Cedric Paquette Playing For The Laval Rocket

Cedric Paquette Playing For The Laval Rocket

Written by Fred Arshoff

This article was written March 19, 2022 before the Laval Rocket game that commences at 3PM.

As most of you most likely know Paquette was placed on waivers by the Montreal Canadiens, cleared waivers and was assigned to the Laval Rocket the Habs AHL (American Hockey League) affiliate. While he is with the Rocket he does receive his full NHL pay as it’s a one way contract.

By playing well and not showing any attitude, while with the Rocket, will actually better his chances of playing in the NHL or getting a contract for the 2022-23 season.

He does have 443 games of NHL experience so he has the experience to help the younger players.

Let’s also remember that Monday March 21, 2022 is the NHL trade deadline and teams will have scouts at the games, so by playing well the scouts will tell their respective teams he may be worth taking a chance on him for the playoffs and possibly extending him for next season. At the game on March 17th their were a lot of scouts present from what I could tell watching the game on AHL TV, although some left early when the game got out of hand as Laval at the time was winning 7-4 with 5 minutes left in the game.

In his first game with the Rocket on Friday March 18, 2022 he played a very good game and was centering Laval’s second line. He had no points in his first game, but perhaps will have some in his second game Saturday March 19, 2022. The last game the Rocket will play before the NHL trade deadline.

Also playing in Laval will help him as he knows the head coach Jean Francois Houle. This quoted from Amy Johnson who works for Rocket Sports Media. J-F Houle remarks that Cedric Paquette has acclimated well in practices. Mentions he coached Paquette in junior & they have a good relationship. They had conversations together this week about being part of Laval’s playoff push.’

With Paquette going all out and helping the Rocket make the playoffs and winning rounds in the playoffs will also help the Montreal Canadiens long term, as the youngsters such as Joel Teasdale and Rafael Harvey-Pinard will gain experience playing in professional hockey playoffs. It would also help Josh Brook and Gianni Fairbrother if they can return to play from their injuries as no timelines have been announced yet.

I don’t see Paquette being anything like Keith Kinkaid. When the Canadiens assigned him to the Rocket he showed attitude and had several face to face meetings with then Rocket head coach Joel Bouchard and after that GM Marc Bergevin went out and loaned Kinkaid to another AHL team to get him out of the dressing room. But being loaned at the time Kinkaid wasn’t able to participate in the team’s AHL playoff games. They would have had to make a trade and that could have been by saying future considerations or even another AHL player to the Rocket.

In closing I’d like to wish Cedric Paquette all the best in his hockey career be it with the Montreal Canadiens organization or any other organization who wishes to sign him to a contract.

The Ben Chiarot Trade

The Ben Chiarot Trade

Written by Fred Arshoff

As most of you know by now the Montreal Canadiens, on March 16, 2022, traded Ben Chiarot to the Florida Panthers in return for Tyler Smilanic, a 1st round draft pick in 2023 and a 4th round pick in 2022 (from New York Rangers).

Why The Trade

Some people don’t understand why the Habs traded Ben Chiarot when he was so hard to play against and a very hard hitting defenceman. During the 2021-22 off season then general manager Marc Bergevin wanted to extend Chiarot’s contract as it expires July 1, 2022. By all accounts, that I have heard, Ben was looking at a multi-year contract such as 5 years at 5 million a season. For a defenceman who will be 31 years of age to start the 2022-23 NHL season that is a lot of money.

The Canadiens have several younger players whose contracts are also terminating July 1, 2022 who are due for big pay raises. The first is Nick Suzuki whose contract extension was done by Bergevin. Suzuki’s salary will go from $863,333 to $7,725,000 per season. That difference will definitely affect the cap space Kent Hughes has to work with.

The second is Alexander Romanov who will be an RFA come July 1, 2022 and is presently making $894,167 will want a substantial raise as well. The money does have to come from somewhere.

The third is Artturi Lehkonen who presently is making $2,300,000 and will be an RFA come July 1, 2022 and also will want a handsome raise.

It makes more sense, to me at least, to give the bigger raises to the younger players and trade the older ones. The younger players mentioned, long term, will give you more bang for your money.

