The real story was that Richard was given permission to have the morning off, but would play that night, despite being tired.

Richard got onto the scoreboard with a goal early in the first period, and added an assist before the first 20 minutes had ended.

He added two more goals, in an eight second span, early in the second period and added another goal and assist before the end of the period.

Richard’s fifth goal came in the final period, and his third assist found the stick of Elmer Lach, who redirected the pass beyond the reach of Harry Lumley.

The moment was again captured in the 2007 feature film “The Rocket”. A humorous clip from the film is when his brother-in-law was betting against him and the Canadiens, then sits stunned in the back seat of the car on the ride home.

The record would be tied, by teammate Bert Olmstead in 1953, and is still a Canadiens scoring record.

It would not be broken until Darryl Sittler’s ten point night on February 10, 1976.

First assist by a goalie: Georges Vezina became the first goalie credited with an assist on this day in 1918 against Toronto.

Vezina had stopped a Toronto shot and Newsy Lalonde picked up the puck,rushed back to the other end and scored.

Goal 20,000: Scored by Mike Cammalleri just this evening against the Ottawa Senators. Assists went to Andrei Kostitsyn and Andrei Markov.

November 28, 1925: Georges Vezina plays his last game

It was a typical sight, for fans of the Montreal Canadiens, to see Georges Vézina between the pipes for their team from it’s second season and into the early 1920’s.

After all, the Chicoutimi Cucumber had played in every NHA and NHL regular season game (328), and post-season game (39) since joining the Canadiens fifteen seasons prior.

But in November of 1925, that changed forever.

Vézina had reported to training camp, as usual, but felt ill after an exhibition game against the Victoria Cougars on November 18.

He lost nearly 35 pounds during training camp, and was running a fever of 102. Doctors diagnosed it as a flu virus, and recommended bed rest.

Vézina still made his start for the Canadiens home opener against the Pittsburgh Pirates on November 25.

The game began as usual, but during the the first period Vézina, was suffering from chest pains and left the ice at the end of the fist period bleeding from the mouth.

He reportedly collapsed in the Canadiens dressing room but returned to start the second period.

Vézina collapsed again on the Mount Royal Arena ice before the period began and, after a short delay, left the game.

He returned to the dressing room, sat in his corner and took off his pads for the last time.

Alphonse LaCroix, a U.S. Olympic goalie, took to the ice to finish the game and claimed the win for the Canadiens. LaCroix played the next four games for the Canadiens, posting just one other win.

Vézina went home and saw his doctor, J-E Dube, the next day. The Canadiens iron-man was diagnosed with tuberculosis and told that his lungs were in dreadful condition.

Dr. Dube told Vézina that his chances for survival were slim and recommended that he go home to Chicoutimi to rest.

Vézina listened to his doctor’s orders, but first made a final visit to the Forum on December 3.

There, in the dressing room, he saw his equipment laid out in the corner, as it always was, by trainer Eddie Dufour.

Team manager Leo Dandurand noticed tears rolling down the goalie’s cheeks. Dandurand placed a hand on Vézina’s shoulder and asked, “Is there anything I can do for you, Georges?”

“Yes, Leo. I would like to go home now. And I would like to take my Montreal sweater with me, the won I wore in the Stanley Cup finals in ‘24.”

Dandurand tracked down the sweater and Vézina tearfully said good-bye to his teammates for the last time.

The Canadiens manager then made a statement to reporters.

“Georges is gone and I doubt if hockey will ever know his like again. He has been a great credit to professional sport. He was a great athlete and a wonderful gentleman.”

The Canadiens paid Vézina his full salary ($6,000) for the 1925-26 season, despite only playing part of the first game.

Vézina returned to his home in Chicoutimi and died on March 27, 1926 at age 39.

Close to 1,500 people crammed into the cathedral in Chicoutimi for his funeral and over 800 Catholic masses in Montreal and Chicoutimi were devoted to Vézina’s memory.

The Montreal Standard referred to him as the "greatest goaltender of the last two decades" in their obituary.

Later in the year, Dandurand and fellow Canadiens owners Louis Letourneau and Joe Cattarinich donated the Vézina Trophy to the NHL to honor their departed goaltender.

Georges Vézina Facts and Figures

• Inaugural member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, elected in 1945.
• Member of the Canadiens first two Stanley Cup winning teams (1916, 1924) and appeared in three other Cup finals.
• Was the first goalie in the NHL to record a shutout on Feb 18,1918 and was the first goalie credited with a shutout.
• Referred to as the "Chicoutimi Cucumber" for his cool demeanor on the ice.
• He was also known as "L'Habitant silencieux" (the "silent Habitant"), a reference to his reserved personality. He often sat in a corner of the team's dressing room alone, smoking a pipe and reading the newspaper.
• Contrary to urban legend, he never had 22 children. That came from a boastful story relayed to the media from Dandurand.
• Vézina had two children, Jean-Jules born in 1912 and  Marcel Stanley, who was born the night the Canadiens won their first Cup.
• His 328 consecutive games was a record that stood for over 30 years.
• Gained the attention of the Canadiens when he led his amateur club to a shutout victory in an exhibition against the Canadiens.
• Led in GAA seven times in his career and finished twice five times.
• Played wearing a toque (which can be seen on the photo of him on the Vézina Trophy) and made use of his large stick for blocking shots. He also didn’t learn to skate until his late teens and started playing goal in his work boots.
• Was known to play without gloves…ouch!
• Ranked 75th in The Hockey News 100 All-time Greatest Players
• The city of Chicoutimi renamed their hockey arena the Centre Georges-Vézina in 1965

Georges Vézina’s Career Stats

Sources for this article:

Books:

• Jenish, D'Arcy (2008), The Montreal Canadiens: 100 Years of Glory, Doubleday Canada, ISBN 978-0-385-66324-3
• McFarlane, Brian (2008), True Hockey Stories: The Habs, Prospero Books, ISBN 978-1-55267-714-8

Blogs/WWW:

• HabsEyesOnThePrize.com, “1925-26 All That Could Stop Georges Vezina”
• ourhistory.canadiens.com, Georges Vezina player profile

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.

