1. THE KNITTING NETMINDER:
Jacques Plante
, the Hall of Fame goalie who was the first to wear a mask, also was an expert with needle and thread. "He'd always be knitting socks and underwear to pass the time," recalled Montreal Canadiens teammate
Dickie Moore
. Before making it to the NHL, Plante also wore a toque (wool cap) he knitted when he played for the Montreal Royals in the Quebec Senior League. He later tried wearing it in the NHL but Canadiens coach Dick Irvin said, "Nix to that; save your knitting for the club car."
2. THE "ROUNDABOUT" PADS: When "Sugar"
Jim Henry
played for the New York Rangers during the 1941-42 season, he did not want to suffer from varicose veins. His solution was to keep his pad straps as loose as possible. There was one problem: well-aimed shots would spin Sugar Jim's pads 180 degrees so that they protected the back of his legs, not his knees and shins in front, where they belonged.
3. WHO NEEDS COFFEE? When playing for the Los Angeles Kings,
Rogie Vachon
used smelling salts as a pregame pick-me-up with a stick of gum as a chaser. Meanwhile, his one-time backup,
Gary Simmons
, likely would be be slamming his glove into the top of the dressing room door, leaving his trademark around the League.
4. NO STOPPING FOR RED LIGHTS: As part of
Ken Dryden
's ritual when he played for the Canadiens, he'd close his eyes before the referee tested the goal lights before the opening face-off. "I considered it unlucky to see the red light before a game," Dryden explained. "Yet I kept telling myself, 'Ken, you've got to get rid of this bloody superstition!'"
5. NOW, THAT'S A WRAP:
Wayne Thomas
, who played for the Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs and Rangers, insisted on wrapping his stick with brand new black tape before every game. Then he would recite his teammates' names aloud when they skated by to wish them luck at the end of warmups. "When they came by three at a time, it was a test of concentration," Thomas said.
6. A CALLING CARD: Long before the cell phone era, Canadiens goalie
Charlie Hodge
couldn't pass a telephone booth without making a phone call. Luckily there were no phones visible from NHL ice surfaces.
7. THE HOT DOGS AND BEER GUY: Lucien Dechene was a minor league icon. He played 798 games in the old Western League and was named top goalie five times and MVP twice. He had two curious habits. Dechene drank beer before games and munched on hot dogs between periods. When reprimanded for his pregame ritual, Dechene replied in his French-Canadian accent, "What t'hell, twenty, t'irty beer before a game never hurt anybody!"