Why Is The First Round Draft Pick In 2023 Not In 2022

There are two very good logical reasons the Canadiens didn’t get or ask for a first round draft choice for the 2022 draft. The first is the Florida Panthers don’t have a first round draft choice this year, and let’s all be honest you can’t trade what you don’t have. Also and even in my way of looking at it the 2023 NHL Entry draft is supposed to be a much deeper draft than this year so the Habs will most likely end up getting a better player by waiting the one year. The first round pick would need a year or two development time with the Laval Rocket. If it means waiting three years to have the player on the Habs roster instead of two years but a much better player it makes more sense to wait.

The 4th Round Pick

Who the Canadiens are looking to draft with the acquired 4th round draft choice I have no clue but whomever it is will need, I expect, to need to have 2 or more years of playing with the Laval Rocket if a forward or defenceman. If a goalie then it would be at least 3 years as goalies take longer to develop. I would expect if the 3rd round pick would make the Canadiens as a positional player it would be a bottom six forward or a third pairing defenceman but some players can develop faster than you expect.

Who Is Tyler Smilanic

Presently Ty Smilanic is playing NCAA hockey, and is projected to be a 3rd line forward who will also be able to play on the power play and presently can play any forward position. By that I mean either wing or center, Smilanic is supposed to be a very good skater and have a hard shot.

Ty is known to both the Habs general manager Kent Hughes and the head coach Marty St. Louis. Their sons are friends of Smilanic. Also when it comes to NCAA players Hughes has an excellent knowledge because as a players agent he scouted them to try and get the best available players signed to a contract. By both Hughes and St. Louis knowing him they’ve seen his playing skills they know his character and if they felt it wouldn’t blend in with the Canadiens they wouldn’t have asked for him in the trade. It is very important to have players whose characters blend in with the other players as to not have conflicts in the dressing room. By Smilanic being able to play all three forward positions the team can get him to play where they need him the most. Let’s be honest it will be 2-3 years before he will join the Habs as he has a couple of more years of university and then will need one or two seasons in Laval to develop. There will be changes on the Canadiens roster by then I’m sure.

The reason he will need time in Laval to develop is that in NCAA they only play on weekends and in professional hockey you play more than that. In NCAA there are no games during exam periods (mid-term and finals) as well there are no practices, or games, during the Christmas break and same at the Easter break.

From what I’ve have heard Smilanic will have to add muscle mass and I’m very sure the strength and conditioning coaches will work with him on that.

Who Will This Trade Benefit On The Canadiens

This trade will benefit instantly Alexander Romanov who in the first game after the Chiarot trade got more ice time and like Chiarot is a hard checker. One man’s loss is another man’s gain.

What I Find Strange

I find one thing strange that Smilanic and Emil Heineman, who the Canadiens acquired in the Tyler Toffoli trade with the Calgary Flames, were both draft picks of the Florida Panthers and played NCAA hockey.

What The Florida Panthers Are Getting

The Florida Panthers are getting a big hard defenceman to play against who can eat up major minutes and help ensure the Panthers get into the playoffs and have a chance to win the Stanley Cup.

Panthers red looks good on ya, Ben 😼 pic.twitter.com/UfIFjuG9PL

— Florida Panthers (@FlaPanthers) March 17, 2022

In closing I would like to thank Ben Chiarot for all he did for the Canadiens and wish him the best of luck with the Panthers.

Adam Nicholas Hired As Director Of Hockey Development

Adam Nicholas Hired As Director Of Hockey Development

Written by Fred Arshoff

Before diving into this article I’d like to thank Marlene Wall for her help in doing the research.

On Friday March 4, 2022 the Montreal Canadiens announced they hired Adam Nicholas as Director of Player Development.

I have to agree fully with this hiring as Geoff Molson said at the time, when they let go GM Marc Bergevin, Trevor Timmins and Paul Wilson who was in charge of communications for the Habs, there is a problem with the teams scouting and player development.

As I’m sure most of you have seen and noticed over the past few years very few young players, drafted by the Canadiens, have made it to play for the big club. The notable exceptions are Cole Caufield and Alexander Romanov. I don’t count Nick Suzuki as they acquired him in the Max Pacioretty trade.

