1998 Team Canada Patrick Roy Jersey

It was on this date in 2003 that Patrick Roy announced his retirement from the NHL after 19 seasons, four Stanley Cups and three Conn Smythe Trophies, the only player to have ever won more than two.

In addition, he was named winner of the Vezina Trophy three times, in 1989, 1990 and 1992, and played in eleven NHL All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006 and his #33 has been retired by both the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche, the team which recently hired him as their new head coach.

Roy retired as the all-time leader in wins with 551, games played by a goaltender with 1,029 and playoff shutouts at 23 and currently holds the record for most playoff games by a goaltender (247) and most playoff wins (151).

Before joining the Canadiens, he also led his team to the Calder Cup as champions of the American Hockey League in 1985. He was ranked as #35 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

After winning two Stanley Cups in Montreal, he had a very public falling out with coach Mario Tremblay and was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, leading them to the Stanley Cup in the Avalanche's first season in Colorado, a trade which would have never happened had the franchise remained in Quebec as the Nordiques, the Canadiens greatest rival at the time.

Today's featured jersey is a 1998 Team Canada Patrick Roy jersey as worn in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, an unusual jersey for Roy. Never having played in the World Junior Championships and rarely, if ever, eligible for the World Championships in the spring due to his annual appearances in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Roy made the only Team Canada appearance of his entire career in 1998 with the first inclusion of NHL professionals in the Olympics.

During the Olympics Roy went 4-2, with the two losses coming in a semi-final shootout loss to eventual Gold Medal winners The Czech Republic and the Bronze Medal Game to Finland.

When Roy announced that he would not be part of Canada's Olympic Team at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, it left his time in Nagano as the only international appearance on his long resume.

This jersey's most unique feature has to be the font "Copperplate Gothic" chosen for the numbers, a font only used by Team Canada at the 1998 Olympics, despite many countries using the same striping template for their Nike jerseys in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics.

Today's first video is a look at the career of Roy, which has to of course include his memorable fights with Detroit during the playoffs.

Next is Roy getting the better of Jeremy Roenick while sparing through the media.

1934-35 Montreal Canadiens Howie Morenz Jersey

On this date in 1937, the Montreal Canadiens retired the first sweater in club history, the #7 of the late Howie Morenz, who had died at age 34 following a heart attack while hospitalized for a broken leg suffered in a game five weeks earlier. Morenz had played for Montreal for 12 seasons, winning three Stanley Cups, two Art Ross Trophies and three Hart Trophies.

Howie Morenz's #7 jersey hangs in his locker in the Canadiens dressing room following his death in 1937

The Canadiens would not retire another number for 23 years when the iconic #9 of Maurice Richard was raised to the rafters of the Montreal Forum following Richard's great career, which included him becoming the first player to score 50 goals in 50 games, as well as winning eight Stanley Cups and one Hart Trophy.

Richard's game worn #9 jersey

Eleven years on, the Canadiens would honor the great Jean Beliveau by ensuring no one else would wear his #4. Beliveau would play 20 seasons with Montreal, score over 500 goals, retire as the club's all-time leading scorer and the NHL's leading playoff scorer, play in 14 All-Star Games, win an Art Ross Trophy, a Conn Smythe Trophy and a pair of Hart Trophies on his way to winning ten Stanley Cups and serve as team captain longer than any other player.

Beliveau wearing his #4 captain's jersey

Henri Richard's #16 was next to be set aside on December 10, 1975 after his career which included his record 11 Stanley Cups, which still stands today, and more than 1,000 career points. He also holds the record for Most Games Played in club history and was also a team captain for the Canadiens.

Henri Richard poses with his home and away #16 sweaters

Both Guy Lafleur and defenseman Doug Harvey had their numbers retired in 1985. Lafleur's #10 received the honor on February 16, 1985 after his career, which included five Stanley Cups, 1,246 points which makes him the all-time leader in Canadiens history, over 500 goals, the club records for most goals in a season with 60 and most points in a season with 136. He was also the first player to have 50 goals and 100 points in six consecutive seasons and the fastest player to reach 1,000 career points. He won three Art Ross Trophies, two Hart Trophies, three Pearson Awards and a Conn Smythe trophy while a member of the Canadiens.

Lafleur pictured in front of his #10

#2 Doug Harvey was honored with his sweater retirement early the following season on October 26, 1985. The seven-time winner of the Norris Trophy played 14 seasons with Montreal, winning six Stanley Cups in the process.

