March 14, 1971: Ken Dryden debuts with the Montreal Canadiens

To most fans across the NHL, it was a plain and simple statement issued, and in some cases buried in a corner of their local papers, by the Associated Press:

Fans of the Montreal Canadiens knew well of Ken Dryden, who had been an All-American goalie with Cornell University and played on Canada’s national team. The 23-year old was quickly becoming established in Montreal in his first pro season with AHL Voyageurs.

Dryden was impressive in the Canadiens training camp in September, playing in two pre-season games against Chicago and Boston.

He would begin the 1970-71 season studying law, in his second year at McGill University, while at the same time posting a 16-7-8 record, with a 2.68 GAA and 3 shutouts with the Canadiens farm club.

After signing a new contract with Montreal in January of 1971, Dryden began focusing more on hockey, referring to his law studies as a “hobby”.

Dryden was officially called up by the Canadiens on March 7, when the team decided to carry three goalies (Dryden, Phil Myre and Rogie Vachon) through the remainder of the season.

Coach Al McNeil gave the rookie his first start on March 14, against the fifth-place Pittsbugh Penguins, after Vachon had played 15 straight games for Montreal. McNeil said the veteran goalie “deserved a break.”

“Our club was getting a little dull the last three games,” McNeil said as the Canadiens had just a tie to go with two straight losses. “We didn’t have too much life.”

With the team playing at home against Chicago the night before, the timing for Dryden’s debut in Pittsburgh was just right.

Dryden admitted being nervous filling the shoes of the popular Canadiens netminder. “Sometimes you feel it in your stomach, and other times in your legs,” he said. “This time it was in my legs.”

The Penguins managed to get 36 shots on Dryden, beating him just once on a deflection by Penguins rookie John Stewart at 18:01 of the second period.It was Stewart’s first NHL goal.

“I was following the shot from the from the point, and it deflected right into Stewart’s stick,” Dryden said.

Unfortunately for Pittsburgh, the Canadiens had already scored three goals on route to a 5-1 win.

Bryan Hextall (note the name typo on the jersey) looks on as Ken Dryden makes one of his 35 saves in his NHL debut against the Pittsburgh Penguins – 03/14/1971 – Pittsburgh Press photo

The young netminder even admitted thinking he might get a shutout.

“Maybe some goalies say they don’t think of shutouts, but I do,” he said. “Trouble is it’s when you just start patting yourself on the back that you get beaten.”

Dryden was happy with his performance, but felt that debut jitters may have led to being exposed on rebounds that his teammates safely cleared.

“They had very few real good shots,” he said. “Sure I made a couple of reasonably difficult saves but I was warmed up to them after easier ones on the same shifts. I couldn’t wait until the game was over. I was really careless at times.”

Dryden would win his next five starts with the Canadiens, posting a 1.65 GAA, leaving McNeil to chose him over Vachon to lead the Canadiens into the memorable Stanley Cup quarter-finals against the first place Bruins.

A legend was born.

Did you know?: It’s well documented that Ken’s older brother Dave was an NHL goalie, as well the pair becoming the first brothers in the NHL to face off in opposing goals on March 20, 1971.

But on the night little brother Ken made his NHL debut, big brother Dave recorded a shutout, playing for the Buffalo Sabres, against the Minnesota North Stars. To top it off, he also recorded an assist.

“I’ll call him Monday,” Dave Dryden said. “Yeah I’ll call collect. It was a perfect night.”

A Pair of Habs Bargain Book Finds

Ever had one of those days when you walk into a store, with no real intentions to buy anything, then luck in on a great deal?

Last weekend, I had one of those. My goal was to find a small printer cart or table for my fiancée and her two girls. After not finding any to my liking, or that were reasonably priced, I spotted a discount/clearance store across the street from where I was parked.

“Couldn’t hurt to try,” I said to myself so in I went.

With no luck in the small furniture area, I noticed a used book area in the far corner and decided to see what was there.

I found the sports shelf, and thumbed my way through. Low and behold, there stood out the greatest hockey book ever written, Ken Dryden’s “The Game”.

It was in excellent shape, in light of a small tear on the sleeve in the corner, but on opening it I realized that this was a very early edition (4th printing).

My only other copy was a paperback release, that I had in my possession for over 20 years. To find an early printing was quite a treat, especially at the price of $3.99.

There was even an old 1984 First Choice (now the Movie Network) card calendar between one of the pages. So this copy had likely not been handled too often, and likely by just one owner.

Then I found something peculiar. A page or two in, the inscription “John, He Shoots, he scores! Sincerely, Gordie Howe” was written in blue pen.

The signature had been written over slightly in marker. An added bonus, I wondered. But why would Gordie Howe sign Ken Dryden’s book?

Later in the day I researched Mr. Howe’s signature, but alas the one in the book doesn’t match up to any I saw online. Perhaps John’s father did it to cheer him up, who knows.

