25 Years Ago Today (October 21, 1995): Rejean Houle & Mario Tremblay Were Hired

[Habs Icing]

That team was a mess due to the egomania of Corey and his two incompetent hires. How can you possibly blame players for hating that environment?

Roy was the main reason for the recent Cups and the crowd deserved a finger or two. The situation probably could have been rectified, but the egos won out.

I noticed it'll be mentioned in a later post in this thread but Roy was undermining Demers. So Roy was making it a rule to be a primadonna. Many of you guys are excusing Roy's shabby behaviour because of his talent. Roy was a great goalie but he was also a f##king douchebag and when it comes to that fiasco 25 years ago, I don't excuse him one bit. The same way I don't excuse Mario Tremblay.

 

[Tighthead]

I noticed it'll be mentioned in a later post in this thread but Roy was undermining Demers. So Roy was making it a rule to be a primadonna. Many of you guys are excusing Roy's shabby behaviour because of his talent. Roy was a great goalie but he was also a f##king douchebag and when it comes to that fiasco 25 years ago, I don't excuse him one bit. The same way I don't excuse Mario Tremblay.

How specifically was he undermining Demers?

I assume that going the the GM with the captain to say he had lost the room isn’t what you are talking about.

 

[beowulf]

Oye ya darkest day in Habs history...the true darkest day.

 

[Rob Sense]

a decision that cemented our soon three decade purgatory

 

[Frenchy]

a decision that cemented our soon three decade purgatory

Yeah we never been the same after that move, the worst part is that there was no rush to make any change.
Yeah back then the team started 0-4 , so what ... it's not a big deal when your last Stanley cup was 18 months ago. We got rid of our last good GM who gave us 2 cups in 9 years. Many owners would give away their first born child to get their hand on a GM who could give them 2 cups in 9 years.

in retrospective maybe a coaching change would have been the right move , but no way a GM change too.
We were problably one player away from another cup, we were stacked at center , good defense too and Roy was there.


It made no sence to make a GM change back then and years later it's still a bad move.

Serge Savard was a momument for our team and we come come across people like him everyday.
Again there was ZERO reason to fired him ZERO !!

 

[Bouboumaster]

Tremblay is a f***ing disgrace, even to this day.

Who can forget this gem?
Mario Tremblay drops P.K. Subban insult during DUI arrest


And Houle is, hands down, the single worst GM in the Habs history. He's in a tier all by himself, as the solid 2nd worst GM of all time, all teams combined, only behind Mad Mike Millbury. The difference is that Houle knows it, and seems to feel sorry about it.


Patrick Roy wasn't perfect, faaaar from it. But holy shit: best or second best goaltender of all time, who, at that point, already had two Conn Smythes. Wtf were they thinking??

 

[ArtPeur]

I watched a bit of that saga on RDS earlier tonight. Fun part is...

October 17th. Ronald Corey tells the media that he fired Serge Savard and Jacques Demers (and others). Says that he has yet to find replacements and hasn't met/interviewed anyone.
October 21st. Announces the new hirings.

4 days. 4 DAYS.

Who find someone to fill a GM spot in 4 days?

 

[Roadhouse]

I watched a bit of that saga on RDS earlier tonight. Fun part is...

October 17th. Ronald Corey tells the media that he fired Serge Savard and Jacques Demers (and others). Says that he has yet to find replacements and hasn't met/interviewed anyone.
October 21st. Announces the new hirings.

4 days. 4 DAYS.

Who find someone to fill a GM spot in 4 days?

And so I had the last 10 minutes of JiC on (TVA) while making supper tonight. I eat late (ish). Serge Savard was on from his home in the US so that's why I left it on.

2 things really stuck out for me.

First thing was the cold epidemic on the team during preseason. He said he had told Corey just how close this team now was to a Cup... then they all get sick and lose their first four games. The Hammer came right after that. Tremblay has them healthy and going, they won 6 in a row.

The other thing was Owen Nolan. Are you kiddin me??? He had talks for weeks with the Nords and was actually closing in on a deal for Nolan when he was fired. He wouldn't say whether Roy was going the other way.

Ronald Corey.

 

[The Real Timo]

They all effed up. And before you all go and glorify Savard - it’s the same Serge savard that gave habs their modern days Rejean Houle.

The amount of incompetence that happened in the Habs organization in the past 27!years can only rival with that of the federal government.

 

[The Real Timo]

I watched a bit of that saga on RDS earlier tonight. Fun part is...

October 17th. Ronald Corey tells the media that he fired Serge Savard and Jacques Demers (and others). Says that he has yet to find replacements and hasn't met/interviewed anyone.
October 21st. Announces the new hirings.

4 days. 4 DAYS.

Who find someone to fill a GM spot in 4 days?

They could have hired me in an hour and believe me - Habs would have been much better off.

 

[The Real Timo]

I heard a story that the morning of that game, Roy ran into Mike Vernon at Moe’s.

