1995–96 Montreal Canadiens season

Regular season

At the beginning of the season, captain Mike Keane was subject to media scrutiny after speaking with Mathias Brunet of La Presse (a French language newspaper). Keane said he didn't know how to speak French; but the journalist misunderstood him, and reported him as refusing to learn how to speak French.

On October 17, 1995: Canadiens president Ronald Corey fired general manager Serge Savard and his assistants Andre Boudrias and Carol Vadnais. Head coach Jacques Demers was also relieved of his duties, while assistant coach Charles Thiffault was reassigned. This came after the Habs surrendered 20 goals in the first 4 games of the season.

October 21, 1995, Corey hired Rejean Houle as the Canadiens' new general manager. Mario Tremblay was hired as the new head coach, and Yvan Cournoyer was hired as an assistant coach. Tremblay had been goaltender Patrick Roy's roommate during his rookie season. On that same day, they beat their chief rival the Toronto Maple Leafs 4–3 in their last appearance at the Forum.

In his first 15 starts with Tremblay as head coach, Roy had 12 wins, 2 losses and 1 tie. The one tie came against the Colorado Avalanche. Despite this hot start, Roy and Tremblay clashed multiple times. While in Edmonton, Tremblay spotted Roy in the hotel bar and told him that he wanted him to leave. A conflict ensued in Montreal when Tremblay told Roy that he was not allowed to visit the trainer's room and speak to teammates unless he was injured.

On November 28, 1995, the day before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, Mario Tremblay spoke to Mario Leclerc of Le Journal de Montreal. Tremblay mentioned that he was resentful of current Red Wings head coach Scotty Bowman. The first five years of Tremblay's career were played under Bowman, and Tremblay told Leclerc that Bowman always threatened to send him to the minors. When Leclerc approached Cournoyer, he stated that he did not want to speak about Bowman. The Canadiens lost the game by a score of 3–2. The next day, the Journal de Montreal had a headline that stated "Bowman has the last word".

On February 5, 1996, Patrick Roy played the Canadiens for the first time since he was traded to the Colorado Avalanche. Roy stopped 37 of 39 shots in a 4–2 win. After the game, Roy took the game puck and flipped it to Mario Tremblay.

Patrick Roy's final game

On December 2, 1995, head coach Mario Tremblay kept goaltender Patrick Roy in goal as he conceded 9 goals on 26 shots during an 11–1 loss to Scotty Bowman's Detroit Red Wings. This was the last straw for Roy in what was already a contentious relationship with the rookie head coach. Friction between the two dated back to Roy's rookie year, when Tremblay used to needle the young Quebecer on his broken English and was critical of Roy through much of his career. The two had almost come to blows in a Long Island coffee shop before Tremblay was announced as head coach, and Tremblay's first appearance in the dressing room was greeted with snickers from Roy. They almost fought a second time after Tremblay fired a shot at Roy's throat during practice.

After Roy was replaced midway through the second period, he went over to Canadiens president Ronald Corey and stated that he had played his final game with the Canadiens. He later elaborated by saying that he would not play for Montreal as long as Tremblay was coach.

Le Trade

On December 6, four days after the incident, Roy was traded to Colorado (along with team captain Mike Keane) in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko, a deal known in Montreal as "Le Trade". Roy's relationship with the Canadiens remained strained until 2008, when it was announced that his #33 jersey would be retired. The trade benefited Colorado, as Roy helped the Avalanche win the 1996 Stanley Cup.

Final game at the Forum

On March 11, 1996, the Canadiens played their last game at the Montreal Forum, defeating the Dallas Stars 4–1 on a Monday night. The game was televised on TSN and TQS in Canada, and on ESPN in the United States. After the game, many previous hockey greats were presented to the crowd. The largest ovation of the night was left at the end for legendary Canadiens star Maurice "Rocket" Richard, at over 16 minutes in length.

Season standings

Schedule and results

Regular season

|- |1||October 7, 1995||1–7 || style="text-align:left;"| Philadelphia Flyers||0–1–0 || |- |2||October 11, 1995||1–6 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Florida Panthers||0–2–0 || |- |3||October 12, 1995||1–3 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Tampa Bay Lightning||0–3–0 || |- |4||October 14, 1995||1–4 || style="text-align:left;"| New Jersey Devils||0–4–0 || |- |5||October 20, 1995||0–2 || style="text-align:left;"| @ New York Islanders||0–5–0 || |- |6||October 21, 1995||4–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Toronto Maple Leafs||1–5–0 || |- |7||October 23, 1995||6–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Los Angeles Kings||2–5–0 || |- |8||October 25, 1995||7–2 || style="text-align:left;"| Florida Panthers||3–5–0 || |- |9||October 27, 1995||4–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Hartford Whalers||4–5–0 || |- |10||October 28, 1995||5–3 || style="text-align:left;"| Chicago Blackhawks||5–5–0 || |- |11||October 31, 1995||3–1 || style="text-align:left;"| @ Boston Bruins||6–5–0 ||

| Legend:

Playoffs

|- |1|| April 16, 1996 || 3–2 OT|| align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Canadiens lead 1–0 || |- |2|| April 18, 1996 || 5–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Canadiens lead 2–0 || |- |3|| April 21, 1996 || 1–2 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Canadiens lead 2–1 || |- |4|| April 23, 1996 || 3–4 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Series tied 2–2 || |- |5|| April 26, 1996 || 2–3 || align="left"| @ New York Rangers || Rangers lead 3–2 || |- |6|| April 28, 1996 || 3–5 || align="left"| New York Rangers || Rangers win 4–2 ||

| Legend:

Player statistics

Scoring

• Position abbreviations: C = Centre; D = Defence; G = Goaltender; LW = Left wing; RW = Right wing
• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.*

Goaltending

• • = Joined team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, signing) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.*
• • = Left team via a transaction (e.g., trade, waivers, release) during the season. Stats reflect time with the Canadiens only.*

Awards and records

Awards

Milestones

Draft picks

Montreal's draft picks at the 1995 NHL entry draft held at the Edmonton Coliseum in Edmonton, Alberta.

References

References

1. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.341, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
2. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.342, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
3. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, pp.343-4 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
4. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.339 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
5. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.347, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
6. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.348, by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
7. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.350 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
8. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.351 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
9. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.382 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
10. Patrick Roy, winning, nothing else, p.383 , by Michel Roy, translated by Charles Phillips, 2008, John Wiley & Sons, Mississauga, ON, {{ISBN. 978-0-470-15616-2
11. "1984 NHL Entry Draft - Patrick Roy".
12. (2007-02-26). "Dernier match de Roy avec Montréal". [[YouTube]].
13. "'I've never been back there'".
14. "1995-96 Montreal Canadiens Schedule".
15. "1996 NHL All-Star Game Rosters".
16. Montreal Canadiens 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.553
17. Montreal Canadiens 2014–2015 Media Guide, p.552
18. "1995-96 NHL Debuts".
19. "1995 NHL Entry Draft Picks at hockeydb.com".