Florida Panthers vs. Montreal Canadiens NYE 2012 December 31, 2011

Florida Panthers :

The Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks joined the league for the 1993-94 season. Florida already had an NHL team in the Tampa Bay Lightning, and Miami had attempted to enter into the WHA with the Miami Screaming Eagles but other than goalie Bernie Parent, they were unable to sign any other players to the team, so it was questionable if Florida could support a second team.

H. Wayne Huizenga, then chairman of Blockbuster Entertainment and part owner of the NFL Miami Dolphins and owner of the MLB Florida Marlins had met with Los Angeles Kings head, Bruce McNall and NHL interim president Gil Stein and they had informed him of the pending Disney team and indicated that they saw a fit for another team in Florida. The new franchise was approved on December 10, 1992, and so the wheels were set in motion to get the team ready for the following season.

Bobby Clarke was selected as the first General Manager, and New York Islanders Bill Torrey named as president. Dennis Patterson was the first Chief Scout and Ron Harris was brought on as Eastern Scout. The team also needed an arena, and since there was no time to build one, they had to get creative. The NBA Miami Heat allowed the Florida team to use their Miami Arena as a temporary home until they could get a facility built.

Huizenga chose the Panthers as the team’s name because the Florida Panther was the official state animal.. Roger Neilson was selected as the first coach. He had just been let go from the New York Rangers and had helped orchestrate their best performance in over 50 years when they finished the 1991-92 season with 105 points. He was looking forward to the challenge of building a new franchise. Neilson’s view of his club was that it would be in part a copy of clubs he had played for and coached, dating as far back as his junior days in Peterborough, Ontario. The notion that the club would be known for its abilities in the corners, and any other areas that required basic skills, was his, and his coaching staff’s goal.

The frame work was now in place, and it was time to add the players. Brian Skrudland was selected and named Captain, then Bill Lindsay, Tom Fitzgerald, Mike Hough, Bill Lowry and Scott Mellanby were recruited through the draft process. In the net, John Vanbeisbrouck and Mark Fitzpatrick were added with former NHL New York Islander Bill Smith serving as goaltending consultant. Now Clarke had to add some young talent to go with the veterans. He managed to pick Rob Neidermayer, brother to New Jersey’s Scott Neidermayer, as his fifth pick in the Entry Draft. The Panthers were now prepared to go to training camp.

On October 6, 1993, just 10 months after the franchise was awarded, the Panthers opened their inaugural season against the Chicago Blackhawks in the famed Chicago Stadium. Undaunted by the Chicago fans, the Panthers and Black Hawks fought to a 4-4 tie. During the game Scott Mellanby scored the Panthers first goal, and Brian Skrudland scored the final goal of the game. The Panthers lost their second game to St Louis but won their third game over Tampa 2-0 at the Thunderdome where a record 27, 227 fans came out to see the two Florida team battle it out.

Their home opener saw Pittsburgh hand the Panthers their second loss, but the fans packed the Miami Arena for not only that game, but many games after that, signalling that Huizenga had made the right choice. The fans packed the arena on December 22 with 14,706 fans setting and attendance record for the Miami Arena, who saw the Panthers defeat the powerful New York Rangers 3-2. This sent a message throughout the league that the Panthers were serious and a team to be reckoned with.

The Panthers finished their first season in 5th place out of the playoffs, but they went out in grand style with the Rangers in town for the last game of the season, their local fans saluting them and Vanbeisbrouck stopping Ziggy Palffy on a penalty shot. The Panthers led the league records for win-loss percentage with .494 for a first year team, and in fact that number at the time was the best win-loss percentage in all of pro sports. There was however, one major disappointment and that was the return of Bobby Clarke to the Philadelphia Flyers.

In their second season Byran Murray replaced Clarke and the Panthers picked Ed Jovanovski from the Windsor Spitfires as their first round draft pick. The Panthers finished out of the playoffs and the front office made Neilson the scapegoat and was replaced by Doug MacLean. While the Mighty Ducks had their marketing pizzazz in their movies, the Panthers lacked the capabilities to “hype” their club. Until one day in the dressing room a rat ran across the room and Mellanby shot the poor animal across the room and killed it. Later in the game Mellanby led the Panthers to victory with 2 goals, and from then on, a two goal game by a single player was known as a…Rat Trick. Later, the fans took to throwing rubber rats on the ice after a goal was scored. The Panthers now had an identity.

