If Patrick Roy played out his entire career with the Montreal Canadiens, he likely would have left no doubt about who was the greatest goalie in franchise history. Roy spent 12 seasons in the Canadiens organization and is widely regarded as the greatest goalie to ever lace up the pads in Montreal. However, that night against the Detroit Red Wings at the Montreal Forum ended what should have been a lifelong partnership. A game where the Canadiens did not play their best turned into a public humiliation for Roy. When Roy was finally pulled from the game, after he allowed nine goals on 26 shots, he walked right past head coach Mario Tremblay to speak to team president Ronald Corey and declared it was his last game in Montreal. It turned out to be the biggest “What If” story in Canadiens history, and it all started with the hiring of Tremblay.
Roy and Tremblay's feud began long before 1995
Before Roy and Tremblay were enemies, the two were actually roommates. After the end of Roy’s junior career, he joined the Canadiens at the end of the 1984-85 season, with Tremblay already on the roster. The next season, Tremblay's final year as a player, the two roomed together on away trips, but their relationship quickly soured. Tremblay would regularly make fun of Roy’s broken English in the locker room. After Tremblay retired from playing, he began a career on the radio, which only made the two’s relationship worse. Tremblay would consistently target Roy during his radio show, saying the goaltender was coddled and treated differently from the rest of the team. Roy was the star of the team, and it was puzzling when the Canadiens hired Tremblay to be the team’s new head coach after firing Jacques Demers six games into the 1995–96 season.
Right before Tremblay was hired, the two met at a Long Island coffee shop. The meeting ended with the two former teammates nearly getting into a fist fight. It only got worse from there, as the day Tremblay first walked into the locker room as the new head coach, Roy was heard snickering in the background. Roy and Tremblay nearly came to blows once again during a practice. Tremblay fired a shot that was aimed at Roy’s throat, which was not meant well by the Hall of Fame goaltender, and the two had to be separated before fists were thrown. The feud reached its boiling point on December 2, 1995, when the Canadiens played the Red Wings at home at the Forum.
Roy’s fake standing ovation and trade demand
The worst home loss in Canadiens franchise history, but somehow that is not why the game is remembered. The night will always be remembered as Roy declaring he would never play for the Canadiens again, as the game was still going on. Roy was having a rare off night. Down 5-1 after the first, on a normal occasion Roy would have been pulled from the game, but Tremblay wanted to punish him. Tremblay wanted to humble Roy, but that backfired. Roy’s struggles continued for the rest of the game, and during the second period, when the score was 7-1, he was mocked by fake cheers from the fans after making an easy save. Roy was finally pulled after letting in his 9th goal on 26 shots, but instead of sitting on the bench, he walked right past Tremblay, towards team president Corey and told him, “It's my last game in Montreal.”
Tremblay tried to de-escalate the situation, telling the media he regretted not pulling Roy after the first period. Roy refuted that notion, saying the head coach did it on purpose to humiliate him. Four days after the incident, Roy was traded, along with captain Mike Keane, to the Colorado Avalanche for Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Rucinsky and Jocelyn Thibault. Roy left Montreal with three Vezina trophies, two Stanley Cups, and two Conn Smythe trophies. It was the start of the Canadiens' struggles, as the team has yet to win another Stanley Cup since Roy left, a drought that has been 33 years and counting. The same cannot be said about Roy, who won an additional two Stanley Cups with the Avalanche. Pride and ego got in the way of Roy finishing out his career in Montreal, which would likely have ended as the undisputed best goalie in Canadiens' history.
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