Doug Harvey's #2 is retired in 1985

It would be another ten years before Jacques Plante's #1 was raised to the rafters. Plante played for Montreal for ten seasons, winning six Stanley Cups, including five in a row. Plante was a winner of the Hart Trophy once and six Vezina Trophies while a member of the Canadiens. He is also credited for wearing the first modern goalie mask.

Plante's banner hangs in the rafters with the other retired banners

Following Plante's jersey retirement, it would be an additional ten years before the Canadiens would honor another player in the same manner.

As part of their Centennial celebrations, the Canadiens announced a series of sweater retirements to take place over the course of the next five seasons. Having retired just one number in 20 years, the Canadiens began to make up for lost time by retiring the #12 for two men, Dickie Moore and Yvan Cournoyer on November 12, 2005. Moore was a two-time Art Ross Trophy winner who once held the single season scoring record with 96 points. In 12 years with the Canadiens, Moore won six Stanley Cups.

Cournoyer skated for the Canadiens for 16 years, including being named team captain. He won a Conn Smythe Trophy and won ten Stanley Cups while with the Canadiens. At the time of his retirement in 1978, he was fourth on the all-time Montreal scoring list.

Cournoyer holds up a signed #12 Canadiens jersey

Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion's #5 came next on March 11, 2006. Geoffrion's colorful nickname is a result of his invention of the slapshot. He played 14 seasons in Montreal, won the Calder Trophy, two Art Ross Trophies, the Hart Trophy and six Stanley Cups. Sadly, he passed away on the day his number was retired.

The ceremony to retire Geoffrion's #5 just hours after his passing

The 2006-07 season saw the retirements of #18 for Serge Savard and #29 for goaltender Ken Dryden. Savard became the first defenseman to win the Conn Smythe Trophy in 1969. He also was named the winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy in 1979 and won eight Stanley Cups in 15 seasons with Montreal.

Serge Savard's #18 rests in the rafters in Montreal

Dryden's career was shorter at eight seasons, but during those years he won the Calder Trophy, the Conn Smythe Trophy (before winning the Calder!), five Vezina Trophies and six Stanley Cups.

Ken Dryden and his family watch is banner being raised in 2007

Larry Robinson and Bob Gainey were honored in 2007-08. Robinson's #19 rose to the rafters in honor of his 17 seasons with Montreal which included two Norris Trophies, a Conn Smythe and six Stanley Cups. In 1976-77 he finished the year with a +120 rating, the second highest in history, and one of only two seasons ever over +100.

Robinson's #19 is retired

Bob Gainey's #23 was retired following his 16 seasons with Montreal which saw him capture four Selke Trophies. While his list of awards is not as lengthy and his point totals not as high as his fellow honored Canadiens, his role as a defensive forward was a key component to the five Stanley Cups Montreal won during Gainey's time with the Canadiens.

Gainey's #23 is raised to the rafters

Patrick Roy was welcomed back into the Canadiens family on November 22, 2008. Roy is the youngest winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy at age 20. In 12 seasons in Montreal, Roy won three Vezina Trophies, four Jennings Trophies, two Conn Smythe Trophies and two Stanley Cups.

Patrick Roy poses with his banner

Finally on the date of the Canadiens centennial, December 4, 2009, the jerseys of both #3 Emile Bouchard and #16 Elmer Lach were surprisingly retired as part of the festivities that evening. Lach played 14 seasons for the Canadiens as part of the famed "Punch Line" with Maurice Richard and Toe Blake. He won two Art Ross Trophies and the Hart Trophy as well as three Stanley Cups. At the time of his retirement in 1954, he was the league's all-time leading scorer.

Bouchard, a defenseman, was captain of the Canadiens for eight seasons during his 15 years with Montreal, which included four Stanley Cup titles. He was the first Quebec-born player to wear the "C" for Montreal. The QMJHL's Defenseman of the Year trophy is named in his honor. At the time of Bouchard's sweater retirement, Canadiens player Ryan O'Byrne was wearing #3, but surrendered it as part of the ceremony, permanently changing to #20.

Lach and Bouchard have their numbers retired in 2009

With the recent run of sweater retirements, the Canadiens have now taken 15 numbers out of circulation in honor of 17 players. Only numbers 6 and 8 remain in the single digits, resulting in an unprecedented number of Canadiens wearing non-traditional jersey numbers higher than #30.

