An Unlikely Habs Treasure Hunt Find With Odd Coincidences

A few times in my life, I have come across Canadiens related things, be it a newspaper clipping or old books, in odd and unexpected places. It is a bit of a weird, ongoing coincidence with me, how these things come to me in such odd ways.

One time, in the late 1990's, I was standing in line to buy a ticket to a movie at a local mall. There was a hockey card and memorabilia store right next to the theatre. Inside the store, unknown to me, was a former employer with his infant son of 2 years. The young boy happened to knock over a box of random cards from a table, and while his father was picking the mess up, the boy wandered over to me about ten feet away and handed me a Brian Savage card.

Weird! Like did I have Habs fan written all over me?

That night, Savage scored a pair of goals.

It is another older, and stranger happening, that makes me recall such a trivial thing. It's revolves around a lucky charm, and I'll get to that in a bit.

About five years ago, I was tearing up an old floor in my house and putting a new carpet down, and I found a local newpaper dated February 20, 1954. The Daily Standard Freeholder, it was called back then.

Naturally, I headed straight for the sports section to see if the Canadiens were in first place!

Shocker... they were third in the six team NHL with a 29-20-7 record after 56 games.

I found this old paper again couple of weeks ago. I had it stored away in a basement box, and I encountered it again while looking for articles I could add to the Habs Fans Summit raffle.

My house was built in 1889 and it looks it. There were several layers of linolium flooring underneath the old carpet, and after first finding the front page of the paper, I was careful to lift away each piece as to not tear any pages of the delicate print.

Once all the floor had been removed, I ended up with a complete paper for that date. Lookibg through it, one can't help but think, "holy smokes have times changed!"

A dollar a week deposit on diamond rings!

I was hoping to find more Montreal Canadiens news inside of it, but papers of the day were a haphazard mess of news back then. The sports news itself was spread throughout the paper, seemingly where ever it could be fitted in.

Inside, there was but one NHL game report, from a Rangers and Blackhawks game that for some reason was played in Indianapolis. There were a few Canadiens related tidbits inside. One was an editorial about the effect of televison on sports attendance that featured insight from former Canadiens owner, and then current Alouettes owner, Leo Dandurand. The second was a flashback article to 1904, about a Federal Hockey League (pre NHA and NHL) game between the Montreal Wanderers and the Cornwall Hockey Club with Newsy Lalonde in their lineup.

There other interesting bits of hockey and non hockey related news inside. The QHL's Ottawa Senators, run by former Leafs goalie Turk Broda were coming to town to take on the Cornwall Colts. There was a photo of Marilyn Monroe entertaining the troops in Germany, some time period movie listings, and an ad for the Cornwall City Press, the business owned by my grandfather, soon to be passed down to my Dad. The front page headline was of a Windsor salt plant that had collapsed and fallen into the Detroit river, due to the ground caving in beneath it.





















Oddly, the Detroit Red Wings would beat the Canadiens in that year's Stanley Cup final in seven games. The Maurice Richard riots in Montreal were one year 25 days away. After one more Cup in 1955, Red Wings fans would endure a 42 year cupless drought.

Perhaps I have found this paper again now, because the Canadiens and Red Wings could well battle it out for this year's Stanley Cup?

Yes, I know that sounds more than a triffle premature and preposturous, but read on.

Happening upon this newspaper wasn't the first time I lucked out finding Habs history in strange places. Years earlier in 1992, while demolishing a house as part of county crew, I found a local paper from 1956 with an article on Henri Richard scoring his first NHL points. I also opened an abandonned cedar chest in that house, and it was loaded with old copies of Life magazine. I took one home and found all kinds of great shots of Canadiens players brawling with original six rivals.



















The article was on NHL popularity after the 1967 expansion. One great shot in it, included here, feature a Canadiens player diving past, or being tripped up by a Red Wings player.

I never got to take the Richard article home. I'd placed it somewhere I'd forgotten, distracted by finding almost $400.00 of 1954 print Canadian bills (twos, fives, tens and twenties) under the linolium floor of an outdoor shed. The money had rusty nail holes rotted through it. I hurriedly stuffed the cash in my workboots, not telling a soul, and forgot all about the Richard paper clipping.



















