Feb 18, 1967: Rogie Vachon makes his debut with the Habs

If I had to choose one goalie who is not in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and deserves to be, it would be Rogatien “Rogie” Vachon.

Growing up as a kid, I always saw Vachon as the the Los Angeles Kings All-Star netminder with the blank white mask.

Upon paying more attention to the stats on his hockey cards, rather than flinging them against the school walls at recess, I learned that he got his start with the Montreal Canadiens. I later learned the same of Tony Esposito.

In mid- February of the 1966-67 season, the Canadiens were a .500 team. With Gump Worsley injured, and not overly confident in the recent play of Charlie Hodge, Montreal GM Sam Pollock and coach Toe Blake had a decision to make.

Having seen the prodigy’s stellar play during three Apollos games earlier in the season, Pollock made the call for Vachon..

He made his debut against the Detroit Red Wings on February 19. Detroit  was a sub-.500 team at the time, but they still had the firepower of Gordie Howe, Norm Ullman, Alex Delvecchio and the up and coming Paul Henderson in their lineup.

Vachon stunned the Red Wings, making 40 saves (his first of the night on a Howe breakaway) and earning the First Star in a 3-2 Canadiens victory.

The rookie stayed on with the big club for the rest of the season, and was called on to carry the team through the playoffs. Vachon did just hat and despite a Cup Finals loss to the Toronto Maple Leafs, he was in the NHL to stay.

He and Worlsey would win the Vezina the following season and go on to win back-to-back Stanley Cups in 1968 and 1969.

Vachon then found himself in the number one roll with the departure of Worsley, but it would just for one full seasons and the start of another.

At the end of the 1970-71 season, Vachon found himself on the bench for the last 10 games of the season and through the playoffs. Ken Dryden had arrived.

Vachon cracked the Canadiens lineup, originally wearing the number 29 and later number 30 before settling on number one. He would be ousted from Montreal when a new number 29 arrived to immortalize the number.

With Dryden now the new goaltending hero of the Canadiens, Vachon knew he wouldn’t see much action in the 1971-72 season. He requested a trade after the first game and soon found himself in Los Angeles, where he shone on the west coast.

As Gretzky did for the Kings in the ‘90s, Vachon did likewise for the franchise in the ‘70s adapting to the laid back California lifestyle. Gone was the clean-cut Vachon and enter the long-haired, fu manchu mustached Vachon.

Maybe it was the hair, maybe the moustache, but it was mostly the goaltending that vaulted the Kings from a second-worst team at the end of the 71-72 season to a 105 point Cup contender three seasons later with Vachon coming in runner-up to the Hart Trophy.

In the first Canada Cup in 1976, it was Vachon, not Cheevers, Parent or Dryden who played every game going 6-1 with a 1.39 GAA.

While his Canada Cup success brought him back to tthe national TV spotlight, playing on the west coast meant little TV exposure and highlights were far and few between in the pre-internet/cable-satellite TV eras.

That combined with the Kings offensive meltdowns in the playoffs is a key factor in Vachon not being in the Hall of Fame.

It’s a shame, plain and simple.

Rogie Vachon’s Career Statistics

I’m not the only one who feels this way:

Todd Denault, author of “Jacques Plante: The Man who Changed the Face of Hockey”, a contributor to HabsWorld.net and an avid goalie historian, also offers some valid arguments for Vachon’s induction.

Robert Lefebvre a huge fan of Vachon fan, echoes Denault’s thoughts with some more insight.

Some more support form Kingscast

The Montreal Gazette’s Dave Stubbs is another supporter.

The smell of hockey is in the air!

Ahhh September. It’s almost time to embarrass myself on the ice for another season, and I have my hockey pools already registered.

And oh yeah, the new NHL season is slowly moving upon us as rookie camps open across the league.

Twenty-nine rookies reported in for the Montreal Canadiens camp Monday in Brossard.

A few of them (Max Pacioretty, Yannick Weber, etc.) saw some time with the big club last season and will be working hard to earn a full time spot.

Pacioretty told RDS that he has been having problems getting sleep the last few weeks. Can you blame him?

P.K. Subban was a standout with the main camp last season and will be out to prove he is ready for the pros.

Barring injury, it’s safe to say that the star defenseman, in the OHL with Belleville last year, will start the season in Hamilton.

Subban is ever the optimist and will be ready to show Canadiens coach Jacques Martin that he will be ready if called upon.

Oh Canadiens weighs in on the key rookies to watch.

By Tuesday afternoon, eighteen veteran players, both new faces and old ones, had arrived and were participating in on ice workouts.

Carey Price, Andrei Kostitsyn and Ryan O’Byrne have yet to appear.

Twittering their lives away: Two notable Canadiens media members will be covering the Canadiens camps this season.

The Montreal Gazette/HabsInsideOut’s Dave Stubbs will be Twittering from the team’s golf tournament later this week as well as next week’s main camp.

CJAD’s Abe Hefter has already begun reporting in on the blue-bird site from rookie camp.

Mr. Hefter also gives his first impressions on his blog.

So which one is Hoss?: After this season’s training camp winds down, the Canadiens will spend three days at Teen Ranch, located about 45 minutes northwest of Toronto.  The Habs begin their season October 1, in Toronto.

The facility does boat an Olympic size rink so chances are it will be a working holiday.

CJAD’s Rick Moffatt put it this way in his column in Friday’s West Island Chronicle.

“Carey Price may be lovin it, but if one player gets bucked or "lower body injury" has to cover up a saddle sore, we'll have to put a black hat on Jacques Martin.

Happy trails, Habs fans! Martin's done it before with his Senators squad...and the Ice Corral at "Teen Ranch" in Caledon Ontario has also welcomed the Leafs and Panthers. We won't hold that against them.”

I may have to book a day or two off to hang out in the area. ;)

Blow out your candles, and wish for a deserved induction to the Hall of Fame: A happy 64th to one-time Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings star goalie Rogie Vachon.

A collection of articles compiled by HabsInsideOut’s Dave Stubbs can be found here.

King of the Cobb:  A quick shout out to Ian Cobb, a regular poster over on HabsInsideOut, who invited us to his home, this past weekend, for his annual corn boil.

It was great to meet up with a gracious host, enjoy some good food and beverages, and talk hockey with Ian and some of the other HIO regulars. Thanks again my friend!