By the end of their third season they were in the playoffs. The Panthers were not expected to survive the first round, but as often happens in sports, someone forgot to tell the Panthers that, and they disposed of the Boston Bruins and the Philadelphia Flyers setting up round three with the Pittsburgh Penguins. The mighty Mario and Jagr could not stop the Panthers and soon the Panthers were facing the Colorado Avalanche for the Stanley Cup. Although the Panthers were swept by the Avalanche, the team had managed to reach the finals in just their third year and had gained the support of their fans, and the respect of the league.

The Panthers needed a new arena and for the 1998-99 season their new home would be in Sunrise Florida, not far from Fort Lauderdale. In the meantime they managed to make the playoffs again for the 1996-97 season but were eliminated by the New York Rangers in the Conference Quarterfinals. The Panthers did not make the playoffs again until the 1999-2000 season where they were eliminated by the eventual Stanley Cup Champions, the New Jersey Devils.

On January 17, 1999 the Panthers acquired superstar Pavel Bure from the Vancouver Canucks. Bure led the team in scoring with 92 points in his first full season with the Panthers and looks to be the franchise player that they need. Only time will tell if Bryan Murray has made the right choice.

Montreal Canadiens:

The Montreal Canadiens Hockey Club was established on December 4, 1909 and was done so to add and promote a French flavour to hockey in the Montreal area, which up to that time, was predominately run by the English with clubs like the Shamrocks, Wanderers and Victorias. The first owner J. Ambrose Obrien was neither French, nor was he from Montreal, but nontheless he wanted to establish a French Canadian team in his home town of Refrew, Ontario. It was agreed that as soon as Montreal ownership could be found, the team would be transferred.

The first players chosen for the new club were Edouard “Newsy” Lalonde, Didier Pitre, Art Bernies and George “Skinner” Poulin. The team earned the nickname “Habs” from the French term “les Habitants” used to describe the hearty settlers in New France, the predecessor of what is now Quebec. The word Canadiens also had a similar meaning and was used to describe the local people of Montreal.

On January 5, 1910, at the Jubilee Arena, the Canadiens played their first game and defeated the Cobalt Silver Kings 7-6. They won their first Stanley Cup on March 30, 1916 by defeating the Portland Rosebuds of the PCHL in a best of five series. The owners of the club requested to the NHL that they(the owners) be allowed to recruit English speaking players as French speaking ones were hard to come by. That first Stanley Cup Team had stellar players such as Newsy Lalonde, Georges Vezina, Didier Pitre, Jack Fournier and Louis Berlinquette. In November of 1917, the club joined the new league in town, the National Hockey League and officially changed its name to Club de Hockey Canadien and added the unmistakable “CH” to their sweaters.

The Canadiens were part of early NHL history when they were competing for the Stanley Cup in the 1919 against the Seattle Metropolitans. The teams were tied at 2 wins each and one tie when a Influenza epidemic hit North America. With the final game scheduled for April 1 in Seattle, the Canadiens lost 6 players to the flu, so the final game was cancelled, and to this date, 1919 remains the only year the Stanley Cup has not been awarded. It should be noted that Joe Hall died four days later and manager George Kennedy died a year later from influenza complications.

Leo Dandurand, a Franco-American from Bourbonnais, Illinois took control of the franchise after its first decade. He realized that if hockey was to flourish in places like New York, Boston and Chicago, the visiting teams would have to somehow spark the interest of the local fans who were new to the game, and he felt his Montreal Canadiens…the Flying Frenchmen were the team to do it. With players like Howie Morenz, Aurel Joliat, Johnny Gagnon, Georges Vezina, the Cleghorn brothers of Odie and Sprague, the Mantha brothers Syvio and Georges, the Canadiens made their presence felt.

1924 saw the construction of the Montreal Forum for the arrival of the Montreal Wanderers to the NHL, and was open for hockey for the 1924 season. At the time the Canadiens were playing out of the Mount Royal Arena, but due to electrical problems they had to move to the Forum. On November 29, 1924 the Canadiens defeated the Toronto St Pats 7-1. It only took 56 seconds for Billy Boucher to score the first goal in the Forum. Early in the second period he added 2 more for the natural hat trick. Jack Adams was the first visiting player to score in the Forum. Later Jack would lead the Detroit Red Wings.

The Canadiens played in the Mount Royal Arena for the next two years, but in 1926-27, they officially moved into the Forum along side the Montreal Maroons. With Montreal still feeling the effects of the depression, the city had to sacrifice one of its teams. The 1937-38 was the last one for the Montreal Maroons. In 1937 tragedy struck the Canadiens. For years Howie Morenz(the Stratford Streak, the Mitchell Meteor) helped the Canadiens to 3 Stanley Cups. Morenz rejoined the Canadiens in the summer of 1936 after short stints with Chicago and New York Rangers. On January 28, 1937 Morenz was on one of his famous attacks when Earl Seibert caught Morenz with a hip check and Morenz fell over backwards. Some how his skate jammed in the boards and at the same time Seibert fell on him. The “crack” of Morenz’s leg breaking was heard throughout the rink. Morenz was hospitalized and 2 months later he died of a coronary embolism.