You'd think I had a thing for ripping through old linolium floors, but those are perhaps the only instances in my lifetime where I did. I often wonder what the other floors in this old house have to offer.

The county house is an interesting and very weird tale, with a couple of strange Canadiens twists further thrown in.
















What we were doing there was converting the old property into a smoke house, used to train the Glengarry County Fire Department. After clearing the house of obstructions, we demolished attachments to it, such as a carport and the shed where I found the money. We were working a Saturday, which was rare, as we were essentially rained out the Friday before, which was supposed to be our last contracted day on site. As we were needed to finish up, we were given the option of working Saturday at time and a half.



















I almost decided not to go. Sunday, the 14th of June, was my thirtieth birthday. I had plans to go out of town for the weekend, but only after they fell throught did I decide to go to work.

Now I'm not much for superstitions or numerology, but finding almost $400.00 cash on the 13th of the month was merely one of the weird sides to all this.






















Four days earlier, on Tuesday the 9th, I found a horseshoe, rusted and full of dirt and ground. It was sticking out of the ground, and it tripped me for a loop. I pulled it out and threw in my Canadiens lunchpail, stangely enough, and put it in our work van.



















I never thought of the horseshoe as a lucky token - as I said, I'm devoid of any ridiculous superstitions. I thought it would make a cool thing to nail above my shed door. Instead, I threw it in the cupboard under the kitchen sink and forgot about it for a week.



























Later on Saturday night, just before supper, I met a friend who bought half of the old money from me at face value. My wife and I decided to use some of the money to go to the bingo that night instead of going out of town. Now I'm about as big on bingo as I am on superstitions, right. So we go, and I win $200.00 - not bad for a guy who has had no money luck his entire life. Happy birthday to me!

On Monday afternoon, I walk to the Caisse Desjardins on the corner to deposit the money I've found and won. Upon leaving the bank, I see a tan brown Bell telephone envelope on the ground in the parking lot. I swipe at it with my foot as I pass by and out slips some bills - $172, American cash to boot!

After a quick count, I turn back to the bank and head for a teller to report the money I found. I give little information other than it being a large amount and leave my name and number for someone to claim it. (The bank is about 300 steps from my front door. I checked back every day until the following Friday and not a single person reported any loss of money. Finders, keepers!)

Upon reporting it, I almost run home to tell my wife and her family next door. I was absolutely insane over having all this money fall into my lap basically, over a three day period. A total of $646 in all.

My father in law mentions that rusty old horseshoe I took home the previous Tuesday. We're almost on the floor with laughter.

Not being superstitious, I lend him the horseshoe, and he places it under his kitchen sink for a week. He buys $30 worth of 6/49 tickets for the next draw.

Not being superstitious, I buy $30 myself, and we then agree to split the inevitable winnings. Neither of us wins so much as a free ticket. He returns the horseshoe.

The horseshoe is still in my home, under the kitchen sink. Someone with superstitions might suggest I broke it's good spell by moving it next door for 7 days.

I'd reply that all members of our family are alive and well!

Oddest of all is that I found the rusted old foot metal on June 9, 1992. One year later to the day, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.

The Tragically Hip could write a song about this, I think!

Perhaps the weirdest thing of all ocurred today, as I was writing this piece and went under the sink to retrive the horseshoe for a photo. My oldest daughter has played hockey for nine years now, but to her younger sibling, hockey is an alien life form. I asked my youngest if she knew the good luck horseshoe story, and she didn't.

I was recounting the whole tale to her, rambling away, and when I got to the part on the Henri Richard article and mentioned the Canadiens, she said. "Daddy, does the H in the CH stand for horseshoe?"

"No dear, it stands for hockey, why would you think that?"

Bring On The Flyers! A Preview And A Look Back

The Canadiens have drawn the sixth seeded Philadelphia Flyers as second round opponants and the series should play out to be an interesting and wild one.

In all likelyhood, this is the opponent the Habs would have prefered to meet as they enjoyed more success this season versus the Flyers than they had against the New York Rangers. The Canadiens went 4 - 0 versus Philadelphia in 2007-08, outscoring them by a 15 - 6 margin.

