Tribute Paul Byron appreciation thread

[Habs10Habs]

Even though we all knew it was coming. It's still hard to see a player who gave his heart and soul to the Habs, have to retire this way.

 

[1909]

Thanks Ti-Paul for everything you brought to this Habs team.!

 

[ChesterNimitz]

That Cup run really took a toll on some of these players...

That's now 3 players that ended their careers after that run and Edmundson seems to be close to being the fourth.

They showed everyone the absolute commitment and dedication that is required to win at the highest levels of professional sport. It was a magical run in a thirty year long drought of apathy. For that run and those players’ total commitment, I hold those players in the highest of esteem. They left nothing on the ice. We, as fans of this great franchise, cannot ask for anything more.

 

[Habaddict]

That Cup run really took a toll on some of these players...

That's now 3 players that ended their careers after that run and Edmundson seems to be close to being the fourth.

Sorry, didn't mean to quote anyone.
Byron is my ideal type for player development.
He had only one real skill at NHL level. His
superior skating. The other things he learned.
That learning, is what gives the ability to teach.

 

[JianYang]

That Cup run really took a toll on some of these players...

That's now 3 players that ended their careers after that run and Edmundson seems to be close to being the fourth.

I think if we read between the lines, the toll had already been taken in all cases.

Byron has been missing alot of time ever since that concussion after a fight which was like 5 years ago.

Weber also had multiple stretches of long term injuries during his time in montreal, and kypreos had reported on Weber's career being in jeopardy a couple years before he actually packed it in. There was smoke even though most of us brushed it off.

It's a similar story with price. He's had an injury riddled career, but he already knew that he was in trouble before that run even got going.

These guys were already wounded warriors that probably identified that this would be the last time they would compete for the cup... And they ended up just 3 wins shy.

 

[Habs Halifax]

The Cup run really did end the careers of several players eh?

Price
Webber
Byron
Gallagher

 

[Mrb1p]

He was good for a hot minute

 

[Nico Cauzuki]

Happy retirement Ti-Paul and congrats on your new career with management well deserved

 

[Deebs]

A player that gave his all nearly every shift. That's all you can ask for as a coach.

 

[StCaufield]

I remember him in Calgary when I lived there. When I was watching him in warmups he was the smoothest skater on the team and I just loved how hard he played after noticing him. He was definitely my favourite player on the team after that and I was so thrilled when Montreal claimed him. I’m pretty gutted about how his career ended because he takes hockey so seriously. He cried when he left Calgary pretty hard and you can see that he’s just an amazing team guy and never put himself first. I wish there were more players like him on Montreal. I think he will truly make a difference with the team under management and be a good example to the rest of the team and a priceless mentor

 

[Canad13ns]

His scoring touch also didn't come until he was with the Habs. He'd get the breakaways but couldn't bury his chances at all.

Like Lekhonen, who shocked everyone by scoring that Game 6 series-ending goal against Vegas, and then went to Colorado and continued to score critical goals (that with the Habs he used to mostly fire straight into goalie's chests!) Sudden, strange and delightful difference! Sometimes the new team benefits!

 

[Habs13]

Met him a few times and always a nice guy to chat with.

 

[dackelljuneaubulis02]

He was good for a hot minute

Till injuries

 

[Boss Man Hughes]

He was good for a hot minute

He was good for 3-4 years and would have been longer if he hadn't stupidly accepted that fight.

 

[CharleyHorse]

He was good for a hot minute

 

[HuGort]

Character player, scored one of biggest goals in Canadiens history.

 

[sheed36]

For anyone interested in listening. Byron is the latest guest on Nilan's Raw Knuckles podcast today. Should be a good listen.

 

[holy]

Fast as **** boyyyy ill miss him. He always looked like an Amish type hard stoic worker type. Just one that was fast as **** boy.

 

[viceroy]

Hal Gill

Would've like for him to stick around too.

We haven't been relevant since the Carter administration.

We won the Cup during the Clinton administration. Mulroney IIRC on this side of the 49th parallel.

He was good for a hot minute

Not cool buddy.

 

[Habs Halifax]

Hard worker, smart, good team guy, acted like a professional, and always seemed to score some big goals from time to time.

I'm sure we loved him as much as he loved playing for the Habs. Great waivers pick-up

 

[ChesterNimitz]

We won the Cup during the Clinton administration. Mulroney IIRC on this side of the 49th parallel.

No Cups in over 30 years with the only two Cups won in the last 44 years having been ‘backed into’ because the prohibitive favourites (Oilers in 85/86 and the Penguins in 92/93) were eliminated by other teams, is the very definition of being irrelevant. We have become the Cleveland Browns of hockey. I come from a time when if the Canadiens didn’t win a Cup there were calls for a Federal Inquiry. Or worse. I always hoped that I would live long enough to savour one more championship or at least see us become relevant. Until the recent change in management, that hope was a bit forlorn. Now, I see the possibility of progress to a brighter future for this legendary team. We have been in out in the wilderness of mediocrity for a long period. I suspect things are going to change. And change quickly. Good management can accomplish a lot.

 

[MarioLeMoose]

Character player, scored one of biggest goals in Canadiens history.

lol what

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

No Cups in over 30 years with the only two Cups won in the last 44 years having been ‘backed into’ because the prohibitive favourites (Oilers in 85/86 and the Penguins in 92/93) were eliminated by other teams, is the very definition of being irrelevant. We have become the Cleveland Browns of hockey. I come from a time when if the Canadiens didn’t win a Cup there were calls for a Federal Inquiry. Or worse. I always hoped that I would live long enough to savour one more championship or at least see us become relevant. Until the recent change in management, that hope was a bit forlorn. Now, I see the possibility of progress to a brighter future for this legendary team. We have been in out in the wilderness of mediocrity for a long period. I suspect things are going to change. And change quickly. Good management can accomplish a lot.

Sorry but no. The 80s Habs teams were great. The 93 cup is a bit of a fluke but that club was still pretty good.

Irrlevant for 30 years... sure. Irrelevant for 40? No.

 

[ChesterNimitz]

Sorry but no. The 80s Habs teams were great. The 93 cup is a bit of a fluke but that club was still pretty good.

Irrlevant for 30 years... sure. Irrelevant for 40? No.

Perhaps my standards are too high, even spoiled. But after following the team through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, and then winning one unexpected Cup in 85/86 and losing in the 1989 finals, I see that as being somewhat irrelevant.

 

[Lafleurs Guy]

Perhaps my standards are too high, even spoiled. But after following the team through the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s, and then winning one unexpected Cup in 85/86 and losing in the 1989 finals, I see that as being somewhat irrelevant.

3 cup appearances with 2 wins over 7 years.... Not many teams have had a run like that. We weren't the firewagon hockey team that we used to be but God damn... Gainey, Carbo, Skrudland, Robinson, Chelios, Roy... we were impossible to score on. We were the Devils before they were the Devils.