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We’ve already recorded eight out of ten episodes for our second season of Stanley25.
Yesterday, for episode VIII – I wanted to prove to myself that I was still capable of using Roman numerals , which are very useful in 2024 – we had a Stanley Cup champion on set: Gilbert Dionne.
Gilbert was ultra generous and true to himself, which is to say, transparent. His best anecdotes? Aside from his bit about what it’s like to have a summer party after winning the Stanley Cup, it was probably his two confidences about Patrick Roy that made the show.
1. Patrick Roy decided which games he would play before the season even started. André Racicot got the other games, that’s it. The coach had no say in the matter.
“Patrick was on schedule at the beginning of the year. I play there… I don’t play. Patrick was 100% in charge. And he was right; he’s your best goalie. If he wanted to take a little break in Florida, he took his little break. –Gilbert Dionne, on Patrick Roy.
We agree that, no, Samuel Montembeault doesn’t “get his schedule” before the start of the season…
But I wonder how much a guy like Carey Price chooses his. He already chose which arena the team held morning practices in on game days…
Pretty sure that in the short term, Price had his say… but did he choose his whole year? I don’t think so…
2. Patrick Roy was an excellent leader on the ice… and he was REALLY superstitious.
Gilbert Dionne once fell victim to Patrick Roy ‘s 1001 superstitions.
“Patrick Roy was a leader; it was incredible, but he’s a leader a lot on the ice. Emotional on the ice, very quiet, we knew that… and very superstitious […] I brushed against his blocker, then he wasn’t happy; he asked me to go back into the Forum. I backed out of the Forum onto the ice. I had to come back and apologize. My man was hell […] When he was focused, you had to make sure you respected his time to get ready for the game.” –Gilbert Dionne
Check out the rest of the podcast for stories about Jacques Demers, the post-Cup summer, the deal that got Gilbert Dionne out of Montreal, the importance of having French-speaking Québécois in the organization, and the role of the Alumni, which is not the same today.
Damn, cheering on a winning team, contender and connected to its Alumni would be exciting for the Montreal fan base…
Let’s hope the rebuild works!
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Until then, I invite you to subscribe to the 9millions pages on TikTok, YouTube, Facebook, Instagram and X… and for the more cranky, we’ve got a Patreon on which we drop exclusive info, the show the day before it’s posted, regular draws (we’ve raffled off three Canadiens jerseys this season and are currently raffling off a $1,000 Quartz Co coat) and access to special events.