As I’m sure most of you have seen and noticed over the past few years very few young players, drafted by the Canadiens, have made it to play for the big club. The notable exceptions are Cole Caufield and Alexander Romanov. I don’t count Nick Suzuki as they acquired him in the Max Pacioretty trade.

I’m very sure Nicholas will be working very closely with Rob Ramage Director of Player Development and Francis Bouillon Player Development Coach. I wouldn’t be surprised if at the end of the 2021-22 season if Ramage is removed as Director or completely let go and same for Francis Bouillon as they haven’t really done their job. Also when Joel Bouchard left as Head Coach of the Laval Rocket he said he got very little help from the player development department. I’m quite sure Geoff Molson recalls that.

Before joining the Canadiens Nicholas was part of Skills Development as a consultant with the Toronto Maple Leafs since 2019. He also held a similar role with the Chicago Steel in the USHL from 2019 to 2022, as well as with UMass-Lowell in the NCAA from 2013 to 2018.

Nicholas also owns, and I don’t know if he sold it due to his new role with the Canadiens, Stride Envy a company that specializes in player skill development, specifically skating techniques.

Nicholas also owns, and I don’t know if he sold it due to his new role with the Canadiens, Stride Envy a company that specializes in player skill development, specifically skating techniques.

I don’t know if Kent Hughes, the Habs GM, knew Nicholas as perhaps some of the players Hughes represented as a player agent went to Nicholas to work on their skills. Also when Jeff Gorton was GM of the Rangers I don’t know if any of the players went to Nicholas for skill development.

Some of the players I can see Nicholas working with a lot, in the 2022-23 season, are Kaiden Guhle and Jan Mysak both who are playing Junior Hockey presently. Also I can see him working with these players who are young but need some more development Cameron Hillis, Rafael Harvey-Pinard and Joel Teasdale. Of these three Hillis is the one bouncing between Laval and Trois Rivieres depending on Laval player needs. Teasdale missed a good part of this season due to knee surgery in the middle of last season. I’m not including Mattias Norlinder as I feel he will be starting the season with the Montreal Canadiens as part of the teams make-over.

I’m very confident that under Nicholas the Canadiens young prospects will be much better developed than players were in the past.

In closing I’d like to wish Adam Nicholas the very best of luck in his new role as Director of Player Development

Corey Schueneman Reassigned To The Laval Rocket

Corey Schueneman Reassigned To The Laval Rocket

Written by Fred Arshoff

THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN BEFORE THE MONTREAL CANADIENS VS VANCOUVER CANUCK GAME ON MARCH 9TH.

On Wednesday March 9, 2022 the Montreal Canadiens announced they had reassigned defenceman Cory Schueneman to the Laval Rocket, their AHL affiliate.

To me this means that Jeff Petry has fully recovered from his upper body injury and will be able to resume playing. If Petry can’t play Kale Clague will draw in.

The Canadiens needed the roster spot as Paul Bryon comes off the IR list. This roster move will help the Laval Rocket as they are short defenceman and presently have two defencemen on PTO’s. For more info on the PTO please see my article
https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/09/why-all-the-pto-signings-by-the-laval-rocket/

With Schueneman going back to the Laval Rocket that leaves the Canadiens with seven defencemen on their roster. David Savard and Joel Edmundson aren’t ready to resume playing.

Schueneman was considered a top four defenceman with the Laval Rocket.

For Schueneman this is a huge decrease in his salary at the NHL he was getting $750,000 while playing for the Laval Rocket, in the AHL, it drops to $175,000. This information from https://www.capfriendly.com/players/corey-schueneman

Also let’s remember that the Laval Rocket are presently in the playoffs and having an experienced defenceman at the AHL level will help them a lot more than first year player., Also playing in any professional hockey league playoffs will help the players development. Schueneman has played in playoffs, in the USHL, in 12 games in the 2014-15 season. He had four goals and eight assists, on the + – he was a 0 and had no penalties. This information also from https://www.capfriendly.com/players/corey-schueneman

Video of Corey Schueneman at WMU

Why All The PTO Signings By The Laval Rocket

Why All The PTO Signings By The Laval Rocket

Written by Fred Arshoff

I wrote this article as John Fisher was surprised when the Laval Rocket, on Monday March 7, 2022, extended Devante Smith-Pelly’s PTO (Professional Try Out) I also thought at the same time as they are PTO ties in the two PTO signings on Tuesday March 8, 2022.

