According to TSN Hockey Insider Darren Dreger, a western conference general manager inquired about P.K. Subban’s status on the trade market and was “…flat-out told that (Subban) wasn’t going to be available.…
While that’s certainly great news for Habs fans, it can be interpreted in two ways:
1 – Subban truly isn’t available on the market and is here to stay.
2- Subban’s value will now increase in the eyes of other general managers looking to snatch him up within the next few weeks…
Personally, and as you all know by now, I believe he belongs with the Canadiens for the duration of his contract, regardless of his salary cap hit.
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Rejean “Peanut… Houle is my choice for the number 9 Montreal Canadiens’ greatest scoring right-winger of all time. During an era when Montreal had the first right of refusal in signing 18-year-old French Canadians, Houle was selected with the team’s first pick in 1969. He would play a handful of games that season yet earned himself a full-time position the following year.
He would fit in nicely on a “third line… of sorts, with Yvan Cournoyer and Guy Lafleur filling in the primary spots on the right wing. When the organization signed Houle, they weren’t expecting him to light up the score sheet. It would take some time before he got his scoring touch going, and it wasn’t until his second stint with the Habs that he would really flourish.
Between 1970-1973, his name was engraved on the Stanley Cup twice. He averaged approximately 11 goals per season, and mostly focused on developing his defensive skills especially as a penalty killer. Slowly but surely, he saw his assist count rise from 9 in ’70-’71 to 17 the following year and 35 in 1972-1973.
Shortly thereafter, he left the Canadiens to join the WHA Quebec Nordiques. In 3 seasons, he scored 27, 40 and 51 goals before rejoining his childhood team in 1976. Having developed his goal-scoring abilities, he’d go on to post 22, 30, 17, 18, 11 and 27 goal totals the ensuing years. He’d also win 3 more Stanley Cups between 1977-1979, subsequently retiring in 1983 before signing on as general manager in 1995.
Unfortunately, his tenure as GM was not as glorious as his 161 goals and 408 regular season career points. His reputation for selecting poorly at Amateur Drafts and trading away star players in exchange for flops ultimately put an end to his executive position only 5 short years later.
Thankfully, this top-10 list is not about how right-wingers boded after their playing careers in Montreal but rather, how their offensive contributions helped solidify the Bleu Blanc et Rouge’s historical legacy.