With the PK Subban situation resulting in a happy ending, I don’t really know if it’s appropriate to bring up an event in Habs history that looms over the heads of Habs fans like a dark cloud. Because after all, why be a party pooper right?

Well, appropriate or not, I must bring it up and be that party pooper. The PK Subban contract negotiations and the possibility that existed of him leaving town in 2 years reminded me of something… something that haunted me as a child and broke my heart on numerous levels. What am I referring to you ask? Well, maybe you aren’t asking because the very name of this article should be a dead giveaway.

The day was December 2nd, 1995. Possibly the darkest day in Montreal Canadiens history. It was just like any other game day. I was anxiously awaiting the match up that night between our beloved Canadiens and a Detroit Red Wings team that was on the rise, and would eventually become a power house. It appeared that things were also on the rise for the Habs. A new coach (Mario Tremblay), a new GM (Rejean Houle) and a solid team on the ice, with the best goalie in the world, Patrick Roy, between the pipes.

Despite starting the 1995-96 season with an 0-4 record, which led to the dismissals of GM Serge Savard and coach Jacques Demers, all was right with the world. After the hiring of the new management, the Habs caught fire and went 12-2 in their next 14 games, but managed to squeak out just a tie and 3 losses in the next 4, for an overall record of 12-5-1 under the new regime leading up to December 5th… not too shabby. But, that’s when the poop hit the fan.

I’ll never forget that night. My cousin and I, who were both 13 years old at the time, were on the way to his house to watch the game and were running late. Safe to say we were in quite the panic to get there. Little did we know what we would see when we arrived. I’ll never forget the look on his face when we turned on the TV. It was a look of sheer disbelief, and I’m quite sure I shared the same look. We couldn’t believe what we were seeing. I actually think I might have given my eyes a rub to make sure that they weren’t deceiving me. The score was 5-1 Red Wings after the first period of play. Yes, 5-1! We were astonished to say the least. We knew then and there we were in for a long night. The Wings showed no mercy, and kept pouring it on… 6-1, 7-1, 8-1, 9-1… surely they weren’t going to hit double digits were they? Well, by the time it was all said and done, that’s exactly what they did. The Canadiens had suffered an 11-1 thrashing at the hands of Detroit.

OK, it happens sometimes right? A team just doesn’t show up to play and the other team exposes and embarrasses them. Back to the drawing board right? Well, little did Mario Tremblay know that his decision to keep the face of the franchise, future hall of fame goaltender Patrick Roy, in the net for 9 of Detroit’s 11 goals, would keep the Habs collective eyes glued to that metaphoric drawing board for years to come.

I’ll never forget the look on St. Patrick’s face as he took off his helmet after arriving on the Canadiens’ bench. The way he stormed past Tremblay was a sure sign that he was feeling great embarrassment. Not a good sign, but, the thing that got me was when he stopped, stormed back past Tremblay again, and leaned in to inform team President, Ronald Corey, of what exactly was on his mind. At that moment, my childhood idol, the great Patrick Roy, informed Mr. Corey that he had played his last game for the Canadiens.

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Of course we, as Habs fans, were all totally in the dark as to what was said exactly, and I’m sure none of us expected to happen what indeed did happen. Safe to say I went to bed that night a very disappointed 13 year old, but little did I know, that was only the tip of the iceberg. I’ll never ever forget turning on TSN the next day, and seeing the TSN update… ‘BREAKING NEWS: Patrick Roy’s days with the Habs are done’… well, at that moment, my mouth dropped and to be quite honest, it still hasn’t completely closed, all these years later.

Immediately, I blamed Roy, which I would eventually find out was totally uncalled for, calling him a traitor and a number of other words that aren’t appropriate to be printed in this article (yes, a 13 year old cussing up heaps). I was heartbroken and felt betrayed, and well, the rest as we know it is history.

I see no need to discuss all the success Roy went on to have with the Colorado Avalanche, because why torture myself even more, right? So, with all that being said I felt the need to bring this up and point out the fact that if PK Subban’s contract with the Canadiens had indeed been decided upon by an arbitrator, we could very well be dealing with Patrick Roy’s departure 2.0 in a couple years from now. In my opinion, seeing PK in another uniform other than the bleu, blanc et rouge would be just as big a travesty as Roy wearing the colors of the Avalanche. I’m sure that a lot of young Habs fans who weren’t alive or are too young to remember Roy leaving would experience the same pain and agony that all of us lived through that fateful day way back in December 1995. I, for one, would not want that to happen!

GO HABS GO!