All players on a PTO do not count against the Montreal Canadiens salary cap nor contract spaces so there is no problem there. Also in the AHL, unlike the NHL, there is no roster size limit, so again no problem.

I will write about each player separately,

Forwards

Devante Smith-Pelly

Pelly was extended as the Laval Rocket are lacking forwards. Three of their best forwards who started the season with the Rocket are now playing for the Canadiens, Ryan Poehling, Michael Pezzetta and Laurent Dauphin. Also Laval has several of their own forwards injured. Alex Belzie till April, Lukas Vejdemo also till April. Forwards Jean-Christophe Beaudin and Brandon Gignac are day-to-day with their respective injuries. They will travel with the team for the trip to Rochester, Lehigh Valley and Wilkes-Barre/Scranton.

Pelly in 15 games with the Rocket has three goals and three assists. Although not outstanding numbers he also is a leader in the dressing room. Also as the Rocket presently are in a playoff position a veteran presence will help and Pelly has played in Stanley Cup playoff games so can help explain to the younger players about the playoffs.

I can also picture the Laval Rocket offering Pelly an AHL contract for the 2022-23 season.

Pelly in 15 games with the Rocket has three goals and three assists. Although not outstanding numbers he also is a leader in the dressing room. Also as the Rocket presently are in a playoff position a veteran presence will help and Pelly has played in Stanley Cup playoff games so can help explain to the younger players about the playoffs.

I can also picture the Laval Rocket offering Pelly an AHL contract for the 2022-23 season.

Goalers

Louis-Philip Guindon

Louis-Philip Guindon is a goalie in his second PTO with the Laval Rocket.
This call up was needed as Primeau was called up by the Canadiens to replace the injured Andrew Hammond and the day before Michael McNiven was traded thus the Laval Rocket needed a back-up goalie.
This is Guindon’s first season of professional hockey. He also played before in the QMJHL (Quebec Major Junior Hockey League). For Louis-Philip Guindon’s stats please see https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=160361

Tristan Bérubé

This in some ways is a funny PTO signing as on Monday March 7, 2022 he was released from his PTO. During the game Monday March 7th it looked like to me near the end of game that Kevin Poulin was fighting through a lower body injury. The Laval Rocket haven’t issued an update on Poulin but I suspect he is injured and may not be available for March 9th and Laval Rocket do need to have a back-up goalie. Bérubé will meet up with the Rocket in Rochester.

This is Bérubé’s first season of playing professional hockey and has only played in 3 games with the Trois-Rivieres Lions. Due to this I suspect he won’t play any games but serve as a back-up goalie and be sent back to Trois-Rivieres Lions as soon as Cayden Primeau is returned by the Canadiens once Jake Allen can play again or when they are sure Poulin is 100% fit and can play. Before this season Bérubé was playing in the QMJHL. For Bérubé’s stats please see https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=192899

Defence-men

Darien Kielb

This signing also is due to injuries on the Laval Rocket. Defence Josh Brook and GIANNI FAIRBROTHER are both out with injuries and no date has been announced yet for their return to play, they are awaiting results of tests. Also COREY SCHUENEMAN was called up to the Habs due to injuries on their defence. David Savard and also Joel Edmundson who hasn’t played a game yet this season.

Keilb is the second defenceman signed to a PTO by the Laval Rocket. On March 5, 2022 they signed Oliver Galipeau to a PTO for more information on this signing please see https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/05/why-the-laval-rockets-signed-olivier-galipeau-to-a-pto/

Like Bérubé this is Kielb’s first year of playing professional hockey. He also played, before this season, in the QMJHL. This season Kielb is playing for the Fort Wayne Komets, in the ECHL, and has played in 16 games. For Kielb’s stats please see https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=195940