In keeping with the current trend of wearing a patch on the occasion of a jersey retirement, the Canadiens have worn special patches on the players jerseys during the game following their recent jersey retirements.

Alexi Kovalev wearing a patch on the occasion of the retirement of Bob Gainey's #23

Today's featured jersey is a 1934-35 Montreal Canadiens Howie Morenz jersey. This jersey is on display at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto. His was the first of 15 numbers retired by the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens first wore their "CH" logo (with the "H" standing for "hockey") back in 1916 and it appeared on the sleeves for the first time in 1924 when the club wore a globe on the front of their jerseys to symbolize their status as world champions. The following season the logo returned to the chest, but the smaller version of the logo remained on the left sleeve through 1935.

In a wonderful ceremony on the occasion of the clubs 100th Anniversary, many of the men who have had their jerseys retired by the Canadiens took part in a special pre-game warmup and then participated in the remainder of the celebrations that evening, which included the unexpected retirement of Bouchard's #3 and Lach's #16.

2000-01 Colorado Avalanche Patrick Roy Jersey

On this date in 2003, Patrick Roy of the Colorado Avalanche became the first goaltender in NHL history to play in 1,000 regular season games as the Avalanche tied 1-1 with the visiting Dallas Stars.

Prior to Roy, the record for the most games played by an NHL goaltender was Terry Sawchuk, who played 971 games in his 20 year career. Roy finished his career with 1,029 games played but has since been surpassed by Martin Brodeur. The remainder of the Top 10 in games played are Ed Belfour (963), Curtis Joseph (943), Glenn Hall (906), Tony Esposito (886), John Vanbiesbrouck (882), Grant Fuhr (868) and Gump Worsley (861). They are the only ones with more than 850 games played. Following Broduer, the leading active goaltender is Chris Osgood, who entered the 2009-10 season with 710.

Sawchuk, Hall and Worsley's accomplishments are particularly noteworthy, as they played the majority of their careers in a different era, when goalies played without protective masks, seldom took a night off, as teams carried only one goalie, had less protective gear and played a shorter 70 game schedule.

Hall in particular played every single game for seven consecutive seasons and it wasn't until the mid 1960's did splitting the goaltending duties become an accepted way of running a team. Having been awarded since 1927, it wasn't until 1965 that two men shared the Vezina Trophy, then awarded to the goalie who allowed the fewest goals against each season. Once it had been shared by two men, in 12 of the next 18 seasons the trophy was shared by two goalies, and even three on one occasion.

The greater number of games played since the NHL expansion of the late 1960's was offset somewhat by the concept of goaltending tandems, but modern day goalies now have longer careers due to better protection from modern pads, better training methods, not to mention the acceptance of masks! Still, some goaltenders are famous for playing as many games as possible. Fuhr holds he record for most games played in a single season with 79, and Brodeur has had 10 consecutive seasons of 70 games or more, including one of 78, an average of 3.5 more games per season during that stretch than Hall did when he played every possible game over seven seasons of 70 games.

Roy, on the other hand, shared time in goal more readily, averaging 57 games per year, and never playing 70 in any one season.

Roy retired in 2003 after 19 seasons, four Stanley Cups and three Conn Smythe Trophies.

In addition, he was named winner of the Vezina Trophy three times, in 1989, 1990 and 1992, and played in eleven NHL All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006 and his #33 has been retired by both the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche.

He retired as the all-time leader in wins with 551, games played by a goaltender with 1029, most playoff games by a goaltender (247), most playoff wins (151) and playoff shutouts (23). Before joining the Canadiens, he also led his team to the Calder Cup as champions of the American Hockey League in 1985. He was ranked as #35 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

After winning two Stanley Cups in Montreal, he had a falling out with rookie coach Mario Tremblay and was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, leading them to the Stanley Cup in the Avalanche's first season in Colorado, a trade that never would have happened if the club had remained in Quebec as the Nordiques, as they were the Canadiens greatest rival at the time.

Today's featured jersey is a 2000-01 CCM Colorado Avalanche Patrick Roy jersey. This jersey features the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals patch, as worn during the Avalanche's victory over the New Jersey Devils, after which Roy was awarded his third Conn Smythe Trophy, the only man to have ever won more than two.

