1971 - A Hockey Story

by Michael E. Moore

When the Montreal Canadiens won 16 Stanley Cup championships in the 27 NHL seasons between 1953 and 1979, they were favoured to win hockey's greatest prize most of the time. After missing the playoffs in 1970 for the first time since 1948, the 1970–71 season was supposed to be a rebuilding year, but Habs general manager Sam Pollock had no patience for anything less than winning. Even though for once, "Nos Glorieux" were underdogs in 1971, they won again. The 1971 Stanley Cup victory was a special and unexpected bonus gift for Montreal Canadiens fans amidst all the turmoil going on in the early 1970s. The Habs came through when we needed them most. The return to glory and another parade down Sainte-Catherine Street was swift and very welcome.

Genres: Hockey

178 pages, Paperback

Published May 9, 2021

Reviews

[Jeff]

A fan's-eye view of a single season in Montreal Canadiens' history, but what a significant season. A transition season that was Jean Beliveau's last, and the first for players like Rejean Houle, Guy Lapointe, Pierre Bouchard and Ken Dryden. While a quick read that doesn't go into deep detail, the book still gives a very interesting and well-paced look at the 1971 season and particularly the surprising playoffs where Ken Dryden emerged as a star, Frank Mahovlich finally put all his talents to full use, and the Habs upset the powerful Bruins and BlackHawks to win an unexpected Stanley Cup. It was interesting reading this on the 50th anniversary of that Cup run, while watching the Habs 2021 Cup run that had some interesting similarities. An excellent addition to any Habs library.

[Calvin Daniels]

Fun recalling all the greats of that season with this quick read. Not a MC fan but remember the era well.

[Howie]

It was an excellent recap of the 1970-71 NHL hockey season. 2 👍🏼's up.