Why The Laval Rockets Signed Olivier Galipeau To A PTO

Why The Laval Rockets Signed Olivier Galipeau To A PTO

Written by Fred Arshoff

As some of you may or may not know on Saturday March 5, 2022 early in the morning the Laval Rocket announced that they have signed Olivier Galipeau to a PTO (Professional try out contract),

There is a very logical reason for this PTO the Laval Rocket after last nights game March 4, 3022 they where down to five defenceman due to Gianni Fairbrother getting a knee injry in the first period and the the Laval Rockets announcing shortly after Fairbother won’t be returning,I;m very sure the Laval Rocket medical staff will be checking Fairbrothers’s knee today and if needed send him to the team DR or if the DR is present send him for testing so they can see the extent of his injury. Then their is Josh Brook who has missed all of this week and part of last week for what the Laval Rocket are saying is maintance. To me its more then that as he had knee surgery ilast season and I believe the knee is bothering him him and as he is a top prospect they Kent Hughes most likely sent orders down to Laval Rocket head coach Jean Francois Houle not to allow him to practice much less play till they feel hius knee is 100%,

Then there is another defenceman who is awaiting results of a test he did before he is medcally cleared to play, and I’m very sure they wouldn’t have the results beofre 1PM when its puck drop for the Rocket,

Then the Montreal Canadiens called up a few weeks ago defenceman Corey Schueneman as the HABS themselves have two defencemen on the IR (Injury reserve list) David Savard and Joel Edmonston.

Due to being short defenceman and having a game today the another Monday March 7. 2022 they do need to dress six defenceman they played with five last night after Fairbrother injury, but you can tell it was way to hard for the other defenceman also it means you may have diffrent defence partners during some shifts, so a PTO was in order to get back up to six defenceman.

To those who don’t follow the ECHL (East coast hockey league) they probally like me never heard of Olivier Galipeau . Galipeau has played between 2018-19 and the 2019-20 season a total of nine AHL (American hockey league) games, Galipeau has never signed a NHL contract and I believe was undrafted,

Galipeau graduated from the QMJL (Quebec major Jr. Hockey league) in the 2017-18 season. Besides the nine game at the AHL leval Galipeau has always played professionally in the ECHL.

If you wish to see Galipeau stats including those in the QMJL please see https://www.hockeydb.com/ihdb/stats/pdisplay.php?pid=169586

Galipeau was born March 22, 1997 in Montreal, Quebec, He is six feet tall and weighs 203 pounds.

In closing I like to wish Galipeau the very best of luck with the Laval Rocket and hopes he gets a full AHL contract.

The Effects Of The Andrew Hammond Injury

The Effects Of The Andrew Hammond Injury

Written by Fred Arshoff

On Friday March 4, 2022 the Montreal Canadiens announced that Andrew Hammond suffered a lower body injury during the game on Thursday March 3, 2022 and was placed on the IR (injury reserve list)while on this list the players salary does count against the salary cap, but it allows the team to call up a player to replace the injuries player, on an emergency basis that means once the injuries player is cleared to play the player called up can be sent back down to the AHL team without needing to go on waivers.

The Montreal Canadiens have called up Cayden Primeau from the Laval Rocket on an emergency basis and will join the team in Edmonton today.

The Laval Rockets as they need a back-up goaler for tonight in Laval have signed Tristan Bérubé to a PTO (professional try out) contract_those contracts are for a maximum of 25 games but can be extended once,

Analysis of the Michael McNiven trade

Analysis of the Michael McNiven trade

Written by Fred Arshoff

On Wednesday March 2, 2022 the Montreal Canadiens traded goalie prospect Michael McNiven to the Calgary Flames for future considerations. Some might say this is a minor league transaction but it makes things easier for General Manager Kent Hughes going into trade deadline. Before this trade was made the Habs were getting in tight against number of contracts allowed. With this trade they now have 47 of 50 allowed contracts. In some trades you get back more players than you give out so by having one more spot available it makes it a bit easier to manage.

What the future considerations will be we have no clue at all. It could be a tie-in with the trade the Canadiens made with the Flames when they traded Tyler Toffoli and with one clause that the top 10 draft pick is protected. It could also be to swap draft picks if the Canadiens see there is a player they wish to draft and they feel the player won’t be available when it’s their time to draft, and the Flames happen to be picking sooner.

