09/10/2022
The G.O.A.T ...
We're Saint Patrick ( #33) days away from the NHL regular season!
Patrick Roy is one of the most beloved Montreal Canadiens players of all time and immediately made a huge impact with the Habs.
Roy replaced an injured Steve Penny in 1986 and lead the Canadiens to an improbably Stanley Cup victory while earning the Conn Smythe trophy as playoff MVP in the process. The youngest player in NHL History to do so.
Nicknamed St. Patrick after the victory, Roy continued playing for the Canadiens leading them to another Stanley Cup final a few years later, losing to the Flames in 88/89'. Roy would win the William M. Jennings Trophy 3 years in a row in 87'/88'/89' and bring home two Vezina Trophies for best goaltender in the NHL in 89'/90'/92'.
1993. Saint Patrick and the Canadiens fell from 1st place in the NHL to 3rd before the playoffs began which meant they had to take on their rivals, the Quebec Nordiques. After dropping the first two games the media tried to get the best of Roy, publishing articles with headlines "HEXTALL GETS THE BETTER OF ROY" and "CANADIENS FACING GOALTENDER TROUBLES" instead of letting that bother him, Saint Patrick set out to prove them all wrong.
The Canadiens would embark on one of the most historic Stanley Cup runs in history, lead by Patrick Roy between the pipes. The Canadiens would win the next 4 games against Quebec and eliminate them from the playoffs. They would then sweep the Sabres in the next round and would win the first 3 games against the Islanders to tie the NHL record for consecutive wins in the playoffs at 11 games.
Roy also set a record with ten straight playoff overtime wins. Two against Quebec, three against Buffalo, two against the New York Islanders including two breakaway saves in OT (against Turgeon and Hogue) and three against the Los Angeles Kings in the Stanley Cup Finals.
Roy had led his team, which did not have a player that finished in the top twenty regular-season scoring, to the Stanley Cup championship and was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.
The fairytale in Montreal came to a stop in 1995 when the Canadiens hired Mario Tremblay as their head coach. Roy and Tremblay had history together and have even fought each other on several occasions while they were teammates. Tremblay would mock Roy in media scrums and make fun of his English.
On December 22nd, the Red Wings beat the Canadiens 11-1 while Roy let in 9 goals on 22 shots. Most coaches would have pulled their star goalie after a few goals but not Tremblay. Roy had enough. Tremblay eventually pulled Roy in the second period but when he did, Patrick he walked right over to Canadiens President Ronald Corey and said "It's my last game in Montreal.
At the time, Roy told the media that despite allowing five goals on 17 shots in the first, Tremblay kept him in net in order to humiliate him. Four days after the incident, the Canadiens traded Roy and captain Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Ručinský and Andrei Kovalenko. The return for Roy was seen as uneven at the time it was made, and eventually became known as one of the most one-sided deals in NHL history.
