Canadiens Hockey Jersey, After the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs it seemed unthinkable that the Habs would need to Canadiens Hockey Jersey carefully consider retiring Patrick Roy\'s Montreal Canadiens jersey some day. At that point in his career Roy had almost single-handedly won the Montreal Canadiens 2 Stanley Cups, and was already a shoe-in for the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame, and Montreal Canadiens\' fans looked forward to many more years of success with Patrick Roy tending the nets for them.
Things didn\'t work out as planned, however. The Montreal Canadiens were a middle of the road club who happened to go on a miracle run in the spring of 1993, led by a goaltender who got red hot at the right time. In the years following the club didn\'t threaten to win another Stanley Cup, and the coaching staff was overhauled, and the club decided to bring in former player, Mario Tremblay to helm the team.
Tremblay\'s inexperience was glaringly apparent, but never more so than one fateful night when Canadiens Hockey Jersey he left the volatile Roy in net during an 8-0 drubbing at the hands of the powerful Red Wings. Roy, proud to Canadiens Hockey Jersey a fault, suffered great embarrassment, and was furious that Tremblay refused to pull him. When Roy finally did make his way to the bench he told team president Ronald Corey that he had played his last game in a Montreal Canadiens jersey.
Roy\'s declaration proved prophetic as shortly after he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche in a deal that devastated fans of the Montreal Canadiens. To add insult to injury Roy went on to lead the Avalanche to the first Stanley Cup in the history of their franchise. Suddenly Patrick Roy was no longer the city of Montreal\'s favorite son, but rather a hated adversary who had brought cup glory to the team that had previously been one of their most hated rivals, the Quebec Nordiques.
Roy would go on to win another Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche, the fourth of his career. When he retired he was the all time league leader in both regular season and playoff wins and had a record three Conn Smythe trophies as playoff MVP to his credit. Roy\'s time with the Montreal Canadiens seemed all but forgotten. By the time he hung up the skates for good his career seemed more defined by his time in Colorado than it did in Montreal.
Still, though he only spent half of his career in a Montreal Canadiens jersey the debate raged whether or not the club should retire his number. Most of the other jerseys hanging from the rafters represented players who played all of their career with the team, sticking through thick and thin, and never abandoning the club because of petty ego.
In the end I think the Montreal Canadiens\' decision to retire Patrick Roy\'s jersey was more a PR move than a gesture of goodwill. It is the team\'s Centennial season, and as they celebrate their 100th year they needed at least one Canadiens jersey retirement to supplement the festivities. Roy was the only reasonable candidate, so his jersey will be raised to the roof Nov 22nd when the Habs face another hated rival: The Boston Bruins.
It will be interesting to see if the ceremony will draw cheers or boos when Roy\'s Canadiens jersey is hoisted to the rafters. Will the once favorite son of Montreal be forgiven, so do the people of Montreal harbor their grudge still?
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