In August of 1986,
Patrick, being an active restless
sort, didn’t care for receiving only a slight edge in games played. He was
eager to be playing every night and having to sit any games out on a regular
basis was a bore to him.
“What you have to remember,”
Patrick’s present agent Bob Sauve says of him, “Is that the reason some players
are good is because they love that attention. Superstars thrive on that stuff.”
For certain, Patrick made sure that
he was definitely a focal point when he did play. Often he was wandering around
the ice with the puck, tossing it at defenseman, slashing at opposing players,
making spectacular saves in situations he sometimes created for himself, and as
always, obviously conversing with his goalposts. It was increasingly impossible
not to think of
“Patrick made himself the focal
point,” Brian Hayward said of him, “Plante handled the puck and Hall butterflied
but Patrick went beyond them. He handled the puck in the defensive zone whether
or not the coaches approved or his teammates understood. He took charge. Being
Patrick Roy meant not just stopping the puck but also saying outrageous things.
He wanted the spotlight, and more important, he wanted the responsibility.”
And there was a huge responsibility
upon the young man. Fans had taken to calling the Montreal Forum “St. Patrick’s
Cathedral”, some in awe of the weird brilliance he often showed on the ice and
others in mocking the butterfly style he fed off on the ice. To most who still
doubted that the Butterfly was even a legitimate way to play goal, Patrick’s
falling to his knees to make saves made him seem like a supplicant at high
Mass.
This isn’t to say that Patrick
invented the Butterfly. Glenn Hall often used it during game in the sixties,
and he was quite good at it although it wasn’t the only technique he utilized.
And even earlier in the century, Clint Benedict was often described as playing goal
with a technique that sounds extremely similar to the Butterfly. Patrick’s
distinction is that he legitimized it, and made it a new standard for
impressionable young fans watching the game in the eighties.
One such fan was the son of the
Montreal Canadiens’ team photographer, Martin Brodeur. The boy was a
Patrick had never forgotten the
kindness shown to him by Daniel Bouchard when he was a youth and has always
made a point to never snub children, and teens for autographs or quick
conversations. Brodeur was an early beneficiary of Patrick’s policy and he took
full advantage of it.
“Questions, questions, questions,”
Patrick remembers of Brodeur with a smile, “That’s all I ever heard from Marty!
The boy’s thirst to learn was incredible and he’s always had a great mind for
the position. What he’s done for the Devil’s is incredible.”
Martin’s distinction today is
boasting a Calder Trophy, an Olympic Gold Medal, two Stanley Cups and a great
chance at chasing down some of his idol’s career records as a goaltender.
In the playoffs of ’87, the magic
Patrick had spun for the Habs the previous year didn’t seem to be there, as was
the offense from
Early into the season of ‘87-’88, an
irritated, temperamental Patrick wandered from his goal crease to lay a
two-handed chop onto Minnesota North Stars’ player Warren Babe. He was
immediately dealt an eight game suspension for the act.
“The guy cross checked me twice!...” Patrick said in his own defense shortly after the
incident. “I’ve never hit anybody like that before. Anyway it wasn’t as bad as
that Hextall incident.”
What Patrick was more than likely
referring to was an incident in the previous season’s playoffs where Philadelphia
Flyers goalie Ron Hextall attacked Edmonton Oilers’ player Kent Nilsson and
received an eight game penalty. It wasn’t an uncommon era for goaltenders to be
fiercely sometimes violently defensive of both their goal crease and their
teammates. Still, a line had to be drawn and after cooling off and thinking
about this, Patrick had this to say, “I made a mistake and I have to pay for
it. It’s that simple.”
Two weeks later, Patrick made his
return in
The regular season ended with
The
TBC