At the age of just 31, the Montreal Canadiens' goalie decided to retire from professional sports. For eight years, he had been the last line of defence for his team, one of the greatest and most enduring dynasties in ice hockey. At that time, the Montreal Canadiens were still a very strong team, but there was a sense that an era was coming to an end.
The 1978-1979 season had started in a turbulent manner. A few months earlier, there had been changes at the top of the team. General manager and vice-president Sam Pollock had left after 14 years and nine Stanley Cup victories. Pollock had made the Montreal Canadiens great in the '60s and '70s, cementing them as a winning team. He was succeeded by Irving Grundman. The coach, Scotty Bowman, had stayed, but he was disappointed by these changes. Bowman had always been Pollock's protégé and believed that the position should have been his.
The Montreal Canadiens were founded on December 4, 1909, by Ambrose O’Brien. Their first season in the National Hockey Association was a complete disaster. It took years for them to achieve results, and in 1916 the team managed to win its first Stanley Cup, the trophy awarded to the winner of the ice hockey championship. In 1917, along with four other clubs, the Montreal Canadiens founded the National Hockey League, which would soon become the world's premier ice hockey league.
During the years of the Great Depression, the Montreal Canadiens also went through a very difficult period. Funding was scarce, and the possibility of bankruptcy was just around the corner. Fortunately, they managed to overcome this tumultuous period and returned to success in the '40s, winning two Stanley Cups. The club was now on a full ascent. Between 1953 and 1960, the Montreal Canadiens won the Stanley Cup six times, five of which were consecutive. From 1965 to 1979, the team won 10 titles in 15 seasons. In the 1976-1977 season, the Montreal Canadiens set another record: they lost only 8 out of 80 games.
Even at the end of the 1978-1979 season playoffs, the Montreal Canadiens managed to win the Stanley Cup. But this time it wasn't with the apparent ease of previous years. Uncertainties and a lack of motivation were changing a club that would undergo a significant generational shift in the following years. It was the end of a dynasty accustomed to winning.
