Three years ago, the Canadiens' management stated that they would retire 2 numbers each years until the 100th anniversary.
Who do you think should be the last retired number of this 4 seasons celebration?
The following are, in my opinion, the last legends that don't have their number hanging in the roof of the Bell Centre.
#03 – Émile « Butch » Bouchard A lot of talk on Butch lately, definetely a strong contender. #05 – Guy Lapointe The last "Big Three" member left. #06 – Hector « Toe » Blake a BIG part of Habs' history. #16 – Elmer Lach A lot of talk on him too, an hero of the first days #22 – Steve Shutt Shutt is considered a legend of the '70s habs. #25 – Jacques Lemaire Lemaire is also a landmark player from the '70s. #38 – Georges Vézina The first great goaltender to play in the NHL.
Patrick Roy's 33 will be the last number retired.... for a VERY long time. The next number retired won't be for another 20-30 years from now (at the earliest)
Patrick Roy's 33 will be the last number retired.... for a VERY long time. The next number retired won't be for another 20-30 years from now (at the earliest)
Oh. I heard there was going to be 2 numbers retired each season until the end of the 100th anniversary celebration... well.
That's exactly what's happened. There have been two retired numbers each season, until the last one. Which will be Roy's.
They've been retiring them in chronological order don't forget. Can you think of any mega-star that came after Roy, who has already retired, who is worthy of being retired?
To get your number retired by this franchise is such an amazing honor because so many Hall of Famers played here.It's sad, but they can't retire all those numbers or there won't be any numbers left.
That's exactly what's happened. There have been two retired numbers each season, until the last one. Which will be Roy's.
They've been retiring them in chronological order don't forget. Can you think of any mega-star that came after Roy, who has already retired, who is worthy of being retired?
YES! The former captain of Kelow..... wait that's getting old.
I think the last # retired under Gillett will be Koivu, his community contributions are second tp none, I think he retires a Hab, and I think George would like nothing more then to see Koivu's # up there. Maybe not within 4 yrs., but Saku's # will be the last for a long time.
I think the last # retired under Gillett will be Koivu, his community contributions are second tp none, I think he retires a Hab, and I think George would like nothing more then to see Koivu's # up there. Maybe not within 4 yrs., but Saku's # will be the last for a long time.
That would be an insult to all players stated above.
I'm not sure #11 will be retired. I'd say the chances are 1 in 3. In looking at the rest of the current Habs, I'd say there are no dure bets. If I had to pick a long shot, iId say #31 and definitely not #74.
We could be like the Rangers and retire guys like Richter and Graves. How about Bobby Smith? Russ Courtnall?
And as far as Saku is concerned, he will always have a significant place in Canadiens history, and he's one of my favourite all time Habs, but no. Please. It's something people will look back on in 2025 and say "Koivu? Really?"
To get your number retired by this franchise is such an amazing honor because so many Hall of Famers played here.It's sad, but they can't retire all those numbers or there won't be any numbers left.
We have retired TOO MANY numbers.
The first three numbers retired were GENERATIONAL talents - Morenz, M. Richard and Beliveau.
The following players also DESERVED to have their numbers retired:
Doug Harvey
Jacques Plante
Ken Dryden
Guy Lafleur
Larry Robinson
The following players whose numbers were retired were NOT, in my opinion, generational talents vying for the best player at their own position for many years. They deserve to be in the Hall of Fame but not to have had their number retired:
Dickie Moore
Bernard Geoffrion
Henri Richard
Yvan Cournoyer
Serge Savard
Bob Gainey
Since I don't believe the above merited their honour, I don't think that Lapointe, Shutt or Lemaire would either, nor Elmer Lach or Toe Blake.
Butch Bouchard is tougher, but in the end I would say close but....no. Not enough Cups and not dominant enough at his position.
Patrick Roy I would also say no to, because despite having two great Cup runs, he also played poorly in several other playoffs that the club had a chance to go far or even win it all. Losing five times to Boston and comiong up on the short end of several matchups with their "superstar" goalies of Andy Moog and Rejean Lemelin was painful to watch. To sort of prove my point about how good he was (as opposed to how LONG he played at a high level), Patrick was NEVER ONCE Team Canada's number one goalie. Patrick certainly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, for what he did in BOTH Montreal and Colorado, but falls a bit short of my high standards for retiring a Hab Jersey.
In my opinion, there is only ONE player missing from the list of GENERATIONAL talents, whose number should be retired, and it is......
Georges Vezina.