Why McNiven Was Traded

There are two reasons I can see why they traded McNiven now, beside the extra contract spot and I will explain both.

Last season McNiven, when his contract expired, filed for arbitration and then General Manager Marc Bergevin came to an agreement with him so it never went to arbitration but it gave him an extra $10,000 in guaranteed salary. Let’s all be honest no team likes it when a player tries to play hardball with them. If it went to arbitration things could have gotten nasty. McNiven’s agent would say why he deserved the extra money while the Canadiens would provide his stats to show his performance wasn’t worth what he wanted proving he is worthy of the smaller amount they had offered.

Then there is the stellar play of Kevin Poulin that makes McNiven expendable. For more information on Poulin please see the article I wrote yesterday.
https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2022/03/02/congratulations-kevin-poulin/

For those of you who don’t watch the Laval Rocket games, or keep up with them, on Monday February 28th Laval Rocket head coach Jean Francois Houle decided to give Cayden Primeau a game off, but instead of starting McNiven who has been with the Laval Rocket the entire season, except when called up to the Canadiens, they started Kevin Poulin thus showing they have more confidence in Poulin.

Then, last but not least, McNiven is an RFA so it’s one less player Hughes has to worry about signing. For the 2021-22 season McNiven is making $750,000, at the NHL level, while in the minors a huge dip to $100,000. There are no bonus clauses in his contract. This contract information from https://www.capfriendly.com/players/michael-mcniven

Feeling Bad For McNiven

I do feel bad for McNiven as he signed his first contract with the Canadiens in the summer of 2015. He was undrafted at the NHL Entry draft although he won the OHL Goalie of the Year Award. He has been bouncing around on different ECHL teams. When he first signed with the Habs Lindgren was playing, all the games, and then came along Cayden Primeau who Canadiens’ management feel is the heir apparent to Carey Price, so McNiven was never able to show his play and develop properly.

McNiven within the Flames organization is one of three goalies on their AHL affiliate. I do hope he will get time to play and develop. To go from being Player of the Year to being a healthy scratch isn’t very comforting for a player.

One thing McNiven did, that I really liked, during the playoffs when the teams were in a bubble McNiven showed up to be a goalie for the positional players before being asked to report by the Montreal Canadiens. At the time that showed me he is a team player.

Video of Micheal McNiven from 2016 playing Jr hockey from 2016 when he won the OHL goaler of the year award

In closing I would like to wish Michael McNiven the very best in his hockey career and thank him for what he did for the Montreal Canadiens organization.

Congratulations Kevin Poulin

Congratulations Kevin Poulin

Written by Fred Arshoff

Before diving into this article I would like to thank Amy Johnson of Rocket Sports Media and All HABS a very big thank you for the statistics mentioned.

For those who don’t know or follow the Laval Rocket, or any AHL team, the Laval Rocket’s goalie Kevin Poulin won, for the month of February, the Goalie of the Month in the entire AHL. Poulin was called up from Trois Rivieres to the Laval Rocket when the Montreal Canadiens called up Cayden Primeau and Micheal McNiven and has been a very pleasant surprise. I’m also sure that the Laval Rocket goalie coach Marco Marciano, and perhaps Sean Burke, the Habs Director of Goaltender Operations, are also proud.

Here are Poulin’s statistics, in six games played last month, he went 5-0-1, with a 1.63 GAA and a .945 SV%.

What makes this even more amazing was he started the season off with the Trois Rivieres Lions of the ECHL (for those who don’t know that is one level below the AHL). Poulin was one of the first goalies released from the Laval Rocket training camp, although he attended the Canadiens training camp as well.

For those thinking of bringing Poulin up to the Montreal Canadiens, due to his excellent goaltending, he can’t be called up as he is on a Laval Rocket contract. For further information on the Kevin Poulin signing please see this article I wrote on it https://montrealsportsblog.wordpress.com/2021/07/01/what-the-signing-of-kevin-poulin-means/

Personally, and I have no inside information what Jeff Gorton or Kent Hughes are thinking, I feel Poulin for the 2022-23 season will be signed to a two-way Montreal Canadien contract and make Micheal McNiven look for employment with another team.

