Canadiens' legends begin tour at AUC
Published Tuesday November 24th, 2009
Fans of the Montreal Canadiens figure to be in their glory tonight.
Many of the greats from the glory years of the 70's and early 80's including Hall of Famer Guy Lafleur, who scored 560 goals in a 17-year career in the National Hockey League, will be wearing the red, white and blue as part of the Canadiens Alumni taking on the Fredericton Local Legends as part of the Maritime Legends tour.
Game time tonight at the Aitken Centre is 7 o'clock, with Lieutenant Governor Graydon Nicholas on hand to drop the first puck.
"He's a big Canadiens' fan and wanted an opportunity to meet the players, so when he found out they were playing tonight, he was pretty excited to do this,'' said Steve Walton of Saint John, promoter of tonight's game and tomorrow night when the Canadiens Alumni play at Saint John's Harbour Station.
The tour winds up with a game at the Moncton Coliseum on Thursday night.
Nicholas, a former provincial judge, became the first aboriginal to hold the post of lieutenant governor when he was named by Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Sept. 10.
A reception is also planned for the Jungle Jim's after the game with fans holding tickets to the game gaining free admittance allowing them mingle with their heroes from yesteryear.
Ticket prices tonight go for $20 for adults and $15 for youngsters under-12 and students with valid ID. Walton says he's expecting a considerable walk-up at the Aitken Centre Box Office.
Many will be there to see Lafleur, the No. 1 pick in the NHL entry draft of 1971 who helped Montreal win five Stanley Cups during his 14 years playing in Montreal.
Nicknamed 'The Flower,' Lafleur became the first player in NHL history to score at least 50 goals and 100 points for six consecutive seasons. During that span, he won three league scoring title and captured the Hart Trophy as the league MVP on two occasions.
When he retired from the Canadiens following the 1984-85 season, he ranked second only to Maurice 'Rocket' Richard in scoring among Canadiens' players. He also reached the 1,000-point plateau in only 720 games, the first Canadiens' player to do so.
Following a three-year retirement, Lafleur decided to play again, joining the New York Rangers for a season before finishing up with the Quebec Nordiques for two seasons in 1989-90 and 1990-91. In 1127 NHL games, Lafleur scored 560 goals and 793 assists for 1,353 points.
Lafleur was also in the news earlier this fall when a Quebec judge gave him a suspended sentence and a fine after it was determined he had misled authorities during his son Mark's bail hearing.
Another son, Martin, will be among the Canadiens' Alumni group tonight, as will a couple of late additions to the roster which includes 13 individuals supplemented by Josh Moore and another Frederictonian yet to be determined, said Walton.
The two late additons to the tour include rightwinger Stephane Richer, who played eight seasons in Montreal and five more with the New Jersey Devils before finishing up with stints in Tampa Bay, St. Louis and Pittsburgh in 2001-02. He scored 421 goals and added 398 assists in 1,054 games and was part of a Stanley Cup-winning team in New Jersey.
Another former Canadiens, Stephane Quintal, has also been added to the list of Alunmi, says Walton. Quintal played 1,037 NHL games including parts of seven seasons with the Canadiens. He also played with the Boston Bruins, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets, New York Rangers and Chicago Blackhawks before returning to Montreal for his final season in 2003-04. He scored 63 career goals.
Others on the Canadiens' roster include three players who saw action with the Fredericton Canadiens when they were a member of the American Hockey League.
The most prominent is defenceman Patrice Brisebois, who played in the NHL as recently as last season with the Canadiens. He played 53 games with the Baby Habs in 1991-92. Winger Gilbert Dionne, brother of NHL Hall of Famer Marcel, played a couple of seasons in Fredericton. He scored 40 goals in 1990-91 and added 12 more the following year before being called up. Tough-guy Mario Roberge played three full seasons in Fredericton.
Walton says among the other Alumni who've committed to the tour are goaltender Richard Sevigny (1979-84), defencemen Gilbert Delorme (1981-1992) and Karl Dykhuis (1999-2004) and forwards Sergio Momesso (1983-84, 1985-88), Serge Boisvert (1984-88), Alain Cote (1990-92) and Yves Racine (1994-96).
A couple of former UNBers, defenceman Darren Shakotko (1999-2003) and winger David Myles (1992-93) plus former Universite de Moncton star Terry Toner, who helped the Aigles Bleus win a national title in 1995 are among the Local Legends who'll be facing Lafleur and Co. tonight.
Others include goaltender Mike Vaughan who plays for the Tri-County Thrashers in the Southern Senior League and former Saint John Vito's player, Terry Gray.
The rest of the roster includes Todd Adams, Louis McClure, Marco Ouellette, Colin Mitchell, Denis Cormier, Mike Lanteigne, Scott Ryan, Tim Sommerville, Jeff Kitchen, Kent Verbaske and Travis Blunden.
Walton said players were invited some time ago to express their interest in playing against the Canadiens. "We got a very good response,'' he said.
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