Maurice Richard joined the Canadiens in 1942-43. Teamed up with Hector “Toe” Blake and Elmer Lach and the team took off like a “rocket”. That season they won 38 of 50 games, tied 7 and only lost 5 games all season. In the playoffs Richard scored 12 goals in 9 games during Montreals victories over the Maple Leafs and Black Hawks. The Canadiens now had their first cup since 1931 and the City of Montreal had their first cup since 1935.

In the 1944-45 season Richard became the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games. Frank Selke joined the Canadiens on August 1, 1946. He started the task of building a farm system that would feed the Canadiens the talent that would later see them set a string of records. Selke’s efforts paid off with future stars such as Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, Ralph Backstrom, Dickie Moore, Phil Goyette, and Jacques Plante.

The Canadiens, and Richard were not without their “dark” times. Late in the 1954-55 season the Canadiens and Detroit were battling for first place when the Canadiens were playing the Bruins. Somehow Boston defenseman, and tennis partner of Richard, Hal Lycoe, accidentally hit Richard with his stick. Richard was infuriated with the incident and in the ensuing fight Richard accidentally struck linesmen Cliff Thompson. Richard was immediately thrown out, and at later NHL meetings later, Richard was suspended for the rest of the season, including the playoffs by then President, Clarence Campbell. Campbell was warned not to show up at the next game in Montreal. Upon doing so, he was pelted with whatever the fans could lay their hands on, and the fighting spilled out onto the streets of Montreal resulting in the “Richard Riots.”

The following season, 1955-56 the Canadiens began a reign that will most likely never be equalled, winning 5 consecutive Stanley Cups. In those five years they were so powerful that the league had to change the rules about a penalized player returning to the ice after the team with the power play scored. Prior to the change, Montreal could rack up 3or 4 goals. In four of those 5 years a Montreal Canadien won the scoring title and in each year the Canadiens allowed the fewest goals against. During the 10 playoff series they never were extended to 7 games and only played 6 games in a series twice. There were 3 sweeps, and in the 1960 series they won 8 straight games, finally giving the cup up to Chicago in 1961. Montreal won the cup in 1965 and 1966, followed by more cup victories in 1968, 1969, 1971 and 1973.

A new guard was forming with stars like Guy Lafleur, Larry Robinson, Ken Dryden, Claude Larose, Yvan Cournoyer, and new coach Scotty Bowman. Gone were Beliveau, Richard, Talbot, Backstrom and Provost. The Canadiens continued to pile up Stanley Cups in the late 70′s winning 4 straight in 1976, 1977, 1978 and 1979. From a team and individual standpoint both amassed records and awards that may never be equalled again. Henri Richard has more Stanley Cup rings(11) than he can wear at any one time on both hands. Beliveau and Cournoyer can fill both hands with the 10 each that they have. Claude Provost has 9, Jacques Lemaire 8, Jean Guy Talbot 7 and several other members have 5 or 6 each. Compare that with Wayne Gretzky’s 4 rings and you begin to see how dominant the Canadiens were.

The 80′s saw the Canadiens lose their fire power. Jacques Lemair, Ken Dryden and Scotty Bowman were now gone and it was up to the likes of Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Bob Gainey to keep the dream alive. But new teams were beginning to dominate, the Islanders, and the Oilers were establishing themselves as serious threats as the next dynasty. In 1986 Patrick Roy, Shayne Corson, Stephane Richer and Peter Svoboda joined the Canadiens and led them to yet another Stanley Cup victory over Bruins, Whalers, the Rangers and finally taking out Calgary in the finals. Their 1992-93 Stanley Cup victory vaulted the Canadiens into the enviable position of being the only long term professional sports team to win a championship in every decade they played in.

March of 1996 saw the final game played at the Montreal Forum as the Canadiens moved across the street to the Molson Centre. Now the new generation of Canadiens had to carry the torch. Mark Recchi, Pierre Turgeon, Valeri Bure, Saku Koivu and Martin Rucinsky. As time marches on, new Canadiens will continue to come, and old ones will continue to go, but the ghosts of the past will always be with us as the Canadiens continue their quest for hockey’s holy grail…the Stanley Cup.

Official Website: http://www.kicktickets.com/38053/2011/12/31/florida-panthers-vs-montreal-canadiens-nye-2012-bank-atlantic-center-sunrise-fl