On May 14th, 1977, the Montreal Canadiens concluded an impressive season in which they achieved a record-breaking 132 points in the regular season, outshooting their opponents 441-194. In the Stanley Cup Finals, the Canadiens swept the Boston Bruins in four games, with Jacques Lemaire scoring the winning goal in overtime, leading to a 2-1 victory. This was the Canadiens’ 20th Stanley Cup victory, capping off a remarkable season for the team. Goaltender Ken Dryden season for the team. Goaltender Ken Dryden finished with 41 wins, while forward Guy Lafleur set a new record with 136 points.
Maurice volunteered to go to war, but was refused because of his injured ankle. Ironically, this is what allowed him to turn professional in 1943-44 while several healthy Canadian players joined the ranks of the army. Richard then worked at the Angus factories, assembling tanks during the day, and playing hockey in the evening.
I first would like to thank Marlene Wall very much for editing my articles as Judy Pitcher takes some time off for personal reasons.
The one thing I find ironic is that the HABS have the fifth overall draft pick for the second straight season, and didn’t move from where they would have drafted if no lottery , is that due to the HABS having probably the best player to wear #5 in Bernard “Boom Boom ” Geoffrion.
The only thing we know from the HABS themselves is that GM Kent Hughes said the HABS most likely would be drafting a forward with this draft pick , few names were mentioned. For those who forgot last year at 5 overall, the HABS drafted David Reinbacher who in his 11 games with the Laval Rockets had 2 goals and 3 assists for a total of 5 points , had 6 minutes in penalties and was a +4
For someone who just came from Austria I’m very impressed. Let’s hope that this year’s number 5 will be just as good or better . I can fully understand Kent Hughes logic of wishing to draft a forward, as the HABS presently have lots of young defense prospects and not as many forwards.
What I would do and is something my late father told me way back many moons ago is never draft for position but rather draft the best overall player , as if you have too many prospects in one position, it normally means other teams don’t have enough thus you can make a trade and perhaps get a premium as you have what they are looking for .
Then even before a team decides , they should wait a few days before the actual draft and you can interview the players one on one with the teams sport psychologist on hand to interpret the players response to the very hard questions. We saw in the 2022 NHL Entry Draft that Shane Wright who everyone was saying would be the number one overall pick chosen by the HABS and instead they went off the wall and drafted Juraj Slafkovsky . What I believe happened and I wasn’t present was when they interviewed Wright several times and HABS management met alone and didn’t like Wrights attitude thus passed on him . For more information on this please see my article at
Also , besides that we don’t know who the other teams will draft , maybe the player Kent Hughes had circled in for the Habs first pick this year and that we will never know .
Whatever player the HABS choose , I’m sure will work out long term for the HABS, since Kent Hughes took over as GM , he has been doing an excellent job of developing the young draft picks and prospects.
Montreal Canadiens defeated St. Louis Blues 3-2 in Game 4 of the Stanley Cup finals and captured their 15th SC.
J.C. Tremblay scored the Cup-clinching goal at 11:40 of the 3rd period against St. Louis goalie Glenn Hall.Hall won the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP in a losing effort (all 4 defeats by a single goal)
After collecting his 8th SC in 13 seasons as Habs head coach , Toe Blake retired . He also won 3 SC as a player. Blake retired with 500 wins , 255 losses and 159 ties.
First of all I would like to thank Marlene Wall very much for editing my articles as Judy Pitcher takes some time off for personal reasons. I would also like to thank Martine McGuire for her help in researching this article.
I decided to write this article as there was discussion on X (formerly Twitter) about Justin Barron and I would like to give my thoughts and I’ll do it the way I normally do an article.
I’m very sure most of you know that come July 1st, 2024 , Barron will be RFA.
If I were Kent Hughes the first thing I would do is to make a qualifying offerjust in case some team decides to give Barron an offer sheet , like what happened to the HABS team when Jesperi Kotkaniemi was given and accepted an offer sheet from the Carolina Hurricanes back in July 2021.For more information on this, please see my article athttp:// montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2021/08/30/jesperi-kotkaniemi-gets-offer-sheet-for-carolina-hurricanes
We also know full well that Kent Hughes doesn’t like losing a player for nothing , this way he will get a draft pick and Kent can use it the way he feels is better for the HABS, perhaps trading it for a player he feels that is a better route like Marc Bergevin did .
