The Case for Jean Beliveau
I am depressed about the habs so I wrote this blog to make me feel better. So we are headed towards another dark ages phase for the habs. The Cammalleri trade a sure sign we are going to be sellers up to the trade deadline. I think we should say our goodbyes and thanks to the likes of Hal Gill and Travis Moen. In the darkest and coldest period of the Montreal year, when hockey is the only bright spot in the winter landscape we are doomed to watch in silence as the Leafs try to make the playoffs. Since we can't get intoxicated with the present day habs, let us commemorate the past.The case I want to make is where does Jean Beliveau stand among the elite of great hockey players.
I encountered Jean Beliveau when I was a kid. He was shooting a commercial in a shopping mall. Since I was only 6 or 7, I had to look up at what seemed like a godlike tall figure. Everyone seems to admire the man, from Jean Chretien who wanted to make him the Governor General, to his hockey peers past and present. I am not sure if Jean Beliveau was the first to skate around the rink with the Stanley Cup, but in 1971, in his last momentous year and playoffs when he skated around the Chicago Stadium with the rabid Blackhawk fans watching, instead of booing the fans started to stand and applaud Big Jean. They knew a great man was about to hang it up for the last time.
However, I am not here to praise Jean Beliveau the man, not many would argue with his imperial and gentlemanly status. There was a time when Big Jean was not a real favorite of the Quebecois as insider chatter claimed the Rocket was seething that Beliveau remained with the club as Vice President while the Rocket was shunned. All seemed to be forgiven near the end of the Rocket's life. The one time I felt Big Jean had been on the wrong side of the fence was his berating the hockey players during the player lockout. I think Beliveau was just reacting to the dire straits hockey was in and not taking sides with the owners.
All that to say I am writing this blog to discuss Jean Beliveau the hockey player. When Jean Beliveau joined the habs as a phenom playing under Punch Imlach in Quebec, the Red Wings were the class of the league, with the likes of Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Terry Sawchuck. I cannot say that Jean Beliveau turned around the habs all by himself. The team starting in 1955 had so many stars it staggers the imagination. The Rocket, the Pocket Rocket, Dickie Moore, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante etc. many of them with their numbers retired in the Bell Center rafters. Five Stanley Cups in a row will always be the symbol of the habs teams of the second half of the 50's. Jean Beliveau was a part of this dynasty, albeit not the leader as the Rocket was still around.
Jean Beliveau never scored 50 goals and never had a 100 points. However, if you look at the stats in 1958-59, Jean had 45 goals and 91 points in 64 games. At the time they played 70 games in a season, and my hypothesis is that Beliveau would have been the first to break the Rocket's record of 50 goals and the first to have gotten 100 points if he had been healthy for the whole season. That was in the six team era where players habits were well known to the opposition.
Most of the great players were part of a great dynasty, Gretzky had his 4 cups, Potvin had his 4 cups, Lafleur had his 5 cups, Orr and Lemieux with 2 cups each and they should have had more. Messier had 6 but we can't call the Rangers team a dynasty. Ok I have to admit the habs are somewhat unique in hockey terms because of their ability to own the best Quebec players for a long time. However, it still takes a great player to lead. Jean Beliveau was not only a major part of the 50's dynasty, but he was also the leader of the somewhat forgotten 60's dynasty. During that period the habs won 4 cups in 5 years and made it to the final in between losing to the leafs in the centennial year. The 60's habs did not have the superstars of the 50's, they had many grinders like John Ferguson and Claude Larose, steady defenceman like Terry Harper and Jacques Laperriere, and smurf snipers like Yvan Cournoyer, Dick Duff, and Gilles Tremblay. The one undeniable superstar was Jean Beliveau. Jean was the first winner of the Conn Smythe in 1965.