Of course, the regular season is meaningless at this point, and the Canadiens have just come through learning the downside of overconfidence by perhaps taking a Bruins team they had dominated during the regular season a little too lightly.

This series will mark the fifth time the two team have met in the playoffs since the Flyers joined the NHL in 1967.














The Canadiens and Flyers first clashed in 1973 when the Bobby Clarke led Flyers were becoming serious Stanley Cup contenders with their combination of brawling hockey tactics and a stifling defensive system. Backed by the strong goaltending of Bernie Parent and the goal scoring exploits of players such as Reggie Leach, Bill Barber and Rick McLeish, the Broad Street Bullies as they became known would go on to win back to back Cups in 1974 and 1975.

The Canadiens of the day were led by veterans Yvan Cournoyer, Frank Mahovlich and Henri Richard, featured the big three of Savard, Lapointe and Robinson on defense, and had Ken Dryden in goal.

In the series, the Habs were a concerned and surely timid group after losing the first game of the series to the Flyers in Montreal. The Canadiens rallied the next night to tie the series and went ahead 2 games to one in Philly on the strenghth of an overtime goal by Robinson. They won the next two and went on to beat the Chicago Blackhawks in the Stanley Cup final.

After the Flyers had imposed their rough and tumble histronics upon the NHL with two Cup wins, the teams met again in the 1976 Cup final. Although the game were close, the series wasn't, as the Canadiens swept in four to regain the Stanley Cup.

Serge Savard, at the time, likened the win as a victory for hockey and the NHL was rescued from a "Slapshot" style mentality that had made inroads into the game. The message was clear - Guy Lafleur and friends were no match for Dave Schultz and company.

Just as the Habs ended the Flyers reign at the top, Philadelphia did the same in knocking of the Cups champions in a six game set in 1987. Claude Lemieux's tactic of returning to the ice after warmup to score a goal into a deserted Flyers net had irked certain Philadelphia players and the charade erupted into a pre game brawl. The teams followed that up two years later in 1989, in a series that is best rememered for rekindling visions of 1973 when Flyers goalie Ron Hextall dashed from his crease to mug Habs defenseman Chris Chelios in retaliation for his hit on Brian Propp.


















Curiously, the Flyers were coached that season by Paul Holmgren, and the Canadiens lineup featured both Guy Carbonneau and Bob Gainey. Holmgren and Gainey are now opposing GM's, with Carbonneau behind the Habs bench.

It is noteworthy to remark this, as little seems to have changed over the years in terms of how the Flyers operate. Philadelphia are still attempting to reign supreme with goonerism, having seemingly learned little over the three decades of losing since that 1975 Cup. It remains a fact that the never could win with dignity or lose with any amount of class.

This season, several Flyers players have been suspended for various forms of idiotic behavior that has had no effect on the team winning whatsoever. Such acts might affect a timid team at best, but come playoff time it has little chance of success.

















Whether anyone can expect thuggish hockey overtones in this series with the Canadiens is anyone's guess, but if one looks at the Flyers method's versus how the Canadiens operate presently, the scenario of high flying hockey versus beat 'em in the alleys tactics looks ready to play itself out once more.

In the Flyers series clinching win over Washington yesterday, the outcome of the game itself was compromised when a penalty wasn't called as a Flyers forward pushed a Capitals defender into goaltender Cristobal Huet, leading directly to a Philadelphia goal.

It was described this way at NHL.com:

Right before a loose puck made its way to Kapanen, Philadelphia's Patrick Thoreson gave Shaone Morrisonn a shove, and the Washington defenseman plowed into Huet, knocking the goalie off his skates. The NHL posted an explanation on the Web, saying Thoresen legally body checked Morrisonn and no Philadelphia player made contact with Huet.

That reasoning apparently didn't make its way to the fans, who yelled insults and curse words at the on-ice officials.

Now why it is reasoned that Thoreson's body check was legal when Morrisonn never had puck possession is beyond logic, but you can wager the Flyers won't hesitate to try it again. The goal gave the Flyers a 2-1 lead at the time, one they would not relinquish.

Here's a clip of the incident:



Against Montreal, the Flyers were called for 3 goalie interference minors in their four meetings, twice in one game.

The Flyers make no apologies for their ways - when visiting their official site, viewers are greeted with the phrases "Enter / Loading Vengeance NOW!"