Now don’t think for a minute that I don’t want Barron on the HABS, I see him open the HABS current defenseman at the very bottom of the totem pole .I also place Laval Rockets defenseman David Reinbacher, Logan Mailloux , Jayden Struble and recently signed Lane Hutson as well as Adam Engstròm ahead of Barron.
What I would do is try to trade Barron before or at the NHL draft for a 3rd to 5th round draft pick although Barron was the 1st round 2nd overall player drafted in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche
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The reason I am saying lower round draft picks has two reasons, first to be sent back to the AHL he will have to clear waivers and there are NHL teams that may claim Barron as they are short right-handed defenseman. If claimed on waivers he can’t be sent down to the AHL but be returned to the HABS. Secondly I haven’t improvement in his defensive game and that’s what a defenseman is supposed to do.
Barron has been playing professionally since the 2021-22 thus three years and by that time you should be fully developed. The HABS do have several offensive minded defenseman who play better defensively than Barron, so why not keep the best for us and trade off what we feel we don’t need for something we do need .
There are several NHL teams that are looking for an offensive defenseman and that Barron is .
I will admit Kent Hughes may wish to keep him on the HABS roster as Barron was the first player acquired by Hughes when he became the HABS GM , he insisted that Barron be included in the Artturi Lehkonen trade , until Barron was included Hughes didn’t make the trade. Also Hughes was Barron’s agent before becoming the HABS GM .
One of the greatest goaltenders to ever strap on a pair of leg pads is celebrating another trip around the sun today (52), born on this day , May 6th, 1972
He played 22 seasons in the NHL and won the Calder Trophy , 4 Vezina Trophies and 3 Stanley Cups with the New Jersey Devils
Photos below Marty Brodeur with trophies
Brodeur ranks as the leagues all-time regular season leader in wins (691) , shutouts (125) , games played (1,266) and goals scored (3)
He won at least 30 games in 12 straight seasons between 1995-96 and 2007-08 and is the only goalie in NHL history with 8 , 40-win seasons
He has the most postseason shutouts in league history (24) and is ranked 2nd all-time in playoff wins (113) and games played (205)
He celebrated his 40th birthday on May 6th, 2012 by beating the Philadelphia Flyers 4-2 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals
Not only did he become the oldest goaltender to start a playoff game on his birthday , but he also became the only goaltender to play in a postseason both as a teenager and a 40-year-old.
Drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League by the Devils with the 20th pick in the 1990 draft, Brodeur made his NHL debut on March 26, 1992, with 24 saves in a 4-2 win over Boston.
When you’ve won the most Stanley Cups in NHL history as the Canadiens have , you’ve won a lot of games during the month of May.
1966 The Montreal Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Final to win their 2nd straight championship and 15th in franchise history
Henri Richard entered game 6 with zero goals in the 1966 playoffs , but that ended at 2:20 mark of OT
The game winner was the only OT goal of Richard’s career
Red Wings goaltender Roger Crozier won the Conn Smythe Trophy for being MVP of the playoffs
1977
Bob Gainey scored twice to lead the Montreal Canadiens to a 2-1 win over the New York Islanders in Game 6 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals
With the win , they advanced to the finals against the Boston Bruins which they won in 4 games
1979
2 years later , defenseman Larry Robinson scored a goal and added 2 assists to lead the Canadiens to a 5-1 win over the visiting Bruins in Game 5 of the Stanley Cup Semifinals
They won the series in 7 games before beating the New York Rangers for their 4th straight Stanley Cup
2002
The Canadiens had no business winning Game 2 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals
Despite being outshot 46-16 by the Carolina Hurricanes, they won 4-1 thanks to the heroics of goaltender Jose Theodore and Doug Gilmour’s 60th career postseason goal
On May 1st, 1975, Ken Dryden achieved his 3rd career playoff shutout in a commanding 7-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres in Game 3 of the Stanley Cup semifinals. Dryden’s outstanding performance was complemented by Guy Lafleur’s offensive prowess, who scored a hat trick to lead the team in scoring.