Vernon said words to the effect of “you look like shit, what’s up?” Roy said he was stressed and miserable. Vernon said he knew that from his Flames days, and getting a new start in Detroit gave him a new lease on life.

The story goes that at that moment Patrick started thinking about getting out of town.


Here is a source

How Mike Vernon set the stage for the Roy trade

Lol funny how these two went at each other during Colorado Detroit rivalry days.

 

[Forsead]

I noticed it'll be mentioned in a later post in this thread but Roy was undermining Demers. So Roy was making it a rule to be a primadonna. Many of you guys are excusing Roy's shabby behaviour because of his talent. Roy was a great goalie but he was also a f##king douchebag and when it comes to that fiasco 25 years ago, I don't excuse him one bit. The same way I don't excuse Mario Tremblay.

I don't know about that, what I heard is that Roy was one of the biggest Demers ally and a few days before he was fired, he and Mike Keane came into Savard office to tell him that Demers lost the room, just as a fact, not to undermine Demers.

Savard repeatedly said that the trade he was about to make is Roy for Nolan + Fiset from Colorado.

 

[BigDaddyLurch]

"...the day...the music...died..."

 

[sandviper]

Less than 2 months in, during the first week of December was when a huge part of my Habs heart was cut out....

 

[Habaholic25]

A rookie Coach and GM hired at the same time. What could go wrong?

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Corey unleashed a curse on the Habs when he hired them.

It took only three months. And then December 6th, Roy traded.

A full year plus a day after, Koivu gets his knee bummed, on December 7th.

 

[Bacchus1]

Darkest day in Habs history.

 

[mariolemieux66]

I lost some interests when they traded Roy, but what did it for me was when they trade Lyle Odelein. I stopped watching for years until they got Kovalev. I have never talked about Koivu, since I have never really seen him play.

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

I lost some interests when they traded Roy, but what did it for me was when they trade Lyle Odelein. I stopped watching for years until they got Kovalev. I have never talked about Koivu, since I have never really seen him play.

I know the backstory for Lyle's departure... i won't give too much detail, but Odelien and Corson's reputation off the rink should tell enough. He got into some unlawful trouble.

 

[barbu]

Octobre 21 1995 - a date which will live in infamy.

 

[Spearmint Rhino]

Might have my games mixed up (few brain cells fried since then) but thinking Habs won their first game against the Laffs with Pierre Turgeon netting the winner and everyone thought we won the Cup

 

[Grate n Colorful Oz]

Tremblay is a f***ing disgrace, even to this day.

Who can forget this gem?
Mario Tremblay drops P.K. Subban insult during DUI arrest


And Houle is, hands down, the single worst GM in the Habs history. He's in a tier all by himself, as the solid 2nd worst GM of all time, all teams combined, only behind Mad Mike Millbury. The difference is that Houle knows it, and seems to feel sorry about it.


Patrick Roy wasn't perfect, faaaar from it. But holy shit: best or second best goaltender of all time, who, at that point, already had two Conn Smythes. Wtf were they thinking??

MT "you can't do that to me, don't you know who I am, I'm Mario Tremblay"

Crisse de tete enfelé. C'est pas parce que tu es connu que tu peux outrepasser les regles, pauvre con.

And he says PK lacks judgement....

 

[Bouboumaster]

MT "you can't do that to me, don't you know who I am, I'm Mario Tremblay"

Crisse de tete enfelé. C'est pas parce que tu es connu que tu peux outrepasser les regles, pauvre con.

And he says PK lacks judgement....

Le gars était probablement raciste aussi lol
Tout un champion en tout cas.

 

[Fixxer]

 

[BargainBinSpecial]

These clueless clowns destroyed the franchise. The Habs became the laughing stock of the league and players avoided this place with no shame, admitting it publicly. Gainey restored some credibility but the franchise has yet to recover. Can't believe one of them also got another crack at it with the Wild and Jersey, considering his cognetive bias towards certain players and self-proclaimed superiority. As if his resignation 2 years at the helm, coaching the Habs, wasn't a telltale sign for Lemaire to stop any attempts of contact.

After calling it quits, he went out with his head up, admitting defeat and avoiding any more backlash to his already disgusting reputation. Smart move to stop the hemorrhaging.

Having an ally like Lemaire was an unexpected blessing, cleaning after his mess, defending his actions and keeping him on a leash. When Lemaire left, the Devils showed him the way out with style. Says lots.

Yet, he still believed he was above the law on the night of his arrest, while being under the influence, and even compared the officer to P.K. Subban, calling them both stupid. What a class act. How he still managed to keep his job as a hockey analyst remains a mystery. Having powerful friends and allies surely gets you places.

The other ignoramus is still longing for pity from the fans and asking for forgiveness. I still remember how he broke to tears immediately upon learning he was fired. I kept telling myself is this guy for real? He had five shameful years under his belt earning him easily the title of second worst GM in history. Way too many years and so much damage done. What an embarrassment.