Anyone who has read Montreal Canadiens’ VP of Hockey Communication Chantal Machabée’s biography knows that it was the Démon blond, Guy Lafleur, who made her fall in love with hockey. So much so that when she was hired, the Canadiens got a very ill Lafleur to record a video message saying he was now proud to be on Chantal’s team as she had said when she was hired, she was proud to join her idol’s team. I don’t know if that’s how It goes for every hockey fan, if it’s one player who gives you the bug, but when I was just six years old, my dad, a Québec Nordiques’ fan, introduced me to hockey with a Montreal Canadiens’ game and in net was Patrick Roy. For the whole game, I marveled at the way he moved in net and made big saves, he was the last line of defense, and he was reveling in the pressure. By the end of the broadcast, I had put my legs in my pillowcases, and I was wearing my pillows as pads trying to emulate each and every save, on that day, I became a hockey fan, and Patrick Roy became my favorite player.
Casseau, as he was called by so many French Canadiens’ fans, played his junior hockey in the QJMHL with the Granby Bisons a struggling team. As a result, he only recorded 58 wins across three seasons and 159 games played. His goal-against average was nothing to write home about, in his best season, it stood at 4.44, and in his worst, it was 6.26. Still, at the 1984 NHL Entry Draft, the Canadiens took a chance on the lanky goaltender with the 51st selection overall. That year, Mario Lemieux was drafted first overall and refused to put on the Penguins jersey, Kirk Muller went second overall and would land in Montreal to play with Roy eight years later, the Canadiens used their first pick on defection Czechoslovakian Petr Svoboda before grabbing Shayne Corson at eight overall, what a draft that was.
The Canadiens wouldn’t regret using that pick on Roy. The butterfly artist was the main artisan of the Canadiens’ last two cup conquests in 1986 and 1993, winning the Conn Smythe trophy each time as the Habs’ most valuable player in the playoffs. Even when he wasn’t winning, Roy determination made the headlines; in the 1994 playoffs, he suffered appendicitis, spent a night in hospital, and missed game three but with his team down 2-1 in the series, he refused to have an appendectomy and was back in net for game four, taking the series all the way to game seven. After the Bruins eliminated the Habs, the goaltender finally had his appendix taken out at the start of May.
Roy was so much more than numbers and statistics. With him in net, a team could feel invincible, and it pretty much was as evidenced by the Canadiens’ magical run of 10 consecutive overtime victories on their way to the 1993 Championship. Roy had such poise and confidence in net, some chose to call that cocky, but to me, it was his confidence that lifted his team to a whole other level. Who doesn’t remember his wink to Tomas Sandstrom in that Stanley Cup final? Or his war of words with Jeremy Roenick through the media that gave us one of the most memorable quotes of all time: “Sorry, I can’t hear what Jeremy’s saying, I’ve got my two Stanley Cup rings plucking my ears.”
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His divorce from the Canadiens in December 1995 was one of the worst days in Habs’ history. After having been left out to dry in net by rookie coach Mario Tremblay as the Wings scored nine goals on him, Roy was cheered in derision by the Forum’s crowd after a routine save, and he lifted his arms to the sky, mimicking a celebration. After the ninth goal, when Tremblay finally decided to change his goalie, Roy went to the bench and told team President Ronald Corey that he had just played his last game as a Hab. Days later, rookie general manager Rejean Houle sent the face of the franchise to Colorado along with the Canadiens’ captain Mike Keane in return for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko, ushering in a dark era that still isn’t over for the Canadiens. In Denver, Roy would go on to win two more Stanley Cups, including Ray Bourque’s only cup, and another Conn Smythe. To this day, Roy remains the only player named playoff MVP with two different teams.
When he retired after 19 seasons, Roy had played in 1029 NHL games, winning 551 of them and setting a record, which would eventually be beaten by Martin Brodeur and might be passed by Marc-André Fleury this year if he gets more than seven wins. Still, if you ask hockey fans and analysts alike which goaltender in his prime they’d like to have in net if they were playing a single must-win game, many will answer Patrick Roy because that’s just how clutch he was.
A little over a week ago, the QJMHL held a press conference to announce that it was renaming its goaltender of the year award from Jacques Plante to Patrick Roy. A fully deserved honor for a goaltender who was about winning and nothing else and turned so many people into hockey fans and so many boys into butterfly goaltenders. Bravo Casseau, tu le mérites!