Philadelphia, on the surface, appear to be a team similar to the Habs first round Boston foes in terms of their rugged play, grinding forwards and less than fleet footed defence.

While they may have allowed more goals against than the Bruins, they were the fifth highest scoring team in the East with six 20 plus goal scorers. The Canadiens will surely be challenged as the Flyers are a very tough opponent when gaining the lead.

Here is how this season game's played out:

November 1 in Montreal / 5-2 Canadiens / Summary / Gamesheet
December 13 in Philadelphia / 4-1 Montreal / Summary / Gamesheet
February 16 in Montreal / 1-0 Canadiens / Summary / Gamesheet
February 17 in Philadelphia / 5-3 Montreal / Summary / Gamesheet

The best Flyers against the Canadiens offensively were Mike Richards with 2 goals and an assist, Daniel Briere with 2 assists, and Mike Knuble with a goal and an assist. Knuble is out for the playoffs with an injury.

For the Canadiens, Alex Kovalev had 2 goals and 4 assists, Andrei Markov had 5 assists, Saku Koivu had 2 goals and 2 assists, Andrei Kostitsyn had 2 and 1, Tomas Plekanec 3 assists, Mark Streit 2 and 1, and Chris Higgins with 2 goals.

In the first game on November 1, the goalies were Huet and Biron and Montreal outshot the Flyers 41-19. In the remaining three game, it was Price versus Nittymaki, and the Canadiens were outshot in all three by 31-23, 34-20, and 37-33 margins.

Carey Price had two first against the Flyers, earning his first career shutout on February 16, and his first NHL assist the following night.

The Flyers had the league's second most potent powerplay behind the Canadiens, but managed only one goal in 28 man advantage situations. The Canadiens for their part countered with 6 goals in 31 chances.

The Montreal media will have a field day with the Daniel Briere stories, as will the Bell Centre boo birds giving the Flyers forward the business everytime he touches the puck.

It should be quite the entertaining series!

Here's a few clips featuring the Habs and Flyers starting with a Robinson and Schultz tilt from a regular season game in 1974, Andrei Kostitsyn's highlight reel goal against Philly this season, brother Sergei's nice hit on Steve Downie in the OHL, and an extended version of the last 80's pre game brawl.








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Happy 18th Henri!

Today, February 29, 2008, is Henri Richard's 18th birthday - he turns 72!

A leap year baby born in 1936, Richard was a man born to defy odds and circumstance.

I learned about Henri's birthdate at a young age. My father was a great and astute hockey fan to whom I owe a tremendous amount of perspective to. He was born on August 31, 1931 - the same day as Jean Beliveau! My mother, oddly enough, was born on February 28th, likely just hours before Henri.

Me, I've had to settle with sharing a birthday with Eric Desjardins and Valeri Bure in Habs lore!

Henri will assuredly take great pleasure today in joking that is finally eligible for the NHL draft and enjoying his first legally consumed brews in the bars of Montreal.

This birthday post is my tribute to Henri. I hope that younger fans of the Canadiens are able to appreciate this man, not having seen him play, for he is not only unique in many ways, but he is a life story waiting to be turned into a movie.

Enjoy the post folks, and by all means check out each link below and learn about the man many consider a hockey icon. Henri, should you read this - all the best to you in love, family, health, and happiness. May the current Habs family provide you with another Cup win!

Henri Richard is not only one of my all time favorite Montreal Canadiens, but in my books he is one of the best and most complete NHL'ers of all time.

My appreciation of Henri goes beyond the incredible 11 Stanley Cup championships he has been a crucial ingredient in. My regard for him has less to do with him being the younger brother of the iconic Rocket Richard.

The reason I love the Pocket so much was that he is in every possible way the consumate Montreal Canadiens player. Despite a bundle of offensive gifts, Henri Richard was a team player first and foremost, and possibly wore the CH emblem on his chest with more pride than any Montreal Canadien before him or since.























I consider myself quite fortunate to have not only seen him play, but see him in one pivotal game, late in his career when he was at his very best.

The game in question, the seventh of the 1971 Stanley Cup final against Chicago may have been Richards best game ever.

