Molson Canadian Heritage Classic

cinch · November 21, 2003, 04:35

That's right, folks: Only 2 days until NHL history is made, when the first NHL game is played outdoors. In a football stadium. In front of 55 000 fans. (Sure, the American collegiates already did it with 75 000... but this is the BIGS!)

And, to top it all of, Wayne Gretzky will be playing. Oh, yes.

I mean, just check out the Oilers' roster for the MegaStars game:

Staff
Glen Sather
Ted Green
John Muckler
Bruce Macgregor
Al Hamilton
Barry Fraser

Goalies
Grant Fuhr 31
Bill Ranford 30

Defenseman
Kevin Lowe 4
Lee Fogolin 2
Randy Gregg 21
Charlie Huddy 22
Craig Muni 28
Paul Coffey 7
Jeff Beukeboom 6
Marty McSorley 33

Forwards
Wayne Gretzky 99
Esa Tikkanen 10
Jari Kurri 17
Glenn Anderson 9
Craig Simpson 18
Dave Semenko 27
Dave Hunter 12
Dave Lumley 20
Ken Linesman 13
Ron Chipperfield 7
Mark Messier 11

......

Too, too awesome.

Also, all the media types are in town this week, and at the Oilers/Leafs game tonight, I got to meet Ron friggin' MacLean! That's like one step away from meeting Don Cherry! (I don't know if this is understandable to anyone who's not Canadian, but never the less...)

So... who's pumped?

Oh, I know you all are!

Dis · November 21, 2003, 04:38

Molson sucks

cinch · November 21, 2003, 04:52

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
Molson sucks

That may be so, but don't you know, it's not about the beer, but rather the sport of it!

Kurri forever!

Berzerker · November 21, 2003, 07:59

-Jrabbit · November 21, 2003, 10:15

Quote:

Originally posted by Berzerker

What he said...

I hope it snows.

Richelieu · November 21, 2003, 10:18

Quote:

Originally posted by Dissident
Molson sucks

You should use that 25% more often.

techumseh · November 21, 2003, 11:32

I've got two tickets!

Imran Siddiqui · November 21, 2003, 12:42

Quote:

Marty McSorley 33

What, they let him out of jail

.

This should be a very fun game... now who were they playing against again? OTOH, who cares! Gretz and Kurri back on the same line! WOOO!

Ben Kenobi · November 21, 2003, 13:41

Ummm

I beg to differ, but they will be the second best team playing in that oldies game.

You have them playing against the old Habs.

Montreal Canadiens MegaStars:

Captain: Guy Lafleur

Goal: Steve Penney, Richard Sevigny

Forwards: Benoit Brunet, Guy Carbonneau, Cam Connor, Russ Courtnall, Lucien Deblois, Yvon Lambert, Kirk Muller, Mark Napier, Chris Nilan, Stephane Richer, Steve Shutt, Bobby Smith

Defencemen: Jean-Jacques Daigneault, Gilbert Delorme, Gaston Gingras, Guy Lapointe, Craig Ludwig, Larry Robinson

Go Habs!

Richelieu · November 21, 2003, 13:50

Wonder how many heart attacks we'll get on the Habs roster.

Imran Siddiqui · November 21, 2003, 14:00

LOL...

The 80s Oilers are still better than the ancient Habs.

Richelieu · November 21, 2003, 15:05

Quote:

Originally posted by Imran Siddiqui
LOL...

The 80s Oilers are still better than the ancient Habs.

Sure, in these days when you played 75% of your games against Vancouver, Winnipeg and LA you had life pretty easy... makes for good stats.

Imran Siddiqui · November 21, 2003, 16:37

Yes, and being at least 10 years younger than your opponent when the puck drops doesn't hurt either

.

Richelieu · November 21, 2003, 17:25

I still wish they had Dryden in goals. I just hate the Leafs.

Imran Siddiqui · November 21, 2003, 17:31

Why not Roy?

Richelieu · November 21, 2003, 17:56

Not sure his head would fit in the stadium.

cinch · November 21, 2003, 18:56

Quote:

Originally posted by Ben Kenobi
Ummm

I beg to differ, but they will be the second best team playing in that oldies game.

You have them playing against the old Habs.

Montreal Canadiens MegaStars:

Captain: Guy Lafleur

Goal: Steve Penney, Richard Sevigny

Forwards: Benoit Brunet, Guy Carbonneau, Cam Connor, Russ Courtnall, Lucien Deblois, Yvon Lambert, Kirk Muller, Mark Napier, Chris Nilan, Stephane Richer, Steve Shutt, Bobby Smith

Defencemen: Jean-Jacques Daigneault, Gilbert Delorme, Gaston Gingras, Guy Lapointe, Craig Ludwig, Larry Robinson

Go Habs!

Guy Lafleur, I'll grant you.

The rest? Not so much. Penney & Sevigny vs. Fuhr & Ranford? No contest.

Kirk Muller? Craig Ludwig? Russ Courtnall? J.J. DAIGNEAULT?!? That's one sub-par collection of players right there.

It'll be interesting to see how they game goes though. If the Old Habs win, it will indeed be the greatest upset of all time.

cinch · November 21, 2003, 18:58

Quote:

Originally posted by techumseh
I've got two tickets!

I've got one! Take that!

I am prepared to freeze my extremities 'n' face completely off, because it will be oh-so-worth-it.