Working my way through the books I hit another jackpot. “Thunder and Lightning” by John Ferguson, and Stan and Shirley Fischler.

This was a better find for me than the other book as for months I had been tracking down a decent copy of this book. A few times it pops up on eBay or in Amazon’s used lists, but my timing, or the ridiculous shipping costs, kept me away from it.

The timing couldn’t have been better either, given the Georges Laraque mess that was going on in Montreal. Here in my hand was the autobiography of the man who basically created the enforcer position, while at the same time the Canadiens had just bought out the man they thought could carry that role or them.

Off to the checkout I went, and passed over the money for my new finds plus a 75th Anniversary NHL book, just under $13 after taxes well spent.

As for the printer cart, I did manage to find one on sale the next day. A successful weekend all around.

Holiday Greetings and Vintage Footage from Ken Dryden and Family

Thumbs up to Erle Schneidman and his tireless efforts at CanadiensMemorabilia.com.

Erle’s site is a tremendous archive of all things collectible that relates to the Montreal Canadiens.

It’s always exciting to get weekly updates on the site, and this week was no exception.

Erle has a stumbled on a set of greeting cards issued by the Dryden family dating from as far back as 1959 and right up to the brothers’ NHL days and beyond.

The cards primarily feature brothers Ken and Dave as well as sister Judy. Other cards feature the kids with other family members.

 For anyone who was in the mailing list, and is in possession of one or two of these and curious to their value, Erle has an estimated individual card value of $40 to $50 range.

Vintage CBC Archive feature on Ken Dryden

On a related note, I was thumbing through the CBC Digital Archives and came across this vintage piece on Ken Dryden from October 1972.

The feature includes commentary from legendary broadcaster Foster Hewitt, journalist Milt Dunnell, Dave Dryden (check out those sideburns) and, of course, Ken Dryden as only he can put it.

Keep in mind this is just after his first full season with the Canadiens when this was originally aired.

Habs Mixed Bag: Markov Skating, Gionta’s Hospital Visit, and Chris Nilan’s Demons

Some more positive news, on the Habs injury report Friday, with Andrei Markov on the ice for almost an hour of intense workouts.

The All-Star rearguard is yet to be cleared by team doctors for contact practices, but is travelling to Atlanta as the Canadiens prepare to meet the Thrashers.

Markov is expected to be re-evaluated by team doctors on Monday and appears to be making good on his anticipated early return.

Another injured Hab who scheduled to meet the doctor’s office Monday is Brian Gionta.

The left winger has been on IR since November 18 and could be permitted to take to the ice in non-contact workouts by the end of next week.

#21 pays a fan a visit: Gionta did have time, on Thursday, to pay a visit to a 15-year-old midget player at Montreal’s Children’s hospital. Pat Hickey of the Montreal Gazette has the story.

Habs tough-guy finds a vicious foe: Another touching story from The Gazette’s Red Fisher has a moving piece on former Habs enforcer Chris Nilan’s battle with addictions.

In the days before testing for PEDs: Canadiens.com has a feature on Ken Dryden’s secret elixir to help his indigestion problems during the ‘73 playoffs.

On this day in 1973: Guy Lafleur scored his first career hat-trick during the Canadiens 4-3 win over the Minnesota North Stars.

Lafleur would have two more hat tricks, during the 1971-72 season, becoming the first rookie to record three in a season.

In Case you Missed It: Habs News and Blogger Views for Dec 9

Reflection by Andrea Lavoie

I came across a couple good articles online tonight while nursing a scratchy throat and after an afternoon of shoveling.

First up, Dave Stubbs (Montreal Gazette) on my all-time favourite Hab Ken Dryden’s reaction to the Canadiens Centennial Ceremony.

I agree with Mr. Stubbs that not seeing Dryden, in his trademark pose, last Friday was a bit of a disappointment. But the fact that #29 appeared in pads for the first time in 30 years was reward enough.

OK a little shameless self promotion: Jessica Murphy’s look at Canadiens fans making the pilgrimage to Montreal. Just to note, I am not from North Bay, just drove through it once.

More on the slumping former Canadiens right winger, who now plays elsewhere.

The Hockey News’ Ryan Kennedy looks at backup goalies thrust into the lead role this season, including Jaroslav Halak.

And speaking of the Habs #41: Oh Canadiens looks at a possible trade  rumours, with the Oilers, involving the Slovak netminder

One Down, One Up: The Habs sent Ryan White back to the Bulldogs on Wednesday, was he really here? ;)

With injuries to defencemen Paul Mara and Jaroslav Spacek, the Canadiens called up Yannick Weber Wednesday afternoon.

On the Air Waves:

Bob McCowan and John Shannon (PrimeTime Sports/Fan590) talked to Brendan Shanahan, the NHL’s new VP for Hockey and Business Development.