With Montreal down 2-0 in Chicago Stadium and the Blackhawks one period away from the Cup win, Henri Richard almost singlehandedly destroyed the Hawks hopes. After Jacques Lemaire scored his legendary 90 foot goal in the fog to make it 2-1 late in the second period, Richard took over and gave Chicago fits.

Poised against the Blackhawks dynamic duo of Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull, Richard not only shut them down and got under their skin, he forced them into taking penalties, pounced on their mistakes and led the Canadiens to an unexpected 17th Stanley Cup.

Four minutes after Lemaire scored, Richard tied the game at 18:20 of the second, while the Canadiens were down a man. Early in the third, Richard struck again at the 2:34 mark, breaking loose from Chicago defenders to streak in alone and beat Tony Esposito.
























Henri was motivated by pride and sheer seeing red anger, having been benched by coach Al McNeil the game before with the Habs trailing. Richard had made some blistering headline declarations that he'd latter regret concerning McNeil's coaching abilities and was determined to prove him wrong in game seven.

Richard played this game as he had played many during his 20 year career - with an edge.
Entering the NHL as the Rocket's younger brother, Henri felt he had something to prove. He ended his career in much the same manner.

He was the consumate Hab because he understood the team ethic and was always prepared to sacrifice body and soul in order to win. Henri, after entering the NHL, retooled his game beyond his goal scoring and playmaking talents, to become one of the most well rounded players the game has known.

He became the Hab for all occassions, playing on both the powerplay early in his days and as a penalty killer in his latter years. He was frustrating to play against because he was relentless in his thirst for victory. At 5' 7", 170 lbs, Richard smartly used his speed rather than his physique to foil and disturb opponants.

When the going got rough, and it often did due to Henri's tactics, he never backed down. If there was a scrum, Henri was in it face first and likely at the heart of it.

Amassing over a 1000 career points from 1955 to 1975, Richard did it the hard way as he was never the team's number one pivot. Playing behind Jean Beliveau in the Canadiens pecking order at center for his first 16 seasons, Richard was often aligned against players of Gordie Howe and Bobby Hull's stripe, and his career numbers show that he did more than just shut them down.

In 1999, The Hockey News ranked it's top 50 NHL players of all time. The panel of hockey experts rated the Pocket Rocket 29th, but in my book, he was top 20.

Henri wouldn't care - he's won 11 Stanley Cups and owns hockey most unattainable record. When eternity is over, he'll still own it!


















Here's what The Hockey News had to say:

Maurice Richard was very good at being great. Henri Richard was great at being very good.

That, in a nutshell, is the difference between the player THN judges to be the fifth greatest player of all time and his brother, Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard.

Rocket Richard was perhaps the most dramatic hockey player to ever grace the NHL, but aside from the essential question of goal scoring, his brother was a better player.

"Henri is better all around than I was", Maurice Richard said. "He stickhandles better, controls the puck more and skates faster. He's better in every way but goal scoring."

Henri delivered more seasons, played more games, and accrued more regular season and playoff points than the Rocket.

The second best goal scorer in the Richard family still managed to outscore Hall of Fame gunners such as Andy Bathgate and Nels Stewart, but if the real measure of the professional is victories, the little richard stands on the top of the mountain.

Henri Richard was a first team all star only one time, but more summers than not he went home to a parade. He won 11 Stanley Cups in 20 seasons. The great Rocket, by comparison, won eight and only two others, Jean Beliveau and Yvan Cournoyer, broke double figurs with 10. Former Bostob Celtics star Bill Russell, also an 11 time champion, is the only other North American athlete to have as many big league championships as Richard.

Just 5 foot 7 and 160 pounds, Richard was the best little man to step into the NHL. Dave Keon, the Toronto Maple Leafs Hall of Fame center, was among the legion of smallish players who learned not only how to survive but also thrive by watching Henri Richard.

Henri was only six when Maurice broke in with the Canadiens. Because of the 15 year gap in age, "Maurice was more like an uncle to me", said Henri.

Henri eschewed comparisons to his brother. His sister dated a plumber and when someone asked, that's the profession to which Henri Richard said he aspired.

Inside, he knew better.

"Playing hockey was what I wanted to do since I was six years old," Richard said. "I wanted to play with Montreal. Without hockey, I don't know what I would have done."