Last edited by BaseballCoach: 09-14-2008 at 01:45 PM.
The first three numbers retired were GENERATIONAL talents - Morenz, M. Richard and Beliveau.
The following players also DESERVED to have their numbers retired:
Aurel Joliat
Doug Harvey
Jacques Plante
Ken Dryden
Larry Robinson
The following players whose numbers were retired were NOT, in my opinion, generational talents vying for the best player at their own position for many years. They deserve to be in the Hall of Fame but not to have had their number retired:
Dickie Moore
Bernard Geoffrion
Henri Richard
Yvan Cournoyer
Serge Savard
Bob Gainey
Since I don't believe the above merited their honour, I don't think that Lapointe, Shutt or Lemaire would either, nor Elmer Lach or Toe Blake.
Butch Bouchard is tougher, but in the end I would say close but....no. Not enough Cups and not dominant enough at his position.
Patrick Roy I would also say no to, because despite having two great Cup runs, he also played poorly in several other playoffs that the club had a chance to go far or even win it all. Losing five times to Boston and comiong up on the short end of several matchups with their "superstar" goalies of Andy Moog and Rejean Lemelin was painful to watch. To sort of prove my point about how good he was (as opposed to how LONG he played at a high level), Patrick was NEVER ONCE Team Canada's number one goalie. Patrick certainly deserves to be in the Hall of Fame, for what he did in BOTH Montreal and Colorado, but falls a bit short of my high standards for retiring a Hab Jersey.
In my opinion, there is only ONE player missing from the list of GENERATIONAL talents, whose number should be retired, and it is......
Georges Vezina.
You forgot Lafleur in your list.
Vezina`s number should had been retired 50-70 years ago. They did it with Morentz. Both died during their playing carreer with te Habs.
At least, Vezina has a Trophy with his name. Not too shabby.
As for Roy. Just think that the Habs would be without CUPS since 1979 without him....
I hope he lives that long. Because if he dies before that, a lot of people won't forgive the Habs.
I hope they don't retire his jersey. He's not worthy of that, period. He's not a generational talent, he's not a legend. The only reason some people want his jersey retired is because he's still alive. That's not a valid reason at all.
They gotta retire Vezina's number. This one is so obvious imo.
Last edited by Beakermania*: 09-14-2008 at 03:48 PM.
I hope they don't retire his jersey. He's not worthy of that, period. He's not a generational talent, he's not a legend. The only reason some people want his jersey retired is because he's still alive. That's not a valid reason at all.
Your standards are way off. Is Bob Gainey a generationnal talent? Did Serge Savard changed the game? They both deserve to be up there though.
Émile Bouchard was inducted in the hall of fame in 1966 after playing fifteen seasons with the Habs, eight as the team's captain. He won four Stanley Cup, was named three times on the league's first all-star team and once on the second all-star team. He was a great captain who Jean Béliveau said he tried to emulate when he took over the role in 1960. To say that the only reason why some of us feel that he should be honored by the organization is merely a question of age is a slap in the face. The Bell Centre "Ring of Honor" will be a nice start, but I believe he deserves to be up there with his old pal Harvey, just like in the old times.
Patrick Roy's 33 will be the last number retired.... for a VERY long time. The next number retired won't be for another 20-30 years from now (at the earliest)
Are you sure about that... can you give me the winning loto numbers too....
Are you sure about that... can you give me the winning loto numbers too....
I'm pretty sure about it.
The Canadiens said they'd be retiring numbers in chronological order of when the player played his last NHL game, and they've stuck with that. Since Roy has retired, there's been no Habs worthy of having his number retired. One could argue Koivu, but I doubt it'd happen. I love Koivu, and would love to see his number up in the rafters, but realistically, I doubt it.
The Canadiens said they'd be retiring numbers in chronological order of when the player played his last NHL game, and they've stuck with that. Since Roy has retired, there's been no Habs worthy of having his number retired. One could argue Koivu, but I doubt it'd happen. I love Koivu, and would love to see his number up in the rafters, but realistically, I doubt it.
Are you sure about that... can you give me the winning loto numbers too....
Boivin already confirmed that Roy's number would be last retired of the current process. So, yes, we won't see other numbers retired for a very long time... and even if they decided to retire Saku's jersey, I doubt they would do it just after he retires.
Hab Fans: TOO MANY NUMBERS ARE RETIRED
Pretty much every Sports Analyst: Habs have the perfect amount of players retired for a 100 years of being a successful franchise.