The year that stands out to many people was his final year. In 1971, the habs had started rebuilding for another dynasty under the slick Sam Pollock. The big bad Bruins had had a record breaking year, finishing first and breaking all sorts of individual and team records for goalscoring. Esposito had shattered all scoring records with 76 goals and 76 assists, Bobby Orr had been unbelievable changing how hockey was played. Jean Beliveau had had a very good season as well, in what had been formally announced as his final year. Jean finished in the top ten in scoring in his final year even though missing 8 games with injury, and had the classic memorable night when he reached 500 goals scoring a hat-trick against Gilles Gilbert of the North Stars. All 3 goals had Beliveau stickhandling around the goalie in front of the net. Beliveau in the 50's was known for his smooth skating and playmaking. In his last year a step slower he was now known as a great stickhandler and still retained his playmaking skills. Beliveau, a precursor to Gretzky, was one of the few who rarely missing hitting the tape of a player's stick with his passes, and as a precursor to Lemieux used his height and reach to stickhandle around opposing defencemen and goalies.
The habs were rebuilding in 1971 and finished third and unfortunately for them they were to meet the Bruins in the first round. Everyone assumed that Beliveau would retire his stellar career ignominiously as the habs were doomed to go out in 4 or 5 games. The first game went according to script as the Bruins dominated and were easily winning. Jean Beliveau the competitor finally overwhelmed Jean Beliveau the gentleman as he went to discuss the game with the referee John Ashley in the waning minutes. Jean asked the referee if it had been a good game to which Ashley responded it sure was. Jean then said sarcastically, "Too bad you missed it". This may have been Beliveau's only misconduct of his career. The next game is part of Habs lore. Behind 5-1, the habs at the end of the second and more particularly in the third took over the game. Big Jean led the onslaught as he scored and assisted on several goals. It seemed that the fountain of youth and hab's pride had invaded Beliveau's body. If the habs were to lose they were not to be humiliated. A non-stop barrage started with Bobby Orr losing the puck repeatedly much to the chagrin of the Bruins faithful. It ended 7-5 for the habs. As a footnote Bobby Orr got a misconduct. The rest is history as the saying goes with Beliveau initiating the Stanley Cup skate around the rink in his final game in Chicago. The pride and leadership of Beliveau in 1971 may have jumpstarted the 70's dynasty in Montreal.
Beliveau almost holds no records in the NHL. The Pocket has one more cup as a player, but I would argue the leader of the Habs in the 60's was Beliveau and not the Pocket. The goal scoring records are mostly held by Gretzky. However, Beliveau's longevity and his 2 dynasties and 1971 set him apart from the pack. He should be considered one of the greatest if not the greatest of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_hCn-UqcFs&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTj4zcSpn8
I encountered Jean Beliveau when I was a kid. He was shooting a commercial in a shopping mall. Since I was only 6 or 7, I had to look up at what seemed like a godlike tall figure. Everyone seems to admire the man, from Jean Chretien who wanted to make him the Governor General, to his hockey peers past and present. I am not sure if Jean Beliveau was the first to skate around the rink with the Stanley Cup, but in 1971, in his last momentous year and playoffs when he skated around the Chicago Stadium with the rabid Blackhawk fans watching, instead of booing the fans started to stand and applaud Big Jean. They knew a great man was about to hang it up for the last time.
However, I am not here to praise Jean Beliveau the man, not many would argue with his imperial and gentlemanly status. There was a time when Big Jean was not a real favorite of the Quebecois as insider chatter claimed the Rocket was seething that Beliveau remained with the club as Vice President while the Rocket was shunned. All seemed to be forgiven near the end of the Rocket's life. The one time I felt Big Jean had been on the wrong side of the fence was his berating the hockey players during the player lockout. I think Beliveau was just reacting to the dire straits hockey was in and not taking sides with the owners.
All that to say I am writing this blog to discuss Jean Beliveau the hockey player. When Jean Beliveau joined the habs as a phenom playing under Punch Imlach in Quebec, the Red Wings were the class of the league, with the likes of Gordie Howe, Ted Lindsay and Terry Sawchuck. I cannot say that Jean Beliveau turned around the habs all by himself. The team starting in 1955 had so many stars it staggers the imagination. The Rocket, the Pocket Rocket, Dickie Moore, Bernie Geoffrion, Doug Harvey, Jacques Plante etc. many of them with their numbers retired in the Bell Center rafters. Five Stanley Cups in a row will always be the symbol of the habs teams of the second half of the 50's. Jean Beliveau was a part of this dynasty, albeit not the leader as the Rocket was still around.