While his talent and drive were unquestioned, Richard's size made the NHL a longshot.

He weighed only 120 pounds as a star with the Jr. Canadiens, but he filled out and eventually made the Canadiens just in time to fit into the supporting cast of the club's five Cup run from 1955-56 through 1959-60.

A prolific goal scorer in junior - Richard had 56 goals and 109 points in 1953-54 - he never scored more than 30 goals or recorded more than 80 points in a season.

Instead, he fashioned himself into a steady 20 goal scorer as a pro, one whose skating, tenacity, positioning and playmaking made him an outstanding NHL player. Richard led the league in assists twice.

"I wanted to be like Maurice, but I soon found out I couldn't be like him", Henri said. "I just couldn't put the puck in the net, so I had to change my style."


That style made him a perfect counterpoint to the Rocket, whom he centered for the first five seasons in the league.

"Henri kept me in the league a year or two longer than I normally would have stayed", said the Rocket. "The way he skated, the way he worked, he made my job easy, much easier than I would have found it otherwise."

"You can take Jean ( Beliveau ) and all the others", said former Canadiens defenseman Ken Reardon, "Give me Henri. That little bugger could skate for five minutes without getting tired."

When he arrived in the league, Henri Richard was unilingual and he was so intimidated by the hallowed Forum, he did not feel at home enough to shave there for 10 years. He matured, however, into a well respected leader and captain.

After quarrelling with then head coach Al McNeil in the 1971 finals, Richard scored the tying and Stanley Cup winning goal in game seven at Chicago Stadium.

Richard also scored the controversial Cup winner in 1966 when he knocked in the decisive goal with his arm while skidding on the ice. The losing Detroit Red Wings were incensed.

"They say there is no room in the game for small players", said former team mate Pete Mahovlich. "I'll tell you something: if they have the same fire and drive that Henri Richard had, there's always room for players like that."

Here are a handful of links about Henri Richard to complete the picture of the man, starting with one from this site, arguing that it is a no brainer that Henri is one of the top 50 NHL'ers of all time.

11 Stanley Cups Ought To End Any Debate - Eyes On The Prize


Q. How did the Chicago Blackhawks blow the 1971 Stanley Cup? - Pro Ice Hockey

Leap year baby Henri "Pocket Rocket" Richard to celebrate 18th birthday - Canadian Press



















Above, a pic from the Henri Richard Tavern in the 1970's.

A Weekend With Henri Richard - Habs World

"He exudes a certain dignity that he carries wherever he goes. And even while checking into the hotel, he made a point to talk to all of the younger hockey players. While many of them were unaware of who he was, there was a light that went off on many of the youngsters faces as soon as their fathers told them who this dignified looking gentlemen was." - T.C.
Deneault

HHOF: Henri Richard Biography

HHOF: Spotlight - One On One with Henri Richard

"I wanted to play hockey because Maurice was playing hockey. But I never said it to anybody. When I was in school, they used to ask me what I wanted to do when I grew up. I never said, 'A hockey player.' I always said, 'A plumber' or something like that." - Henri Richard





HHOF: Henri Richard Photo Gallery

The Henri Richard Collection at Classic Hockey Auctions























A Bio by Kevin O'Shea at Montreal Canadiens.ca

A Bio by Mike Wyman of Inside Hockey

A Bio from Hockey's Greatest Legends


















Above: Prior to the 1959-60 season - Rocket Richard's final year - the Canadiens invited Maurice and Henri's youngest brother Claude to training camp. The three Richard brothers played on a line together during a pair of exhibition games that year.



















Above: The Pocket sticks it to the Blackhawks a second time in 1973, winning his 11th and final Stanley Cup as captain of the Habs.

Here is Henri today



























This recent photo was taken by Dave Sandford and features the surviving members of the Canadiens five in a row dynasty from the 1950's

(Bottom L-R) Dickie Moore, Jean Beliveau and Tom Johnson (Top L-R) Don Marshall, Jean-Guy Talbot and Henri Richard pose for a group photograph during the "Salute to the Stanley Cup Legends" on June 1, 2007 at the Brookstreet Hotel in Ottawa, Canada.