The Avalanche jerseys were rather unique when they were first introduced, as no team in the league was using burgundy as their primary color at the time, the closest being the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim's eggplant jerseys. In addition, their "mountainous" striping on the waist and arms was unusual as well. Only five other teams had anything other than straight stripes, and four of those were simply oriented diagonally.

Other details of the Avalanche jerseys that made them stand out were the unique, custom font for the numbers. Again, only five other teams had anything other than a basic block font at the time. The glittering silver of the trim and textured glacier twill for the names and numbers gave the jerseys an elevated attention to detail that rewards close inspection.

Today's video selections are highlights of Game 6 and Game 7 of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals, the fourth championship of Roy's career.

1992-93 Montreal Canadiens Patrick Roy Jersey

The Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup on this day in 1993 by defeating the Los Angeles Kings by a 4-1 score and the same margin in games won in the series, 4 games to 1. The Kings were making their first, and to this date only, appearance in the finals, and were led by Wayne Gretzky.

The Canadiens started the season well, going 16-5-3 to open the season. Later in the season they would have another hot streak, going 17-4-1, but a slump in their final 18 games would see them drop from first to third in the division behind both the Boston Bruins and province rivals the Quebec Nordiques.

Vincent Damphousse, acquired from the Edmonton Oilers during the summer, would lead the team with 97 points, while Brian Bellows, also in his first season in Montreal, would register the most goals with 40. The defense featured Eric Desjardins, Mathieu Schneider and Patrice Brisebois and Patrick Roy (31 wins) and Andre Racicot (17 wins) split the goaltending duties.

The Canadiens had to open the playoffs in the hostile environment of Colisée de Québec, the home of the Nordiques, where they proceeded to lose the first two games of the series. The Canadiens would rebound strongly to win the next four games in a row (two in overtime), ending the Nordiques season. They would sweep the Buffalo Sabres in four (three of those in overtime) and eliminate the New York Islanders 4-1 (another two in overtime) before moving on to face Los Angeles in the finals.

The Kings would silence the home crowd at Montreal's Forum by a resounding 4-1 score. Montreal would hang on to win the next game in overtime to tie the series at 1. Games 3 and 4 in Los Angeles would also go into overtime, with the Canadiens winning both and setting an NHL record in the process with their 10th straight overtime victory - all in the same playoff season!

Game 5 would prove much easier as the Canadiens would take the series with an easy 4-1 win back at home to capture their 24th Stanley Cup and Roy would be named the winner of the Conn Smythe Trophy.

Today's jersey is a 1992-93 Montreal Canadiens Patrick Roy jersey. Perhaps the most iconic jersey in all of hockey, it's red color with the bold blue stripe trimmed in white is recognized the world over, essentially unchanged since birth of the NHL in 1917. In fact, the red jersey with the blue stripe pre-dates the NHL, with a variation of the theme first being worn in 1912.

This jersey also features the rare French version of the Stanley Cup finals, the only such time the finals patch has been produced in French. (For the record, the Kings wore an English version on their jerseys.)

1992-93 was a very busy year for the seamstresses in Montreal, as the Canadiens would start the season wearing the 1993 NHL All-Star Game patch for the first half of the season. After the All-Star Game, which they hosted, they would join the rest of the league in wearing the Stanley Cup 100th Anniversary patch, also in an unusual French variation shared only with the Nordiques, and then don the French version of the Stanley Cup finals patch for their third different patch of the season, a feat I'm certain no other team has ever duplicated. Yes, several teams have worn three patches at the same time, but we're not aware of any team wearing three unique patches in the same season.

Roy would go onto play two and a half more seasons in Montreal before a tumultuous falling out with the Canadiens and a subsequent trade to the Colorado Avalanche, which never, ever would have happened had the Avalanche remained in Quebec as the Nordiques.

Track the Canadiens path through the playoffs through this very well done highlights package, followed by the last minute of the final game and awards ceremony following.

Dasherboard: The Stanley Cup will be in the building tonight as the Red Wings looks to close out the Penguins in Pittsburgh where the Penguins are 8-2 in this year's playoffs. Malkin and Crosby will be looking to put Game 5 behind them, as they racked up the penalty minutes while recording a minimum number of shots, with one each.

Can the return of Pavel Datsyuk be enough to overcome the Penguins home crowd? While proven to not be essential in this round, the Penguins would do their cause a lot of good by scoring first to put the specter of Game 5 behind them and giving their fans an opportunity to raise the roof.

