This year, for the Stanley Cup playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens have outdone themselves for the opening montage before every game. The video, the music, the lighting effect, and both mascots playing the drums are all great, but the real stroke of genius is to have one alumnus carry the torch in the arena to set the ice alight figuratively. So far, we’ve seen Yvan Cournoyer, Serge Savard, Chris Nilan, and Kirk Muller do the honors. The identity of the torchbearer for the next game has now become a hot topic in town, and everyone is venturing their guess.
It’s being talked about, written about and of course, debated by fans online. Everyone has their opinion about who should be next. The Canadiens have a very rich history, and there are plenty of big names to choose from, but I think there should be one mandatory requirement: having won the Stanley Cup.
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The passing of the torch is all about the continuity of the organization’s winning ways; it’s about players from the past passing it on to today’s players so that they can hold it high as they continue their quest towards the ultimate objective: the Stanley Cup. An extract of the poem In Flanders Field by John McCrae has been displayed in the Canadiens’ dressing room since 1952:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
The Canadiens have won 24 Stanley Cups, but since the expansion era, it’s been harder to win the Holy Grail. Montreal hasn’t lifted the ultimate symbol of hockey supremacy since 1993. Winning the Cup is a big deal; not everyone does it. As the young Canadiens attempt to earn their way into the exclusive Stanley Cup winners' club, they should draw inspiration from the players who made it.
It’s nothing against Carey Price, Saku Koivu, Shea Weber or P.K. Subban; they played a role in the storied franchise’s history, but they fell short of the ultimate goal. It’s not like the organization is short of past winners to choose from: Patrick Roy, Guy Carbonneau, Vincent Damphousse, Stephane Richer, Chris Chelios, Bob Gainey, Larry Robinson, Shayne Corson, Claude Lemieux, Rick Green, Sergio Momesso, Patrice Brisebois, Mike Keane, Eric Desjardins, Brian Skrudland, the list could go on and on.
The one exception I think would be acceptable is Elise Beliveau representing her late great husband, Jean Beliveau, who captured 10 Cups as a player and seven more as an executive with the Habs. They didn’t go that way for Mother’s Day, so I highly doubt they will.
We’ll know in just a few more hours who will be the torchbearer for Game 4, but whoever it is, you can be sure that the debates will start shortly after the end of that match as to who should do it next, whether it is for Game 6 or for a third-round series.
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