Jean Beliveau never scored 50 goals and never had a 100 points. However, if you look at the stats in 1958-59, Jean had 45 goals and 91 points in 64 games. At the time they played 70 games in a season, and my hypothesis is that Beliveau would have been the first to break the Rocket's record of 50 goals and the first to have gotten 100 points if he had been healthy for the whole season. That was in the six team era where players habits were well known to the opposition.
Most of the great players were part of a great dynasty, Gretzky had his 4 cups, Potvin had his 4 cups, Lafleur had his 5 cups, Orr and Lemieux with 2 cups each and they should have had more. Messier had 6 but we can't call the Rangers team a dynasty. Ok I have to admit the habs are somewhat unique in hockey terms because of their ability to own the best Quebec players for a long time. However, it still takes a great player to lead. Jean Beliveau was not only a major part of the 50's dynasty, but he was also the leader of the somewhat forgotten 60's dynasty. During that period the habs won 4 cups in 5 years and made it to the final in between losing to the leafs in the centennial year. The 60's habs did not have the superstars of the 50's, they had many grinders like John Ferguson and Claude Larose, steady defenceman like Terry Harper and Jacques Laperriere, and smurf snipers like Yvan Cournoyer, Dick Duff, and Gilles Tremblay. The one undeniable superstar was Jean Beliveau. Jean was the first winner of the Conn Smythe in 1965.
The year that stands out to many people was his final year. In 1971, the habs had started rebuilding for another dynasty under the slick Sam Pollock. The big bad Bruins had had a record breaking year, finishing first and breaking all sorts of individual and team records for goalscoring. Esposito had shattered all scoring records with 76 goals and 76 assists, Bobby Orr had been unbelievable changing how hockey was played. Jean Beliveau had had a very good season as well, in what had been formally announced as his final year. Jean finished in the top ten in scoring in his final year even though missing 8 games with injury, and had the classic memorable night when he reached 500 goals scoring a hat-trick against Gilles Gilbert of the North Stars. All 3 goals had Beliveau stickhandling around the goalie in front of the net. Beliveau in the 50's was known for his smooth skating and playmaking. In his last year a step slower he was now known as a great stickhandler and still retained his playmaking skills. Beliveau, a precursor to Gretzky, was one of the few who rarely missing hitting the tape of a player's stick with his passes, and as a precursor to Lemieux used his height and reach to stickhandle around opposing defencemen and goalies.
The habs were rebuilding in 1971 and finished third and unfortunately for them they were to meet the Bruins in the first round. Everyone assumed that Beliveau would retire his stellar career ignominiously as the habs were doomed to go out in 4 or 5 games. The first game went according to script as the Bruins dominated and were easily winning. Jean Beliveau the competitor finally overwhelmed Jean Beliveau the gentleman as he went to discuss the game with the referee John Ashley in the waning minutes. Jean asked the referee if it had been a good game to which Ashley responded it sure was. Jean then said sarcastically, "Too bad you missed it". This may have been Beliveau's only misconduct of his career. The next game is part of Habs lore. Behind 5-1, the habs at the end of the second and more particularly in the third took over the game. Big Jean led the onslaught as he scored and assisted on several goals. It seemed that the fountain of youth and hab's pride had invaded Beliveau's body. If the habs were to lose they were not to be humiliated. A non-stop barrage started with Bobby Orr losing the puck repeatedly much to the chagrin of the Bruins faithful. It ended 7-5 for the habs. As a footnote Bobby Orr got a misconduct. The rest is history as the saying goes with Beliveau initiating the Stanley Cup skate around the rink in his final game in Chicago. The pride and leadership of Beliveau in 1971 may have jumpstarted the 70's dynasty in Montreal.
Beliveau almost holds no records in the NHL. The Pocket has one more cup as a player, but I would argue the leader of the Habs in the 60's was Beliveau and not the Pocket. The goal scoring records are mostly held by Gretzky. However, Beliveau's longevity and his 2 dynasties and 1971 set him apart from the pack. He should be considered one of the greatest if not the greatest of all time.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T_hCn-UqcFs&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oiTj4zcSpn8
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