3, not 33

Does he deserve his Jersey retired? I think he does. Is it the right time to do it? I really don't think so. I think he auto-sabotaged his chances with the recent events.

I didn't want 33 retired before this and I sure don't want it retired now. If a guy quits on his team then he can't have his number retired. Plain and simple. You can talk about Trembley yes he didn't handle it the right way, but Patrick didn't either. All Patrick had to do was keep his mouth shut and
ask for a trade after the game or at a later point. He showed no class then and has many times since. When I go a any arena where players are honored there should be no mixed emotions or questions that the player belongs there.
In the case of 33 with the Habs my stomach would turn.

Several things...

1. Isn't Guy Lafleur in a lot of trouble with the Montreal authorities which directly negates the "they were great human beings" argument

2. How can you not retire Roy's 33? Logic, he was the best goalie, arguably, we've ever had, especially in the clutch

3. If I do recall, we had an moronic coach in Mario Tremblay. Again, why would you leave your #1 goalie in the net on the ice for 9 goals, THEN decide to pull him? What good does that do? If I were Roy, if ANYONE was Roy, would you not be annoyed, especially after all you had done for the franchise and arguably single-handedly won them 2 championships because of incredible goal keeping?

4. To further cement Roy's place in the rafters, how much has that trade set back this franchise? We traded him, and wow, we've had some goaltending gems with Thibault, Hackett, Moog, Theodore, anyone else? (which further proves they were mediocre). Hence the Curse of St. Patrick. It illustrates Roy's importance to them team and what a valuable commodity he was.

5. Notice how there is no left of that administration who ridded us of Roy's brilliance? There's a reason.

All in all, while I think Roy regrets what he did with the Remparts, this is NO way should reflect the player he was with the Canadiens. He should be up in the rafters. His competitive nature should not hinder his reputation.

And, of course, sorry for the long post.
____________________________________________________________
1. February 19th, 2008, a day which will live in sublimity.

"Look, admission to sports Halls of Fame should be based purely on achievement. You put up the numbers, you're in.
Pete Rose belongs in Cooperstown. So do Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens."

Pete Rose's play was affected by his gambling, both as player and manager. I agree with MLB. Banned for life.
Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are nothing but cheats who deserve only scorn. That goes for all "athletes" who cheat(by using banned substances). They merit nothing, because what they've accomplished was under the influence of something completely unnatural and totally pharmaceutical. Those 2 bozos don't even have the balls to own up, much like Lance "I haven't been caught yet" Armstrong.
They have millions in the bank. I hope they spend it well because their health will not be good for much longer.

Gilbert

It's interesting to see how this thread has brought up some long held bitter feeling towards Patrick Roy. I find it ironic that so many people seem to think that he quit on his team. As I've said before the team and the organization quit on him.

Does this mean that these same people feel that Mario Tremblay made the right move in leaving Roy in the nets in that blowout? that Tremblay's public humiliation of one of the most valuable Canadiens of all time was justified? that treating a man who had carried the team to two Stanley Cups with no respect is something to be admired?

It's funny how people have rose coloured glasses about Roy and the team. Not all of the names hanging from the rafters had fuzzy feelings about their departure from the Habs.

Plante, Harvey, Geoffrion, Lafleur, Moore, Savard, and Robinson all finished their career's elsewhere, and all left the Habs under circumstances no better or worse than Roy.

And how did the Montreal organization treat their greatest star after his retirement. After all, some of us remember the "Rocket" having to sell fishing line in down and out Quebec dives to make a living in the late 1960's.

T.C.
tc.denault@habsworld.net

Patrick Roy is a goon, a thug, and an excellent goalie. I don't have much respect for him off the ice, but I can't argue with the fact that he was a fantastic goalie.

But when your number hangs from the rafters, it's because you're an inspiration to the latest generation of players and fans - something to aspire to. Roy's clear signal to his own son to skate the length of the ice and jump the opposing goalie make it clear that he isn't. The other guy didn't drop his gloves, didn't want to fight, never threw a punch, and was just standing in his crease waiting for the brawl to end when Roy Jr. jumped him, ripped off his mask and smashed his face in over and over and over - even after the guy was flat on the ice and barely moving. The guy is just trying to cover his head - he's not even fighting back. Then Roy, the epitome of class, skates around the ice and gives the crowd a two-handed one-finger salute before skating off the ice, probably to a slap on the back from dad. These two videos are pretty damning stuff.

Roy Sr. walked out on his team, was a thug long before he got into that fistfight after coaching one of his minor league games a while back, and he's evidently brought up his son to be as much of an ass as he is. He's not something for our boys to aspire to, and doesn't belong in the rafters.

www.flickeringpictures.com - not a hockey site, but still kinda neat

I hope they don't retire Roy's number, and I pray that there will be some kind of homage shown to the men who were behind the bench and in the office; Irvin, Blake, Bowman, Pollock where all as responsible as the players for the glory and respect this franchise has.

