On a Tuesday night in Montreal, people flock to a movie theatre on the corner
of Ste Catherine and Atwater streets to see films at half the regular price.
The deal attracts a lot of teens and young adults, many of whom are too young
to remember when the building was the most famous in the city, aside from
perhaps Notre-Dame Basilica.

Even before you walk through the doors there are reminders of its most famous
occupants. For 72 years, the Montreal Forum was home to the Canadiens (and for
a time their rivals the Montreal Maroons), winners of 24 Stanley Cups,
commemorated by plaques engraved in the sidewalk. Entering the building, the
team';s old centre ice logo is embedded in the polished floors and old seats
line the corridors where movie-goers can relax before their film starts. An
entire section of the stands is preserved along with a statue of a fan
eternally excited by the action in front of him.Montreal Forum, circa 1970 (THW
 Archives)

I saw my first game at the Forum in 1979 and my last in 1995, a relatively
short period in the history of the franchise but one that framed the end of one
 great era and the beginning of a long period that marked their decline. Four
games stand out as reminders of the significance of hockey in this city and the
 venue that bore witness to some of its finest moments.November 22, 1979,
Canadiens vs. Winnipeg Jets

The Canadiens entered the 1979-80 season with four consecutive Stanley Cup
victories, looking to match the record of five held by the great Habs teams of
the 1950';s. In the few months since their last parade, much had changed. Ken
Dryden, Yvan Cournoyer, Jacques Lemaire and coach Scotty Bowman were gone,
while the NHL absorbed four teams from the defunct WHA - the Edmonton Oilers,
New England Whalers, Quebec Nordiques, and the Winnipeg Jets. The Nordiques
became the Canadiens greatest rivals, while the Oilers brought with them future
 superstar, Wayne Gretzky.

On this night, the Jets rolled into town with another legend, 40-year-old Bobby
 Hull, whom Habs fans last saw in an NHL game in 1971. No longer the dangerous
"Golden Jet", a smiling Hull still delighted the fans in the warmup, taking
many of his famous slapshots, and signing autographs.MONTREAL, QC - 1971: Jean
Beliveau #4 of the Montreal Canadiens battles with Bobby Hull #9 of the Chicago
 Blackhawks at the Montreal Forum circa 1971 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
(Photo by Melchior DiGiacomo/Getty Images)

The Canadiens won easily 7-0, and Hull was largely ineffective. In some
respects, the game represented a passing of the torch. By the end of the
season, Gretzky surpassed Guy Lafleur as the most exciting player in hockey and
 its most electrifying offensive threat, and Hull retired. By April their
Stanley Cup winning streak was also broken as the Habs lost in the NHL
quarterfinals to the Minnesota North Stars, four games to three. They would
reach the Stanley Cup finals only twice in the next decade.December 31, 1982,
vs. Soviet Red Army

Three years later the Soviet Red Army faced the Canadiens in an exhibition
game, a decade after the famous Summit Series of 1972. Many of their legendary
stars had moved on, but Vladislav Tretiak, the goaltender who stunned both NHL
players and the hockey world with his acrobatic play and cat-like reflexes, was
 still at his peak.MONTREAL, CANADA - CIRCA 1972: Jacques Plante poses for a
photo with Vladislav Tretiak of the Soviet Union prior to the start of the
Summit Series circa the 1972 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. (Photo by Denis
Brodeur/NHLI via Getty Images)

The Canadiens were now less of an imposing force in the NHL, taking a back seat
 to the Oilers and New York Islanders, who would match their streak of four
consecutive cup victories that season. Lafleur was still their best scorer, but
 a shadow of his former self, and centre Doug Wickenheisier failed to live up
to expectations after being selected by the Habs as the first overall pick of
the 1980 draft. The team of legends Jacques Plante and Ken Dryden also lacked a
 star goaltender; Rick Wamsley and Richard Sevigny shared the duties and were
often ineffective and unspectacular.

That night belonged to Tretiak who received a standing ovation as the Canadiens
 were shutout 5-0 - a further reminder of their inadequacies in goal. The
stellar performances of Igor Larionov, Viacheslav Fetisov, and Vladimir Krutov
also showcased the dominance of Russian players who would later bring their
skills to the NHL.December 31, 1983, vs. Quebec Nordiques

Current Habs fans love to discuss rivalries with the Boston Bruins, Toronto
Maple Leafs, and to a lesser extent, the Ottawa Senators. While there have been
 many recent epic battles, especially with the Bruins in the playoffs, the
period between 1979 and 1995, when they faced their provincial rivals the
Quebec Nordiques, featured some of the most exciting games played at the old
Forum. Led by Dale Hunter, Michel Goulet and Peter Stastny, the Nordiques were
perennial playoff contenders and met the Canadiens five times in the
postseason.UNIONDALE, NY - DECEMBER 15: Dale Hunter #32 of the Quebec Nordiques
 skates on the ice during an NHL game against the New York Islanders on
December 15, 1981 at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. (Photo by B
Bennett/Getty Images)

Trailing the Nordiques in the standings, the Canadiens overcame a 2-1 deficit
to score three goals, including two by Ryan Walter, to win the game 4-2. The
spirited match - both on the ice and in the stands - was a prelude to the
famous "Good Friday Massacre", when the Nordiques were eliminated by the Habs
in a brawl-filled finale to the second round of the playoffs in April.May 3,
1995, vs. Boston Bruins

I witnessed many exciting moments the following decade, but the last game of
the 1994-95 lockout-shortened season was memorable as the first game I attended
 where a Canadiens team had already been eliminated from the playoffs. They had
 last failed to qualify for postseason action in 1970, so a quiet and subdued
crowd watched them lose to the Boston Bruins 4-2.

In February, general manager Serge Savard dealt Eric Desjardins, Gilbert
Dionne, and John LeClair to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Mark
Recchi, a one-sided trade that foreshadowed the disastrous moves that would
virtually ruin the franchise under his successor, Rejean Houle. The team
stumbled, losing six straight games and falling out of playoff contention by
March.

It was also the last season goaltender Patrick Roy would finish with the club,
as he would be traded to the Colorado Avalanche the following season after a
public dispute with coach Mario Tremblay and team president Ronald
Corey.Patrick Roy sporting his 33 (Photo by Steve Babineau/NHLI via Getty
Images)

The match turned out to be the last game I saw at the Forum, as my father';s
health declined the following year and I focused on matters other than hockey.
I remembered his anecdotes about standing in line for hours outside the
original arena in 1937 to pay his final respects to the legendary Howie Morenz,
 who died suddenly that year. Six decades later I followed suit when Maurice
"Rocket" Richard passed away and was honoured at the Molson (later the Bell)
Centre in May 2000.

The Canadiens played their last game in their old arena against the Dallas
Stars on March 11, 1996. The interior was demolished in 1998, making a
commemorative service for Richard in his old hockey home impossible. It seemed
fitting at the time as, like the Rocket, memories of the Montreal Forum
belonged to another century.

The post Memories of the Montreal Forum appeared first on The Hockey Writers.

http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/TheHockeyWrite...
--- SBBSecho 3.05-Win32
 * Origin: TequilaMockingbird Online - Toms River, NJ (1:266/404)