Speaking of raising the roof, did you know that The Igloo was designed with a retractable roof? Since the Penguins are 1-0 in recent outdoor games, perhaps they should consider finding a way to pry it open one last time.

The game tonight is on NBC.

1998 Team Canada Patrick Roy Jersey

It was on this date in 2003 that Patrick Roy announced his retirement from the NHL after 19 seasons, four Stanley Cups and three Conn Smythe Trophies, the only player to have ever won more than two. In addition, he was named winner of the Vezina Trophy three times, in 1989, 1990 and 1992, and played in eleven NHL All-Star Games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006 and his #33 has been retired by both the Montreal Canadiens and Colorado Avalanche.

Roy retired as the all-time leader in wins with 551, since surpassed by Martin Brodeur, and currently holds the record for most games played by a goaltender, most playoff games by a goaltender, most playoff wins and playoff shutouts. Before joining the Canadiens, he also led his team to the Calder Cup as champions of the American Hockey League in 1985. He was ranked as #35 on The Hockey News list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

After winning two Stanley Cups in Montreal, he later did not get along with coach Mario Tremblay and was traded to the Colorado Avalanche, leading the Avalanche to the Stanley Cup in the Av's first season in Colorado, a trade we believe never would have happened if the team had remained in Quebec as the Nordiques, the Canadiens greatest rival at the time.

Today's featured jersey is a 1998 Team Canada Patrick Roy jersey as worn in the Winter Olympics in Nagano, Japan, an unusual jersey for Roy. Never having played in the World Juniors and rarely, if ever, eligible for the World Championships in the spring due to his annual appearances in the Stanley Cup playoffs, Roy made the only Team Canada appearance of his entire career in 1998 with the first inclusion of NHL professionals in the Olympics.

This jersey's most unique feature has to be the font "Copperplate Gothic" chosen for the numbers, a font only used by Team Canada at the 1998 Olympics, despite many countries using the same striping template for their Nike jerseys in the 1998 and 2002 Olympics.

During the Olympics Roy went 4-2, with the two losses coming in a semi-final shootout loss to eventual Gold Medal winners The Czech Republic and the Bronze Medal Game to Finland.

When Roy announced that he would not be part of Canada's Olympic Team at the 2002 Salt Lake Olympics, it left his time in Nagano as his only Team Canada appearance of his long and storied career.

Dasherboard: You certainly can't fault Cristobal Huet for the end of the Blackhawks season last night as he put in a gutty performance after his previous sieve-fest. Chicago can hold their heads high after taking the Red Wings to overtime three times in five games this series. Look for them to take this year's playoff run as a great learning experience and accelerate their maturation, as they are still quite a young team that will be heard from in the later rounds of the playoffs for the foreseeable future.

The series winning goal for Detroit was yet another example of the lively, quirky boards at Joe Louis Arena. Believe me, We've seen them in person and they are the most unpredictable of any arena in the league in my opinion. It was in 1987 at the NCAA Championships when a puck ringed around behind the net, only to hit the edge of the Zamboni door and carom out into the slot for a Michigan State goal into an unguarded net while the Minnesota goaltender was standing at the back boards waiting for the puck to continue it's journey behind the net, ruining the Gophers season and our trip to Detroit.

Last night's game was a fun one to watch, played at a high tempo with lots of chances at both ends. Chris Osgood, the Trent Dilfer of NHL Goalies, has once more made it to the Stanley Cup Finals with a chance to add to his trophy case. He certainly is the least-regarded, most successful goaltender in the league, as he has three Stanley Cups, two as the starter in 1998 and 2008.

Detroit now moves on to the finals where a rematch with the Pittsburgh Penguins awaits. Look for a better prepared, more mature and highly confident Penguins team, who are playing at their peak to give the Red Wings all they can handle.

The schedule for the finals has the series opening in Detroit on Saturday, May 30th at 7 PM CST, followed by Game 2 the very next day, Sunday, May 31st, with both games on NBC. Sunday's game time is listed as "TBD - night". Game 3 & 4 are Tuesday, June 2nd & Thursday, June 4th in Pittsburgh.

The remainder of the series, if needed, is scheduled for Saturday, June 6 (DET), a break until Tuesday, June 9th (PIT) and if a Game 7 is needed, it will be on Friday, June 12th in Detroit, with all games scheduled for 7 PM CST.

We wonder why the two days between Games 5 & 6 and 6 & 7? Are they trying to avoid going head to head with the NBA?