Words of wisdom from Don Cherry

Some love him and a number of people can’t stand to hear his name. He’s Don Cherry. Known for his patriotism, the suits he wears and of course his outspoken manners. Before Hockey Night in Canada’s Coach’s Corner segment he played one game in the playoffs in 1955 for the Boston Bruins and ended up coaching them from 1974 to 1979. He won the Jack Adams award for the 1975-1976 season.

Let’s relive some of the words of wisdom from the most colorful commentator in the NHL today.

“I look around and I wish sometimes I could just walk into a building and be like any other coach, but I can’t and I realize that. I have to be Don Cherry to the kids who go to the games. I think I owe it to them to sign autographs.”(Cherry on being a celebrity)

“I consider my style that of the men of the 1930s, where men had an elegant style, tight suits, tight collars, lots of jewelry, a clean sharp image. I must admit my style has been called foppish, but I like it.” (Cherry on his style of clothing)

“I died on May 10, 1979; at 11:10 p.m. to be exact. Two shots killed me. The first, which left me critically wounded, was fired by Guy Lafleur. The one that wiped me out came from the stick of Yvon Lambert. Had I survived these attacks I have no doubt that I would still be coach of the Boston Bruins today and, quite likely, governor of Massachusetts.” (From Grapes: A Vintage View of Hockey)

“It’s always been a part of the game. The fans love fighting. The players don’t mind. The coaches like the fights. What’s the big deal?”

“If it keeps going like this, the Zamboni driver is going to be the first star.” (Uttered during Cherry’s rookie season as a commentator)

“I don’t have any hobbies. I don’t golf. I don’t fish. I have no other interests in life except hockey.”

“Hockey is Canada, Canada is hockey; where else would you find fans like these?!”

“What’s the point of being neutral? I am never neutral!”

“Anybody who says they don’t like fighting in the NHL have to be out of their minds.”

Habs Players Say The Dardnest Things

In honor of their 100th anniversary, relive the past with quotes from current and former members  of the Montreal Canadiens.

• Just five games into the 1995-96 season, the Canadiens fired GM Serge Savard and coach Jacques Demers. A few days later Rejean Houle became the new GM with Mario Tremblay as the head coach and Yvan Cournoyer as the assistant coach. None of these men have experience in the past with similar positions. Reporters asked Patrick Roy about his thought about them:

“I was watching the news on RDS (Québec Sports Network) and when I saw them appear, I went to the shower. I took a cold shower to make sure that I was really awake…”

Patrick Roy – September 1995

“I’ll never play for another team. When they won’t want me anymore at the Forum, I’ll retire.”

Serge Savard – November 1977, four years before he signed with the Winnipeg Jets

• Guy Lafleur backed the Canadiens’ decision to draft Doug Wickenheiser instead of Denis Savard in the 1st round. His explanation?

“Despite his talent, we don’t need a guy like Denis Savard. What we need is a big center, a heavy guy who’s not afraid of physical hockey and who can stay in front of the net without being moved away by the big defensemen we have in the NHL nowadays.”

Guy Lafleur -September 1980

The numbers speak for themselves:

Games     Goals   Assists    Points

Savard           1196      476      864       1337

Wickenheiser   556       111      165        286

• During practice in Tampa Bay in 1995-96, some Habs players were complaining about the ice conditions at the Thunderdome. Forward Marc Bureau mentioned that “the ice is always terrible here.” New assistant coach Yvan Cournoyer replied to him:

“What do you know about the ice here? First of all, did you ever play here?”

Marc Bureau had played for the Tampa Bay Lighting for 3 years.

“God would I like being 7 or 8 years younger…”

Guy Carbonneau, age 39 – May 26, 1999, on being asked about having to shadow Peter Forsberg during the play-offs.

• On the eve of his first game of the season, in December, after missing training camp and two months because of an injury:

“I don’t want to be nostalgic, but it’s always difficult to come back after a long absence.”

Patrice Brisebois  – December 1999

• When talking to Vic Hadfield who had a hard shot with his “banana-blade” stick but would shoot the puck into the stands 50% of the time:

“Have you ever seen a stadium that has the nets in the third balcony? Are you blind or what?”

