Habs and Flames Pull Out Their Tuques…

I can see it now.

Lanny McDonald using an ice scraper to weed his moustache of frozen snow particles while Patrick Roy’s arms will be unable to rise above his frozen shoulders as the two former players  acknowledge the appreciative crowd during the ceremonial face-off at the NHL’s 2011 Heritage Classic.The game is  slated for February 11 at Calgary’s McMahon Stadium.

The fourth edition of what has become an annual event will be played between the hometown Calgary Flames and The Montreal Canadiens.In 2003, The Habs and Oilers charted into frozen waters and entertained a numbed crowd of 57,167 in what was the first outdoor game played as part of the regular season in the NHL. (In 2001, Michigan State played The University of Michigan before a then record crowd of 74,544.) The NHL stars avoided hip checks of -30 degrees Celsius as The Habs defeated The Oilers 4 – 3 . Richard Zednik tallied the winner on an assist from soon-to-be Oiler, Sheldon Sourray.The Edmonton team also featured two players that would end up in the bleu-blanc-rouge of Les Canadiens – Georges Laraque and Marc-Andre Bergeron.The ‘frozen’ Classic was most noted for Habs goaltender Jose Theodore showcasing a Canadiens’ tuque on top of his mask. Given Theodore’s love affair with his hair – it is not known if he sported the tuque to be warm or to protect the Propecia that was guarding his locks against potential baldness.

In discussing the game – that ‘pretend’ hockey fan, also known as Gary Betteman, announced the game will be played “‘between two teams with great histories.”

It is oustanding that the game is coming home to Canada and that the people of Calgary posses all of the ingredients that make Hockey a truly Canadian game yet someone should send a memo to Mr. Betteman and point out that The Toronto Maple Leafs and The Montreal Canadiens should be the duo fighting it out ‘On Frozen Pond.’

The pair’s rivalry borders on a hundred year anniversary and there are no two teams in the league today who provide a better on -ice display than the Leafs and the Habs regardless of their respective point standings at the time.What better way to promote the NHL…?The casual and the true fans of cities such as New York, Boston,Chicago and Detroit do not care about The Calgary Flames and their one Stanley Cup.Granted their Cup win and their appearance in the 1986 finals, both against The Habs –  give the Flames’ faithful more to boast about than the ‘black and white television Cup’ of the 1967 Leafs yet the NHL must continue to promote the game in a market where Ultimate Fighting and Nascar leave the league’s television ratings in the dust. Most Americans don’t know where Calgary is and if they do – they are likely from Nevada and Wyoming and adore horses.

Jean Beliveau and Dave Keon should be awaiting a Betteman puck drop at center ice at Montreal’s Olympic Stadium while the likes of Sittler, Lafleur,Eddie Shack and The Pocket Rocket replay their childhood in the surrounding snowbanks during the Old Timers Game. Andrei Kostitsyn and Mike Komasarek can watch and learn what being a hockey player is all about as the two modern day teams then stage a battle worthy of Habs – Leaf  wars of yore.

The fans of The Montreal Canadiens were voted recently as the eleventh best in North America ranking behind Pittsburgh in the hockey world. Even Sydney Crosby can attest after last season’s second round match-up that these stats represent more than passion and noise on The Forbes list. For these  two reasons alone – hockey, Leaf and most importantly – Habs fans, deserve a home game to show everyone what a great game hockey is.