As most kids my age growing up in the mid to late 70's, I was a huge hockey fan. Street hockey was a way of life, and so was Hockey Night in Canada on Saturday nights. Goalie pads were usually the foam from old discarded sofas, and our nets were often 2 cans of coke. We later became "hi-tech" and started using real nets, and then graduating to the school yards to apply our trade! Unlike most kids however, I was not a Habs fan. My older brother was a New York Rangers fan, and being almost 9 years younger, he had a lot of influence over me, so I became a fan too!! My Dad was a Red Wings fan, and always spoke of the "old days" with Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay, and Terry Sawchuk. My older cousin was a Philadelphia Flyers fan. The Broad Street Bullies had won consecutive Stanley Cups a couple of years earlier. My younger brother became a Bruins fan, and this became another one of our countless excuses to fight!! Collectively though, we cheered against the Habs. The whole family was passionate about Hockey. It was a way of life. We even had a table hockey league complete with statistics and playoffs!!!
I knew all the Rangers; Rod Gilbert, Brad Park, Vic Hadfield, Jean Ratelle, Steve Vickers, Ed Giacomin, etc, before I even started watching hockey. Among my first favorites were Ron Greschner, Phil Esposito, Mike Mcewen, and big John Davidson in the nets. Swedish imports and WHA superstars Anders Hedberg and Ulf Nilsson were there too, as was Don and Dave Maloney, Ron Duguay, Walt Tkaczuk and Pat Hickey. Unfortunately for me, the period from 1975-1979 was an era dominated by the Monteal Canadiens; A hockey dynasty which would go down as one of the best teams in the History of the NHL.
I didn't only dislike the Habs, I hated them!! I hated them as much as 7-8 year old kid could hate at the time. I hated them the same level I respect them today... they were "that good!" The Habs of that era were a real wrecking crew, in one season they lost only 8 games, in another they lost 12. On Saturday nights, they almost never lost. The most I could hope for was a tie on some nights, which was a real moral victory. They had all the stars; Guy Lafleur, Jacques Lemaire, Steve Shutt. I particularly remember how dangerous Lafleur, Shutt, and Pierre Larouche were around the opposing nets. All 3 had 50 goal seasons for the Habs. There was "the big 3"; Larry Robinson,Guy Lapointe, and Serge Savard on D... and of course Ken Dryden in the nets. I remember being frustrated countless times as pucks bounced harmlessly off the larger than life Dryden, he made it look easy. He usually didn't have to work too hard, but he always made the key saves. There was also the tenacious Bob Gainey, Mario Tremblay, and Doug Risebrough. I still remember a crunching body check Gainey gave to the late Dave Magnuson of the Chicago Blackhawks. The rugged and tough as nails Magnuson wanted to challenge Gainey to a fight, but it was obvious the defenceman was a little woozy and had to be restrained by his teammates.
In late spring of 1979, the Habs won their fourth consecutive Stanley Cup, beating my Rangers 4 games to 1, despite relinquishing Game 1 by a 4-1 score. The Habs were just too strong. It wasn't easy in school, I was taunted mercilessly by friends who were Habs fans, but I would stay loyal to my team. It wouldn't be until 1994, with Brian Leetch, Mark Messier, and Mike Richter leading the way, that the Rangers would win their first Stanley Cup in 40 years, and the first in my lifetime.
The last few years, my feelings are a lot more mellow towards the Habs than before. I am a staunch follower and I support them on most nights. Last season was a big disappointment and obviously Bob Gainey shook up the house. I was a bit skeptical at first, and I feel that the Habs might have paid a bit too much for some of their free agents, but I ultimately feel they will field a better team this year. The Defence is undoubtedly better, and with some consistent goal tending and timely scoring from their high priced acquisitions, I feel the Habs will make the playoffs.
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