Earlier in the day, Daren Millard and Nick Kypreos (Hockey Central/Fan590) caught up with HOFer Mark Messier on his new roll as Team Canada’s GM for the 2010 World Hockey Championships.

Who Wants to Tell Him the Answer Was No?: Dennis Kane, a guy can dream I guess.

Habs Face Tough Two Weeks as The Next 100 Years Begin

With the Montreal Canadiens Centennial completed, the new Habs may have inspiration to carry out the start for the next 100 years of history.

For those who missed the Centennial Ceremony, the Canadiens site has some excerpts available here.

The "New Habs" have battled injuries and identity to start the season, struggling to carry the tradition of their predecessors.

I don't think they have the skills/depth that people think they have," said Patrick Roy on Friday night citing injuries plaguing the team. "Gionta made a difference at the start of the season, and he has been a huge loss."

"They've got to write their own story," said Ken Dryden. "It's time now for the second 100 years to begin, and for this team to begin it. The celebrations belonged to the past. It's their team now. It's not Patrick's team, or Guy's team."

"They gotta start a new season, " added Guy Lafleur. "After what they saw tonight, maybe they will realize how important the Montreal Canadiens are to Canada."

The team must have taken the legends' words to heart, on Friday night, thrashing the Boston Bruins 5-1.

They will certainly to carry the inspiration over the next two weeks as they play a series of games, alternating home and away.

The first week begins Monday when they face the Philadelphia Flyers, who were embarrassed 8-2 Saturday night by an Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals team. Not a great start for new coach Peter Laviolette.

Tuesday puts them in Ottawa against Alex Kovalev and the Ottawa Senators. A quick shout out to a small bunch of regulars from HabsInsideOut.com, who are headed to Kanata for the game.

The week closes out back home to host the Stanley Cup Champion Penguins, who have dominated the Habs in their first two meetings this season, and back on the road Saturday in Atlanta.

Week two sees the Sabres, who embarrassed Montreal last Thursday, roll into town.

Then it's off to New Jersey on Wednesday before welcoming back Guillaume Latendresse and his new team, the Minnesota Wild, the following day.

That week concludes on Long Island, against the Islanders, kicking off a seven=game road trip to close out the month.

A couple interesting points to the schedule:

After this week, the Habs play no Tuesday night games until January 5th, which is great for me because I always miss the end of the game to play in my pick-up league.

The second, which is really weird, is that the Canadiens do not play another Saturday night game at home until January 9th!

Still want the NHL to compete in the Olympics after 2010?

The Montreal Canadiens 100 years, 100 photos

For the Montreal Canadiens Centennial, I decided to put together an assortment of photos and images featuring hockey’s most storied franchise.

Some will likely be familiar ones, but I’m throwing in a few more lesser known ones as well.

To see the full size photo album, just click here.

Congratulations to the Montreal Canadiens on their Centennial!

Here's to another 100 years!

In Case you missed it: Habs News and Blogger Views for August 23

Drop the puck already!

 

I’ve been away from my laptop, for a day or so, with some family time and doing some research for an upcoming post.

Here’s a short roundup of the weekend’s Habs’ bloggings.

Dennis Kane debates the value of packaged collectibles.

The Daily Hab-it sizes up (literally) the Northeast Division.

The story of how the Canadiens stole Ken Dryden from the Bruins courtesy of Habs Eyes on the Prize.

Jason from Flying Frenchmen makes his predictions on the top eight in the Eastern Conference for 2009-10.

Rick Moffat (CJAD’s voice of the Canadiens) in his “Hit the Post” column from the West Island Chronicle.

“Drove by the Bell Centre to see how the giant Koivu banner would be replaced at the southeast corner. Are you surprised its Markov?

Carey would be the better marketing department choice but the Hockey Department must have called this shot.

A buddy tells me Carey Price at the rink in Kelowna on Dany Heatley's GroundHog Day. Carey and Josh Gorges signed autographs. Heatley didn't. Especially not anything with the Sens on it!

If Dany Heatley saw his shadow, that means three more weeks of selfishness until Training Camp or a trade, which ever comes first, right?”

Canadiens.com catches up with legendary blueliner Guy Lapointe.

OhCanadiens will be dong an interview with TSN’s Montreal correspondent John Lu in September. You can email them your questions for John on his thoughts for the upcoming season.

Lions in Winter says we won’t miss Mike Komisarek.

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.

Doing it “Family Style” on GHL

He may be on holidays, but Joe Pelletier of Greatest Hockey Legends has left readers with a great series on famous brother combinations in the NHL for the month of July.

It’s a who’s who of brothers who have played with or against each other in the NHL.

Brother goaltenders Dave (top) and Ken Dryden

Did you know there was a third Richard brother? Now you do!

On a related note, Steven Buist of the Hamilton Spectator recently wrote up a revisit to the first ever brother vs. brother encounter in goal between the Dryden brothers which includes recollections from Ken and Dave Dryden.

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.