Quote:
Originally Posted by Dion
Nilsson had the skill and talent to be a star in the league for many years but lacked the drive and seemed to take his talent for granted. Drove Badger Bob Johnson crazy with his indifferent play and attitude. He would disappear come playoff time which lead Johnson to ask Cliff Fletcher that Nilsson be traded.
|
Peter Maher figured that Nilsson was afraid of his own talent, because in those days a good Swede was not supposed to stand out from his peers. Long after, he said he had once told Nilsson he could be as good as Gretzky. Nilsson looked shocked and said, ‘Oh, no. Not me.’
I remember Macdonald's first full season in town, when he scored 66 goals – just five behind Gretzky. (Nowhere near on total points, of course.) At a time when the team was rebuilding and below .500, Lanny provided instant excitement, and he was (and is) a consummate gentleman. He fully deserved to be the face of the franchise.
In training camp in 1988, everybody knew it was Lanny's last year. I went to an exhibition game – against Chicago, I believe – asking myself who was going to sell tickets for this team in the 1990s, because as great as they were, nobody else could match his charisma and fan appeal. Then I saw this tiny little kid knocking giants on their arses every chance he got. I pointed and said, ‘THAT is the face of the Flames for the nineties.’ I was pointing at Theo Fleury.
What can I say about Iginla? He did it all. He was the only hockey player my mother ever had a crush on.
Gaudreau is definitely in the Flames' top five of all time. At present I'd rank him ahead of Nilsson because of his consistency, ahead of Fleury because he's a better team player, but for now, behind the other two. A good playoff run, though, and he will have a chance to leapfrog Lanny.
I was watching Gaudreau the other night, and his play reminded me of a poem from around 1930: ‘Monsieur Joliat’, by Wilson Pugsley MacDonald. It's told from the point of view of a francophone Habs fan who gets into an argument with an Anglo at the Forum, who at that time, of course, was a Maroons fan. The Habs fan is raving about ‘the Little Giant’, Aurčle Joliat:
Quote:
He weigh one hondred feefty pound.
Eef he were seex feet tall
He'd score one hondred goal so queek
Dere'd be no game at all.
|
Joliat was five foot seven, played left wing, and was one of the most purely talented and beloved players ever to suit up for the Canadiens. He was on that team for 16 years and won three Stanley Cups (including, by the way, one in 1924 against the Calgary Tigers). At the age of 83, he took a lap around the Forum ice to salute the fans in Montreal at an old-timers' game. The next year, he died after seeing his old team win their 23rd championship – against the Calgary Flames this time.
I see Gaudreau as our Joliat. I hope we keep him as long, and with as much success.