Tales from the Montreal Canadiens Locker Room: A Collection of the Greatest Canadiens Stories Ever Told Book

Prologue ix

Introduction Deceptive Origins and the Very First Game xi

Chapter 1 1910-1935: Misconceptions of the Canadiens "French Player Territorial Rights Rule"-Part 1 1

Many Myths, Many Sides 1

In With the French-Out With the French 4

The American-Born Dandurand and the Flying Frenchmen Myth 7

Connections, Good Fortune and Blarney 11

Depression, Distractions and Diminishing Assets 17

Dandurand Manages His Own Disaster 21

Chapter 2 1935-1940: Stumbling Toward Irrelevance-The Ernest Savard Era 27

A Muddy Transition of Ownership and the Slight Return of the Canadiens' Territorial Rights 27

Savard's Cast of Characters Continues the Slide 30

Merger Rumors Persist as Clouds Descend 35

Gorman Sticks His Nose In 38

"He Died of a Broken Heart" 40

C-Form Slavery and the State of Quebec Hockey 44

A One-Team City 46

It Couldn't Get Any Worse 50

Chapter 3 1940-1942: Gorman Begins the Face Lift 55

Three Visionaries 55

Irvin and Gorman Change the Culture 57

A Slow Climb Back Uphill 61

Chapter 4 Wartime Myth 65

Rocket of War 65

Conn Smythe's Propaganda 66

Canadiens as Hard Hit as Any During World War II 69

How the Rocket Punched 50 73

Gorman's Shrewd Moves Pay Off 76

Chapter 5 1942-1967: Misconceptions of the Canadiens "French Player Territorial Rights Rule"-Part 2 83

The Tangled Web of the Norris Hockey League 83

Homegrown Allure 84

The Players Came From All Parts 86

The Sad State of Organized Hockey in Quebec 87

The Dark Horse Phoenix 90

Selke's Tricks of the Trade 93

A Closer Inspection of the Canadiens' Assets During the Radius Rule Years 95

French and English in Harmony 102

Chapter 6 Dryden Bruin', Lafleur Unsealed and Dionne Almost Unwinged 107

Why on God's Earth Would California Have Thrown Cash into the Deal? 107

Chapter 7 A Dynasty Undone-What Became of the 1970s Canadiens 117

From You, With Failing Hands, We Fumble the Torch 117

No Template in Dynasty Management, No Legendary Trade Returns 119

Grundman Reconstructs a New Core 124

Roy to the Rescue 129

Meager Trickle Downs and Mediocrity; The Crumbs of the Roy Deal 132

Chapter 8 Jacques Demers Bewitched By Leafs Fan 135

"Serge! Boys, Come and Get a Look at This!" 135

Chapter 9 1982-1999: How It All Went Wrong-The Downside of Ronald Corey's Reign 141

The Harmonious Front Office 141

The Corey and Savard Regime Leads the Canadiens Back to the Summit 143

The Hockey Religion Meets the New Media 145

It's Hard to be a Saint in the City of Montreal 147

Cornerstone Chelios Departs in a Savardian Spinnerama 153

Bon Cop, Bad Cop 156

Irreparable Collateral Damage 159

The Forum Ghosts Didn't Make the Trip 167

Chapter 10 1999-2012: After the Wilderness, Hope 169

The Spin Cycle 169

Koivu's Inspired Return Provides the Molson Centre with a Soul 171

The Gainey/Gauthier Regime 174

Hope Springs Eternal 184

Bibliography 189