Habs' Beliveau starred with, faced-off against hockey greats

BY JOHN DECOSTE

jdecoste@kentvilleadvertiser.ca

NovaNewsNow.com

Jean Beliveau says that as a player, he was fortunate to “be there at the right time.”

Beliveau, who turns 78 in August, was the headline guest at the 12th annual Acadia Hockey Celebrity Dinner June 25 in Wolfville.

Asked who was the best player he ever played with, the Hockey Hall of Famer (and recent recipient of the NHL’s Lifetime Achievement Award) acknowledged he “got to play with some of the best. “I was fortunate enough to play on the same power play with Maurice (Richard). I was the centre with Dickie Moore on left wing and Bernie Geoffrion and Doug Harvey on the points (all are Hall of Famers).

As a unit, with the man advantage, they were so successful the NHL changed the rule that penalties had to be served in their entirety, no matter how many power play goals were scored.

He recalled that Harvey, an 11-time all-star and seven-time Norris Trophy winner, was “a real quarterback” on defense, especially on the power play.

Moreover, if the Canadiens forwards and defense ever faltered, they had another Hall of Famer, Jacques Plante, in goal. “They were all great players,” he said, “and each had their great qualities.”

Knew how to play as a team

Most importantly, though, they knew the importance of playing together as a team. Beliveau said, “you don’t win five Stanley Cups in a row (as Montreal did from 1956-1960) without playing as a team.”

The Canadiens of the late’50s “had two offensive lines, but we also had a great checking line” in Claude Provost, Phil Goyette and Don Marshall. “You can have all the offense in the world, but you’re not going to win without the support of great defensive players.”

In later years (Beliveau’s NHL career spanned nearly two decades), Henri Richard stepped up along with other great players like Yvan Cournoyer and J.C. Tremblay, but it was Beliveau, Montreal’s captain for a team-record 10 seasons, who led the way, and always by example.

In the latter part of his career, Beliveau was often asked by coach Toe Blake “to centre some good young players,” like Gilles Tremblay and Bobby Rousseau or Cournoyer and John Ferguson. “I told them not to ever change their style of game to play with me,” he said. “Just play your game; it’s up to me to adjust to you.”

As for the best opponents he faced over the years, Beliveau said, “I played 18 years against Gordie Howe,” though Beliveau was always a centre and Howe a right wing, so they didn’t cover each other. “You have to remember, in those days there were only six teams, and you played everybody 14 times in the regular season. There were only 125 players, so everyone was good or they wouldn’t have been there.”

He recalls “every time we played Chicago, my line always played against Stan Mikita’s. Stan was a great centreman, a tough opponent and great on faceoffs.”

In New York, his opposing centre was generally Jean Ratelle; in Toronto, it was Dave Keon; in Boston, particularly later in his career, it was usually Derek Sanderson, one of the league’s best defenders.

Best league in the world

Beliveau suggests the NHL “was very fortunate that its first expansion, from six to 12 teams” in 1967 coincided with European players, and especially Eastern European players, becoming available.

That has allowed the NHL to maintain its status as the best league in the world even as the number of teams has steadily increased.

Today’s game, he says, “is a lot faster and the players are a lot bigger.” Moreover, “in the past, the bigger players weren’t always the fastest skaters. Today, everybody is fast.”

Beliveau likes the pace of today’s NHL and applauds some of the rule changes that have sped up the game.

He added, though, “I am concerned with the amount of cross-checking and checking from behind. I played 23 years, never wore a helmet and didn’t have near the equipment they have today, when there are far more concussions. You almost never heard of concussions when I was a player.”

Beliveau also said “the great players” – and he definitely includes Sidney Crosby in that list – “would be great players in any era, because they’re able to adjust to any kind of style.”

Beliveau, who attends 30 Canadiens’ home games per season, suggested hockey “is s beautiful game. If you watch it closely and follow the puck, there’s always something to see. It’s great to play and great to watch.”