The reason I don't want Roy is simple, he turned his back on his team, and that is something the Numbers in rafters would never have done. Raising his number does more damage than giving him something he does not deserve, it demeans all those who were there before him. Quite frankly, if he does get his jersey raised, it will sully the organization a little to have his number hanging beside the likes of Plante, Richard, Richard, Gainey, Robinson, Morenz, Harvey et all.
Please don't retire that jersey, he wanted out, so now let him stay out.

i think we've become too lenient with the retirements of jerseys.

i loved how hard it was - and roy does deserve it.

cournoyer didn't, in my opinion. let him in and now it's serge savard (also questionable to me), guy lapointe, jacques lemaire, steve shutt. how about mats naslund, then? oh, and if gainey gets it (deserved) why not carbonneau (not). and nonsense on here about koivu- love the guy, but on some weak teams, at times, he hasn't even been the best player in my opinion.

geoffrion, lafleur, robinson, harvey, beliveau, dryden, the two richards. . . those were LEGENDS. . . throw in roy there and he doesn't look out of place. cournoyer was a ridiculous call in my opinion.

btw, his son did apoligize for his antics:

http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app?articleid=357951&page=NewsPage&service=page

He did not apoligize for fighting the other goalie however.

I loved Patrick Roy.

Patrick Roy was a hero of mine.

But Patrick Roy walked out on my team.

Yes Mario was an idiot.

And yes Rejean Houle was a moron.

But Patrick Roy walked out on us.

And frankly for us to hang your name on our rafters, you have to first apologize for walking out on us.

Before they put his name on ceiling, they had better hang Mr. Koivu's number. He hung around long after it was obvious we sucked. And he did whatever he could to hang around even when idiots wanted to run him out of town because he couldn't speak French.

So no.

Mr Roy you're not welcome next to Mr. Plante or Mr. Harvey or Mr. Dryden.

Mike, I totally agree...this is the legacy that Roy is leaving....after an incident like that, who cares about the awards and the cups he's won?....what goes around comes around... he's promoting that ugly goon mentality and spoiling the game he used to be proud of... a total embarrassment and disgusting...he does not deserve to share the rafters with our proudest

5-1!!!!!

There is no doubt Pat Roy was the goalie of his generation. As for the dark ages " 1994- 2001 or so", the Habs stunk, end of story, but so do Pat's recent antics!!!!
I have been a die hard fan since 1966, and I have seen far too many goalies come through the system, and by far K Dryden and Roy were the best. What folks do not seem to realize is that Dryden won the cup for the habs in the late 60's ( think it was 69 or 70)as a late season call up.
As for antics, people are trying to compare Guy with Pat. But folks you cannot do that. Guy was not directly in charge of teens, Pat is. I will say this as a huge Roy fan, he sucks as a leader of youth. If he did not wave his boy on, he did absolutely nothing to stop him either!!I always thought a coach was in charge of the bench, but Pat's mia culpa does not cut it. Ya, they should hang his jersey from the rafters, but no one should ever mistake it for the Habs condoning his recent actions. He may be a "God" to some for " winning the Habs two cups", but as a mentor for youth, his recent actions leave everything to be desired. It is time for Pat to bring the same level of professionalism shown as a Hall of Fame goalie to today's youth. They deserve better.

Great blast, Andre K the Giant!

I wanna see the Habs HIT these guys tonight. No free passes, NO QUARTER!

I agree with Mr. Fisher points on Roy...BUT I would not judge the father for a sons indiscretions.The fight was disgusting and young Roy's reaction was despicable.

Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens took steroids...period.NO to HOF..Nuff said!!.

Mike its hard for me to say that I've lost respect for you for posting this blog. You and the entire HIO are the reason why we all gather here everyday

I would be no better then all the people/"mentors" here whose judgements on Roy are based his last game.

I won't judge you on your last blog.

Who are you kidding, Mike? Hall of the Hallowed? So, Doug Harvey was a great guy, but don't tell me he didn't fall around drunk for half his life. Don't tell me Guy Lafleur's been a shining example of all that's honourable and law-abiding. Or that Jacques Plante didn't refuse to play many games and eventually got traded because Toe Blake couldn't put up with him anymore. Or that Dryden didn't hold out for an entire season in a contract dispute and leave the team high and dry. I'm willing to bet there's not a guy up there, with the possible exception of Jean Beliveau, who doesn't have some dirty laundry, on or off the ice. The reason they're up there is because they brought glory to the team. Niceness and off-ice uprightness is purely a bonus. Joe Juneau may have been one of the most selfless men to play for the Habs, but he won't get his number retired because of that. It's true most of the rafter-dwellers had those qualities, regardless of what slip-ups they might have made. But they shouldn't be disqualified from hanging up there if they did show a less-than-stellar human side from time to time. Neither should Patrick Roy.

http://habsloyalist.blogspot.com