Hi, this is Fred Wallace with ” Off the Wire ” proudly sponsored by Pete’s Auto Body.
Pete’s Auto Body; because we care about our community……
On May 10th, 1970, the Boston Bruins defeated the St Louis Blues 4-3 in overtime to complete a 4 game sweep and capture the Stanley Cup.
Bobby Orr scored the overtime winner in that iconic photogenic moment, one that has been a staple of hockey history for half a century.
However, only 12 days after the Orr moment, the Montreal Canadiens would make a transaction that was a key factor in winning the Stanley Cup 6 times through the remainder of the 70’s.
On May 22, 1970, the Canadiens sent Ernie Hicke & a 1st round pick in the 1971 draft to the California Golden Seals in exchange for cash, Francois Lacombe……and the Seals 1st round pick in 1971, which, every Montreal fan will tell you, turned out to be Guy Lafleur.
However, between the transaction in May of 1970 and the NHL Entry Draft in June of 1971, there was a distinct possibility that the Seals would play well enough, or the LA Kings would play poorly enough and Montreal wouldn’t land the coveted Lafleur.
In January of 1971, both the Seals and Kings had 14 wins.
LA had 6 more ties than California, so they were holding the Seals off, but that wasn’t good enough for Canadiens General Manager Sam Pollock.
Pollock engineered another deal, this time with L.A.
Montreal got Ray Fortin, Gord Labossiere and a 2nd round pick in 1973, which was technically minimal for dispatching centre Ralph Backstrom to the Kings.
Over 33 games with the Kings Backstrom scored 14 goals and had 27 points as the Kings accumulated 26 more points and bypassed Pittsburgh and left the Seals in the dust.
In hindsight, Montreal didn’t really have to worry about California as they won just 3 of their next 15 games and finished with 45 points, dead last in the 1971 NHL Standings
Ralph Backstrom who died last week at age 83, was a 6 time Stanley Cup winner, a solid performer in the WHA in later years, a coach with the University of Denver and the founder of the minor league Colorado Eagles.
But in certain circles he’s remembered as a primary asset in the hedge fund world of hockey that guaranteed Guy :Lafleur would be a Montreal Canadien.
For Pete’s Auto Body, I’m Fred Wallace