Dryden became one of only 14 NHL goalies to have recorded 10 or more playoff shutouts, solidifying his place among the greatest goalies in NHL history.
First of all I would like to thank Marlene Wall very much for editing my articles as Judy Pitcher takes some time off for personal reasons.
I decided to write this article as Strauss Mann decided to write this article as Strauss Mann has been bouncing back and forth between the Laval Rockets and the Trois-Rivières Lions and I would like to give my thoughts on what I feel this means .
I’ll start at the beginning so everyone will be up to speed on Strauss Mann as I’m sure very little is known about him
Mann was born August 18,1998 in Greenwich , Connecticut USA. He is 6ft tall (183cm) and weighs 174lbs (79kg) , he is a goaler who catches left . He is an undrafted player and had signed an ELC (entry level contract) at the age of 24 with the San Jose Sharks on April 19th, 2022 , that contract was for one year. He hasn’t played any NHL games .
Between the 2018-19 and the 2020-21 seasons , he played for the Univerity of Michigan in the NCAA. In the 2021-22 he played for the Skellefteò AIK of the SHL. That season he also played 4 games in the WJ for Team USA as well as other championship games.
In the 2022-23, he played 20 games for the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL and 13 games with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL.
For the signed Mann and he played 15 games for the Laval Rocket and 11 games for the Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL. Both times in the AHL level, his numbers weren’t good. When playing earlier at the Univerity of Michigan in the NCAA, his numbers were much better If Mann had good numbers at one AHL team and not the other , I would say the player development didn’t work for him, but if in both some of it is on him.
When the Laval Rockets signed Kasimir Kaskisuo to a PTO (professional tryout contract) on Monday December 18th, 2023 , several weeks later Mann was assigned to the Trois-Rivières Lions of the ECHL and since then has been bouncing back and forth between the two teams. When called back up to the Laval Rocket, he never got to play another game. For more information on the Kasimir Kaskisuo to a PTO, please see my article athttps://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2023/11/26/laval-rocket-sign-kasimir-kaskisuo-to-a-pto
Personally I don’t see the Laval Rockets extending Mann for the next season.
Jakub Dobesis playing well and is under contract for the 2024-25 season, this is a 2-way contract so the HABS can call up if need be . They also signed Kasimir Kaskisuo to a one-year Laval Rocket contract. I don’t see the Rocket wishing to carry 3 goalers and Kent Hughes saw first hand what happened this 2023-24 season when the HABS kept 3 goalers .
Lastly Mann’s numbers don’t help his cause to play in the AHL. There is no salary disclosed for Kasimir Kaskisuo and Strauss Mann as they are minor league contracts and with those contracts, salary is never disclosed just the players stats on Cap Friendly. Also in the AHL there is no salary cap thus the teams never disclose how much each player gets, thus the pay is between the player and the team.
Claude Lemieux was one of the most clutch playoff performers in NHL history. It seemed that whenever his team needed a big goal , he was there to provide it. He started this trend as a rookie .
Lemieux scored 5:55 into OT to give the Montreal Canadiens a 2-1 victory against the Hartford Whalers at the Forum in Game 7 of the Adams Division Final.
The rookie forward sends the crowd of 17,546 into pandemonium when he picks up a loose puck behind the Hartford net , whips around in front and lifts a backhand shot over the shoulders of goalie Mike Liutand just under the crossbar for his 6th goal of the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Lemieux , a 20 year old who’s spent most of the season in the minors becomes the first rookie to score an OT goal in Game 7 of an NHL playoff series.
It’s a bitter loss for the Whalers who tie the game when Dave Babych beats rookie goalie Patrick Roy with 2:48 remaining in the 3rd period.
Lemieux finished the postseason with 10 goals , including 4 game winners , as the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup. His 19 career postseason game-winning goals are tied for the 3rd most in league history.
Montreal Sports 