Kostitsyn's Newest Branch On Habs Family Tree

(Robert L Note: This piece was originally posted at EOTP on June 20, 2007, and is being revived due to the arrival of Sergei Kostitsyn, brother of Andrei, with the Canadiens for tonights game in Philadelphia. The Kostitsyn brothers are not the 13th pair of brother to suit up for the Habs, as claimed by Habs Inside Out, but rather the 15th such occurrance. This post also took in relations other than siblings, including fathers and sons, uncles, and nephews, inside and outside the Canadiens realm. It was interesting research and makes for a revealing and fun read. Discover and enjoy!)

Tuesday at work (No, this ain't my real job, folks) I was talking Canadiens prospects with a co-worker when the future brother act of Andrei and Sergei Kostitsyn came up. My friend knew some about Andrei, liking what he'd seen of him so far, but knew nothing of Sergei.

After rattling off the junior exploits of the younger Sergei, and stating that it is not farfetched to think the younger longshot pick could turn out to be the better of the two, my co-worker got me on a Habs trivia question.

Well he kinda got me! I was stumped for the answer, because it was wrong.

He asked me which two brothers played together for the Canadiens, a defenseman and a forward, who wore numbers 3 and 5?













Immediately, like a reflex, I said, "The Cleghorns, Sprague and Odie, back in the 1920's!"

"Huh!", came the reply! "Nope, that's not it!"

"Well I know, I think, one of the Cleghorns wore one of those numbers and one was a defenseman, the other a forward."

"Maybe. Never heard of them. But that's not who I had in mind", said my friend.

My wheels were spinning now, trying to remember all the brother combos who'd played for Montreal, both together and at separate times.

"Ever heard of Moe Robinson?", I asked.

"Geez, if ya can remember dat one...."

After thinking of about 7 pairs of brothers, scratching my brain hard, I came to the conclusion...

"Okay, I give up, who am I forgetting?"
























Shaking his head, buddy says, "Can't believe you don't remember Gilles and J.C. Tremblay!"

"Not brothers. Don't think so, at least. You're wrong there!"

Without getting into an argument, I simply said that I remember hearing a question about them being brothers at one time, but that I was quite certain it was a popular but false assumption.

"I'll check it out, and get back to you on it."

I was taught young by my father, not to argue when you know you're right, and never lay bets when there's doubt. I never lost a buck thinking that way!

Tomorrow, I was thinking, "I'm putting money down on it !"

The worse case scenario will be that I'd be proven wrong, and end up with one interesting post.

As I started researching the all time Habs Brothers, I found information quite easily. I started at the Habs official site, looking up common surnames on the all time roster before googling the term "NHL Hockey Siblings".

I found all I needed to find in both searches, almost!

Another old credo father taught me (way before the days of internet misinformation) was don't believe everything you read, and that includes here, folks.

Sprague Cleghorn



















Odie Cleghorn



















So far, Gilles and Jean Claude aren't even distant cousins, nevermind brothers.

Both the Habs official site and the Wiki link had ommisions. That's the nature of the beast, simply put!

Wiki started out promising and insightful. I urge everyone to check out this most informative page for every type of hockey relation possible, from fathers and sons, to distant cousins. It's a great read.

There are many occasions where brothers played with the Canadiens, both together and separately. At the top of the Wiki page, this statement whet my appetite for the information contained below.

"Perhaps because of their longevity in the league, the Montreal Canadiens have seen the most familial connections with 20: fourteen brother pairs (actually only 11 were listed), two father / son combinations, one grandfather / grandson combo, one uncle / nephew pair, one set (actually there are 2) of brothers in law, and one combination of father in law and son in law."

"Wow, I thought, this is interesting!"

Billy Boucher



















The 14 brother pairs, not counting the Kostitsyn's, are:

Georges and Pierre Vezina (not listed)
Cleghorn, Sprague and Odie
Aurel, Rene Joliat (not listed)
Boucher, Billy and Bobby
Mantha, Georges and Sylvio
Pit, Hector Lepine* (not listed)
Richard, Maurice and Henri
Reardon, Kenny and Terry
McCreary, Keith and Bill
Mahovlich, Pete and Frank
Robinson, Larry, Moe*
Lemieux, Claude and Jocelyn
Lebeau, Stephan and Patrick
Turgeon, Sylvain and Pierre*

Wiki makes no mention whether the Rousseau's, Guy, Rolland, and Bobby* are in fact brothers or not,

Maurice Richard



















Henri Richard



















Of course, soon to be included hopefully are the Kostitsyn's, Andrei and Sergei, for a total of 14 Habs brothers. The names with an asterisk, are brothers who did not play together.