Congratulations Kevin Poulin for winning the Goalie of the Month and showing all how hard work and practice does pay off and how that dreams can come true.

Henri Richard

Henri Richard

February 29, 1936 – March 6, 2020

Written by Fred Arshoff

Before going into the article I would like to thank several people for their additional help in making it. Larry Barmish for the two stories on Henri and the late Jay Tevan, the son of late sports radio legend Ted Tevan, for the true story of what Henri did for Ted.

Also please note although we all call him Henri Richard his real name is Joseph Henri Richard. As we all call him Henri I will go by that name, for the article, to ensure no one gets confused.

Ted Tevan on Henri Richard

Ted said he learned hockey from the Pocket Rocket, during an injury, when he had the chance to sit beside Henri and Glen Sather in the press box.

Larry Barmish’s Stories

In ‘68, and ‘69 Wayne Mann and I would hit the Richard Tavern after Phantasmagoria record store across the street on Parc Avenue. Henri welcomed us in. Behind the bar was Gilles Tremblay and waiting on tables the young Roadrunner Yvan Cournoyer. For me what sank in only after was the fact that even though they all had extra Cup bonuses those years, they STILL NEEDED the jobs to make ends meet.

During an intermission interview with the birthday boy, and Frank Selke Jr., they brought out a cake with 7 candles. Of course everyone laughed.

My Personal Thoughts

The first thing that came to my mind when I first watched hockey on television, with my late father, was a question I asked, “How can Henri Richard be playing as I’m older than him”. My father explained that he was born on February 29th thus in reality he has one birthday every four years so take the age they announced and multiply that by four then you have his real age. Also at one point I thought he made the Montreal Canadiens due to his older brother Maurice “Rocket” Richard but when I saw him play I realized he made it due to his own talent and determination.

I also vividly remember when then Montreal Canadiens Head Coach Al MacNeil, during the NHL playoffs in 1971, made Richard first a healthy scratch then when put back in the lineup had him play the wing although throughout his NHL career he was a center.

I also recall when I read in the last couple of years of Richard’s life that he had dementia and didn’t recall his family, friends or ever playing hockey professionally that made me very sad.

Biography

Henri was born February 29, 1936 the son of Alice (Laramée) and Onésime Richard. When Henri was six years old his older brother Maurice “Rocket” Richard was playing for the Montreal Jr. Canadiens at the age of 16. Henri played two years with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens before joining the Montreal Canadiens and playing alongside his very famous brother Maurice in 1956. Both Richard brothers played a different style, as I’m sure you know, Maurice was well known for his very hard shot and drive to the net while Henri was more of a playmaker. Henri got the nickname “Pocket Rocket” very quickly in his NHL career. Henri became captain of the Canadiens after Jean Beliveau retired so there was a five year gap between the two Richard’s as captains of the team. Richard won 11 Stanley cups. After Henri retired as an active player the team retired his number 16 in his honour.

After Henri retired he served as Montreal Canadiens ambassador. He also played in the old-timers hockey games where the proceeds went to different charities.

It was announced in 2015 that Henri had dementia.

Henri passed away March 6, 2020 at the age of 84. Like many other greats of the Montreal Canadiens his body laid in state, this time at the Bell Center, unlike others who were at the old Montreal Forum, the team’s former home for many years.

Hockey Stats

He played in 1256 regular season games all with the Canadiens. He scored 358 goals had 688 assists for a total of 1046 points. He also had 928 penalty minutes. In the playoffs Henri played in 180 games scoring 49 goals and 80 assists for a total of 129 points with 181 penalty minutes.

Hockey Achievements

Henri played in 9 All-Star games
• In 1974 Won the Bill Masterson Memorial Trophy
• In 1958 made the first All-Star team
• Made the second All-Star team in 1958, 1961,1962
• Won the Stanley Cup 11 times

Photo above Henri Richard with his brother Maurice Richard

BB

Below videos of Henri

Video above by the NHL

Video above HABS tribute to Henri after his passing roughly 7 minutes

Video above 2 of Henri’s game winning Stanley Cup goals

In closing, thanks for all you did Henri for the Montreal Canadiens and may you rest in peace.