Friday, September 12, 2008

1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12, 16, 18, 19, 23, 29.....33

No, those weren't the winning lottery numbers, but all of the retired jerseys from the Montreal Canadiens. Patrick Roy's number 33 will hang alongside many greats that have put on the "CH" at the Bell center on November 22nd against the Bruins. There's plenty of strong opinions on both sides concerning the move and you have to believe that if 33 could go back in time he would of handled the situation differently. None of us can appreciate how humiliating it would have been for Roy that night 13 years ago, getting shelled in goal at the old Forum. He was at odds with head coach mario Tremblay and one could accuse Patrick of thinking he was bigger then the team. There's also the opinion from many Hab fans that the 86 and 93 Cups would have never been possible without 33 in goal. As a sports fan you have to take the good with the bad and while Roy hasn't been a model coach in the Quebec league, what he did for the Bleu, Blanc, Rouge must be honored and celebrated. You have to admit though, it was a little weird to see Roy put on the old sweater yesterday at the press conference. Here's hoping he'll come out in full gear on November 22nd, similar to Bob Gainey last winter.