How early are you getting there? I'd like to minimize my total sitting outdoors time, so I think I may have to skip the pre-game Tom Cochrane concert, or whatever crappy musical act they're putting on.

Richelieu · November 21, 2003, 19:43

Quote:

Originally posted by cinch

I've got one! Take that!

I am prepared to freeze my extremities 'n' face completely off, because it will be oh-so-worth-it.

I hate you both.

I just saw Gretzky and co. and the old Habs during a practice this PM. Brings back some nice memories.

Have a great game guys. And don't forget to bring "something" to keep you warm.

techumseh · November 21, 2003, 22:09

Around 2 PM. I'm taking my son. We'll take the LRT to avoid the traffic jam. Forecast is for -16C, light winds. Dress warm.

And Gretzky's back in town!

Tingkai · November 22, 2003, 00:33

Quote:

Originally posted by cinch

I've got one! Take that!

I am prepared to freeze my extremities 'n' face completely off, because it will be oh-so-worth-it.

How early are you getting there? I'd like to minimize my total sitting outdoors time, so I think I may have to skip the pre-game Tom Cochrane concert, or whatever crappy musical act they're putting on.

Lucky bastards!

You got to give us full reports, plus photos.

Tingkai · November 22, 2003, 00:40

Quote:

Originally posted by cinch

Guy Lafleur, I'll grant you.

The rest? Not so much.

Excuse me! The Habs will have Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe. Both were among the great defencemen off all time and they both have SIX stanley cup wins. Then there's Steve Shutt. He's only got five Stanley Cup wins.

An upset would be incredible, but only cause the Habs are an older team.

I'm disappointed that Dryden didn't strap on the pads. It would have been great seeing him playing again.

cinch · November 22, 2003, 01:10

Quote:

Originally posted by Tingkai

Excuse me! The Habs will have Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe. Both were among the great defencemen off all time and they both have SIX stanley cup wins. Then there's Steve Shutt. He's only got five Stanley Cup wins.

An upset would be incredible, but only cause the Habs are an older team.

I'm disappointed that Dryden didn't strap on the pads. It would have been great seeing him playing again.

Yeah, yeah, Robinson, Shutt, Lapointe... All very good, but let me repeat: Coffey, Gretzky, Lowe, Messier, Kurri, Tikkanen, Fuhr, and friends. There's just no comparison.

And the Habs do have some young guys... they just happen to suck (Kirk Muller, J.J. Daigneault, Craig Ludwig). Guy Carbonneau is actually a good choice, though.

Ah, we'll see. It'll be interesting.

Guynemer · November 22, 2003, 10:06

Very, very cool. I'm so happy we get the CBC here in Michigan.

They keep hinting that they're going to do another outdoor Michigan-Michigan State game, this time here in Ann Arbor... I'd sell my left gonad to attend...

Tingkai · November 22, 2003, 14:30

Quote:

Originally posted by cinch

Yeah, yeah, Robinson, Shutt, Lapointe... All very good, but let me repeat: Coffey, Gretzky, Lowe, Messier, Kurri, Tikkanen, Fuhr, and friends. There's just no comparison.

No doubt about it. The Oilers had the ultimate team, but that don't mean the Habs were shabby.

But the Habs played in a different league where the competition was stiffer. When the league expanded in the 80s there weren't enough really good players to go around. It wasn't until the Euros started playing that quality went up, particularly for the goaltending.

Gretzky was able to rack up big time points because the goalies in the league were below average by NHL standards. If he was playing today, he probably would have finished his career with only about 2100 points.

Ben Kenobi · November 22, 2003, 15:44

Look at the subpar team for the Oil. They have Mark Messier for pete's sake.

Even when they were at the top of their game, they could not win 3 cups in a row. Flash in the pan. You want the team of the 80's? Go talk to Potvin, Gillies, Trottrier.

And 10 years matters little when you have been away from hockey. Gretzky and co. are more likely to be out of shape than these Montreal Canadiens.

Quote:

I'm disappointed that Dryden didn't strap on the pads.

Same here.

IMHO that's the weakest part of the Montreal, they don't have their old goalies.

techumseh · November 23, 2003, 00:04

I just got back from the game(s). Oilers alumni beat the Habs alumni 2-0. In the regular game, Montreal won 4-3. It was 5 hours outdoors in -20C weather, clear and calm, but VERY cold. And glorious!

BTW, Ben Kenobi, the Oilers won 4 Stanleys in a row, five altogether, the last one without Gretzky. And they would have continued to do so, had the owner (the evil

Peter Pocklington) not sold off all the players.

notyoueither · November 23, 2003, 01:16

Unfortunately not. Calgary and a severe misfortune for Steve Smith got in the way, or it would have been 5 in a row.

Imran Siddiqui · November 23, 2003, 02:30

Quote:

You want the team of the 80's? Go talk to Potvin, Gillies, Trottrier.

You mean the team that got beat by the Oilers in '84?

Give me Gretz, Kurri, Messier, Fuhr over Potvin, Trottier, Bossy anyday.

notyoueither · November 23, 2003, 03:35

Don't forget Billy Smith. Public enemy number one around these parts for a long time. I can't remember if it was the first final, where the Oilers lost, or the second where we won, but he was caught on film hacking down... Glenn Anderson(?) with his goal stick as if he were wielding a battle axe. This happened behind play. He was never penalised that I recall.

There were photos of him in the centre of a bulls eye published in local papers though. Good thing no one around here is looney enough to have done something stupid. People were sure mad though.