The Hockey Hall of Fame, Part One: A must visit for Canadiens Fans!

I recently had some time in Toronto to play tourist and explore the Hockey Hall of Fame.

For the record, the last time I paid a visit to the Hall was nearly 20 years ago in it’s old diminutive home at the Exhibition grounds.

Now situated in the old Bank of Montreal Building on the northwest corner of Front and Yonge, the Hall has a massive 57,000 square foot facility to display hockey’s history.

Upon entering the foyer to the Hall through the lower level of the building, one finds a large goalie mask display known as the Mask Columns.

Encased in the columns are Ken Dryden’s pretzel mask and two masks that he used later in his career. It also shows how one of these fiberglass mask was made.

Behind the columns is a wall showcasing 1300 pucks acquired at different arenas and tournaments around the world.

After paying my $15 admission, that was worth every penny, one of the first things you see are nine foot statues of Dryden and Fred “Cyclone”Taylor.

I admired the massive statue of my childhood hero then glanced into the feature exhibit area that the statues guard.

A tremendous Montreal Canadiens Centennial exhibit is currently on display with memorabilia, photos, and equipment from the storied team.

A series of cabinets feature many of the team’s most honored players.

I made several passes through this exhibit during my visit, spotting something else each time.

From Jacques Plante’s personal Hart Trophy or a copy of the program from the 1975 New Year’s Eve game against Central Red Army to Jose Theodore’s toque from the Heritage Game and Joe Hall’s 1918 contract from 1918 for $700, many a unique Canadiens relic is to be found in this exhibit.

The note issued by Campbell and Selke, forfeiting the game against Detroit during the Richard Riots 

At the far end, a large video screen runs episodes of The Heroes of Hockey series, featuring Habs Hall of Famers.

If there was a chair, I would have sat there for them all!

A variety of exhibits surround the centerpiece including a tribute area of the famed Stanley Cup dynasties.

The Canadiens own three of these displays – The four Cup run from the ‘70s, the “Forgotten Dynasty” four in five from 1965 to 1969 and the unequalled five straight from 1956-1960.

 

The 70’s display shown above encases Ken Dryden’s set of gloves that he used throughout his final season (1978-79).

As I glanced through these fantastic displays, I couldn’t help but wonder, “If that stick, jersey, glove could only talk, what stories it could tell.”

My attention then turned to one of the most popular exhibits in the hall, the to-scale replica Montreal Canadiens dressing room from the Montreal Forum.

With locker stalls for several of the Canadiens Hall of Fame players, it’s interesting to look at the equipment used in the various eras.

Looking at knee pads similar to the ones Guy Lafleur once used, I thought about the massive, yet equally if not lighter, ones I have in my bag at home.

I sat down on the bench of Patrick Roy’s stall and took the massive goal pads up to my leg. As I did I looked at the smaller brown leather pads that Ken Dryden and Jacques Plante once used.

More history is played on video monitors above the room while you tour around.

On a quiet June Sunday morning, I was able to take a high detailed video of the room.

Making my way to the Upper Deck Collector’s Corner I found a treasure trove of Canadiens memorabilia.

Rookie cards of Dryden, Roy and Lafleur adorn one of the card displays while a complete Shiriff/Salada Coin set (in it’s display) was mounted on another.

I even came across a cardboard stand-up of Doug Risebrough from the 1970’s. I still have this one and several other of these at home still intact in their packaged form!

A media pass from the 1993 All-Star Game was found in a huge cabinet of passes and tickets.

I worked my way to the Great Hall, which houses the Stanley Cup, the awards trophies and the Hall of Fame plaques of all the inductees, including 44 players and builders from the Canadiens.

The wall of inductees is rather tall so you may need to look waaaaay up to find your favorite player.

  In Lord Stanley’s vault, I discovered some of the “retired” rings removed from the Stanley Cup. A few acknowledged previous Canadiens teams, so alas not all 24 Cup engravings are on the cup together.

Another find was one of the first personal miniature cups issued out to winning Stanley Cup players and management in 1957-58.

I clearly can spend another day in detail of this fantastic facility and was also interested to know that a huge resource centre is also available for public use by appointment only.

On your way out, you’ll find a pile of Canadiens collectibles to add to your collection at the Spirit of Hockey store.

I budgeted this time and just grabbed a 100th Anniversary game puck for this trip. I have a list in case you are going and would like to get me something. :)

I found it interesting that some Saku Koivu t-shirts were on at clearance prices. My trip was 10 days before the free-agent deadline.

Did the Hall know something ahead of time?

In the meantime, I offer my complete collection of Canadiens exhibit photos taken during my visit here.

I will be adding a second part on International hockey as well as another installment on the rest of the Hall  of Fame to my site in the coming weeks.