The father and son pairs are:

Bouchard, Butch and Pierre
Geoffrion, Bernie and Danny

Kenny Reardon



















Terry Reardon



















The grandfather and grandson:

Howie Morenz and Danny Geoffrion

The father in law / son in law combo:

Howie Morenz and Bernie Geoffrion

The uncle and nephew pairs:

Larry Hillman and nephew Brian Savage

Christian and Sebastien Bordeleau

Emile Bouchard

















Pierre Bouchard
























Cousins:

Claude Pronovost and Andre Pronovost

In - laws:

Howie Morenz and son in law Bernie Geoffrion
Mark Napier and brother in law Pat Hughes
Shayne Corson and brother in law Darcy Tucker

Other Montreal Canadiens players with a sibling, in law, or cousin in the league at one time or another, who were never teammates, on the Wiki list is lengthy. It's often a case of "Wish we had the other brother!"

There are likely some ommissions here as well.

Pete Mahovlich



















Frank Mahovlich



















The Montreal Canadien is named first, followed by the relative.

Boucher, Billy and Bob were brothers of Frank and Buck
Bordeleau, Paulin, brothers of Christian and J. P.
Broderick, Len, and Ken
Bure, Valeri and Pavel
Courtnall, Russ and Geoff
Dionne, Gilbert and Marcel
Dryden, Ken and Dave
Esposito, Tony and Phil
Fillion, Robert and Marcel
Flockart, Ron and Rob
Hillman, Larry and bothers Wayne and Floyd
Hossa, Marcel and Marian
Hunter, Mark and brothers Dave (drafted but never played for Habs) and Dale
Gardner, Dave and Paul
Koivu, Saku and Mikko
Kordic, John and Dan
Lefley, Chuck and Bryan
Linden, Trevor and Jamie
Odelein, Lyle and Selmar
Pronovost, Claude and brothers Marcel and Jean
Redmond, Mickey and Dick
Roberge, Mario and Serge
Roy, Patrick and Stephane
Shannon, Darryl and Darrin
Wilson, Murray and Doug

Larry Robinson



















Moe (Where's Curly?) Robinson

















Fathers and sons:

Arnason, Chuck and son Tyler
Bordeleau, Sebastien and father Paulin
Chouinard, Eric and father Guy
Cote, Jean-Philippe and father Alain
Gainey, Bob and Steve
Gardner, Dave and father Cal
Goldup, Glenn and father Hank
Laperierre, Jacques and son Daniel
Larose, Claude and son Guy
McCreary, Bill Sr. and Bill Jr.
Vachon, Rogie and son Nick
Wilson, Rick and son Landon

Stephane Lebeau



















Patrick Lebeau



















Uncles and nephews:

Sebastien Bordeleau and uncles Christian and J.P.
Randy Bucyk and uncle Johnny Bucyk
Manny Fernandez and uncle Jacques Lemaire (his former coach)
Keith McCreary and nephew Bill McCreary Jr.
Brian Savage and uncles Wayne, Floyd, and Larry Hillman

Bob Perreault





















Gilbert Perreault




















Cousins:

Chris Chelios and Nikos Tselios
Eric Chouinard and Marc Chouinard
Dale Hoganson and Paul Hoganson
Doug Jarvis and Wes Jarvis
Bob Perreault and Gilbert Perreault
Mickey Redmond and Craig Redmond
Randy Rota and Darcy Rota
Scott Thornton and Joe Thornton
Perry Turnbull and Randy Turnbull

Darcy Tucker
























In - laws:

Guy Carbonneau and son in law Brendan Morrow
Dan Geoffrion and brother in law Hartland Monahan

The Wiki link has information sidebars on most of the players named. Save the page as a favorite and dazzle your best buddy with some of these trivial delights.