MONTREAL - There have been many ceremonies here before this one, but they were almost always to celebrate the glory of the individual.
Friday was a red, white and blue group hug, a hundred years in the making.
The Montreal Canadiens celebrated their 100th anniversary Friday with an elegant and poignant tribute to the organization, its players and its fans who have enjoyed a relationship unlike almost any other in sports over the last century.
The celebration was played out on a multi-media canvas, the most thrilling in its opening stages when about 30 of the club’s greatest names skated out, led by goaltender Patrick Roy, and took a few turns of the ice, taking shots on Roy and fellow Hall of Famer Ken Dryden.
It was like a real-life Field of Dreams, the greatest names of a great era emerging from the Canadiens dressing room to fish pucks out of the pile dumped on the ice by long-time trainer Eddie Palchak.
The ceremony before Friday night’s game between the Canadiens and the Boston Bruins, their most-frequent opponent in the NHL, celebrated the franchise’s record 24 Stanley Cups and its 54 members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
Larry Robinson, the Hall of Fame defenceman who was part of “The Big Three,” on those 1970s Cup-winning Canadiens teams, said the place the Canadiens occupy on our cultural landscape extends far beyond Montreal.
“When you think of Canada, you think of hockey,” said Robinson, “and when you think of hockey, you think of the Montreal Canadiens.
“It’s an honour for me knowing, that in a small part, I’ve been part of the history of this team. I feel blessed.”
It was a special moment when the former greats took to the ice.
They skated slowly around the ice, the names on their backs a moving reminder of the glory of years past.
“It was the first day I’ve worn (goaltending) equipment since the last day I played for the Montreal Canadiens, May 19, 1979,” said Dryden. “It was a bit terrifying. Most of the equipment I was wearing was contemporary equipment, (current Canadiens goaltender) Carey Price’s. It was a lot bigger than what we wore, which is a nice feeling. I felt better than I thought I would.”
“I don’t have the pressure of scoring goals,” joked Guy Lafleur of his tour of the Bell Centre ice. The two-time Hart Trophy winner who became one of the symbols of the great Canadiens teams of the 1970s, his hair trailing behind him during his trademark rushes down the right wing.
“It’ll be special to wear the skates again.
“I’m happy that warmup lasted only five minutes,” said Roy, who was one of three Habs for whom special introductions were reserved. He was introduced by defenceman and former GM Serge Savard.
Roy introduced actor Viggo Mortensen, a huge Habs fan, who introduced his idol, Lafleur.
Long-time Habs adversary Gordie Howe introduced former Canadiens captain Jean Beliveau.
The Canadiens also honoured former greats Elmer Lach, 91, and defenceman Emile “Butch” Bouchard, whose numbers, 16 in the case of Lach and three for Bouchard, were retired.
“It’s a special day, a day to honour all of the players who played for the organization since 1909.”
“Hopefully this will motivate the players of today,” said Lafleur. “Best of luck to that team starting another 100 years.”
