Montreal 100th anniversary, now that was classy

100 Years o f Habs greats! courtesy of NY DailyNews

Talk about a celebration.

The Montreal Canadiens centennial game celebrations were a spectacle every sporting fan, let alone hockey or Habs fan, just had to respect.

Watching the past greats in Habs jerseys were a nostalgic touch which would be hard to replicate by any sporting franchise short of the other titans of sports such as the New York Yankees, Boston Celtics, Los Angeles Lakers, AC Milan, Barcelona, Manchester United, Pittsburgh Steelers…you get the picture.

On a personal note, seeing the king, Patrick Roy, in full goalie gear in a Habs uniform was extra special.

The last time we had seen that, he had stormed off the ice in that dark moment in Montreal history, after getting bombed by the Detroit Red Wings, then gave the 1000-yard stare to then coach Mario Tremblay and uttered to Ronald Corey that was the last game he’d played as a Canadien. For me, that was my first and last game at the fabled Montreal Forum and the only time I ever saw my last hockey hero, Roy, play.

The 100th anniversary celebrations since last season to last night were all class.

Thank you to this wonderful franchise for all the history and memories.

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Hockey Night in Montreal – thank you TSN.

The Montreal Canadiens had their 100th home opener televised on TSN and what a class ceremony and even classier treatment by TSN of the moment.

For a station based in Toronto to recognize and shower the Canadiens, Les Glorieux, in the praise and accolades they deserve was impressive to watch. Unlike CBC which does everything but have its staff wear Toronto Maple Laughs jerseys during broadcasts, the TSN crew did a bang up job.

They let the crowd cheer and holler during the opening ceremonies. They broadcast all of the Ring of Honour ceremony. They recognized the greatness of the most decorated hockey franchise on the planet. 24 cups in 100 years of existence are hard to ignore but they usually are here in  Toronto.  Before the game Gord Miller had a great interview with Guy Lafleur. During an intermission, their hockey panel answered the question: who is the greatest Canadiens goalie ever? Bob McKenzie said Jacques Plante, Keith Jones said Ken Dryden and John Tortarella said Patrick Roy.

Dave Hodge had an incredible segment in which he recognized a majority of the Habs greats via their nickname and he summed up the team’s greatness appropriately. He said the Habs may have not had the success of their past of late but they are the standard, they are the team all other teams strive to become…and it took 100 years to create that standard and class that is the Montreal Canadiens.

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