Bernard Geoffrion – 1971

• Jacques Plante about being a goaltender:

“Stressful? Do you know a lot of jobs where everytime you make a mistake, a red light goes off over your head and 15,000 people start booing?”

Guy Lapointe ,Team Canada success

Received it today. Not sure about the date that i sent it. Still another great success from a former Habs and Team Canada member.

Ryan Walter and Mike Keane success!

Both sent on September 11,2008. Received today October 17,2008.

Police officers at hockey game.

Hi all,

Just thought you would like this picture. These  are police officers from last night’s game in  Montreal,Canada. As you can see one of them is wearing Montreal Canadiens socks and the other one Boston Bruins ones. They are doing pressure tactics on the city,that’s why they are dressed like this.

Patrick Roy success!

Sending on October 7,2008

• Guy Carbonneau
• Jacques Cloutier

Jean-Paul Parise success!!

Another success from another great Team Canada member 🙂

Sent on September 16,2008.Received on October 6,2008

Reggie Lemelin scan

Stanley Cup: Facts and Anecdotes About the Greatest Prize in Sports Today

How much do you really know about the Stanley Cup? Here are some facts and anecdotes about the greatest prize in sports today.

– The Stanley Cup is the oldest professional sports trophy in North America.

– The Stanley Cup was first purchased for $48.67 in 1892.

– The original bowl was made of silver and was 7.28 inches in height and 11.42 inches in diameter. The current Stanley Cup is made of silver and nickel alloy. It has a height of 35.25 inches and weighs 34.5 lbs.

– It is the only trophy in professional sports that has the name of the winning players, coaches, management, and club staff engraved on it.

– In 1919, the Spanish Influenza epidemic forced the Montreal Canadiens and the Seattle Metropolitans to cancel their series, marking the first time the Stanley Cup was not awarded. The series was tied at 2–2–1, but the final game was never played because Montreal players Joe Hall, Billy Coutu, Jack McDonald, Edouard Lalonde, and Manager George Kennedy, were hospitalized with influenza. Hall died four days after the canceled game, and the series was abandoned.

– There are several misspellings and illegitimate names on the Cup. Many of them have never been corrected. Examples include: Jacques Plante’s name has been misspelled five times, Bob Gainey was spelled “Gainy” when he was a player for Montreal, Toronto Maple Leafs was spelled “Leaes” in 1963, One name was later scratched out: Peter Pocklington, a former Edmonton Oilers owner, put his father’s name, Basil, on the Stanley Cup in 1984; today, there is a series of “X’s” over Basil’s name.

– No one name appears on the Stanley Cup more than Jean Beliveau. He appears 17 times: 10 as a player and seven as management. Henri Richard has won the most Stanley Cups as a player, with 11.

– Thirteen women have had their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

– There are actually three Stanley Cups: the original bowl, the authenticated Cup, and the replica at the Hall of Fame. The original bowl purchased by Lord Stanley is currently displayed at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ontario

– Players weren’t given a full day with the Cup until 1993.

– In 1907, the victorious Montreal Wanderers gathered for a team photo with the cup at a photographer’s house. They left the Cup behind and the photographer’s mother turned it into a flower pot. It wasn’t claimed for several months.

– Several members of the 1924 Canadiens team left it by the roadside after repairing a flat tire en route to celebrate their win at owner Leo Dandurand’s home. The Cup was recovered exactly where they left it on the snow bank.

– In 1979 Guy Lafleur borrowed it for the weekend without telling anyone to show his friends back home in Thurso, Quebec where he set it out on his front lawn for all his neighbors to see.

– New York Islanders’ Bryan Trottier admitted not only to sleeping with it but also to unscrewing the bowl as a food dish for his dog.

–  Martin Brodeur drove around Montreal when New Jersey won the Cup 1995 with the Cup in the passenger seat—wearing a seat belt

– The Stanley Cup served as an engagement ring bearer when André Roy of the Tampa  Bay Lightning proposed to his fiancée.