Rocket Richard believed brother Henri was key in Canadiens' Cup dynasty

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insight with readers each Wednesday.

This week in his "Voices From the Past" feature, Fischler shares conversations he had with Montreal Canadiens legend Maurice "Rocket" Richard about their dynasty in the 1950s. Their chats took place in 1971, when they collaborated on Richard's book, "The Flying Frenchmen."

How did the unrivaled Canadiens run of winning the Stanley Cup five consecutive seasons (1956-60) come about?

"It started in our training camp before the 1955-56 season. We already had a very good team with Jean Beliveau turning into a superstar at center. The same could be said for Dickie Moore on left wing, but the biggest surprise of all was my kid brother, Henri, who showed up as a walk-on, but definitely was not expected to make the big club. We also had a new coach in Toe Blake, who succeeded Dick Irvin and created a whole new and better atmosphere."

What did you like about Blake as opposed to Irvin?

"Toe had one quality that marked him from Dick. It was Irvin's policy to publicly roast a player for his mistakes. Blake would never give anybody hell in front of the other players. When Toe had something to say he would take the guy to a private room, or his compartment on the train, or into his office and discuss it. But, make no mistake, Blake was tough. You never heard a good word from him on the bench. If you made a good play, he wouldn't walk over and pat you on the back. But we knew he was behind us and as long as we played for him, Toe was liked by the players."

How did your kid brother, Henri, make a difference?

"To begin with, Blake had no intention of keeping him on the roster. Henri seemed too young (19) and too small (5-foot-7, 160 pounds) to handle big league hockey. But Toe could see what was happening at camp. After every single scrimmage -- when lineup cuts were made -- Blake couldn't help but agree that the kid either was the best player on the ice or right up at the top. And Henri was so much tougher than he looked. When camp ended, Henri had proven that he could skate, stick handle and shoot with the best we had on the lineup. He wound up a regular center with me and Dickie Moore."

What caused you to cool your previously hot temper?

"With Henri on my line, I mellowed. I had my troubles in the past but I made a resolution in camp to cool it and I made it stick. Blake -- he'd been my linemate on Cup-winning teams (in 1944 and 1946) -- was a soothing influence. When he took over as coach he said, 'If I ever say anything that hurts you, don't come back and say anything to the press. Wait and come to me and we'll talk about it.' Toe was afraid that I was going to talk in front of the other guys and the newspapermen and hurt the team morale, but that never happened."

Over the five consecutive Stanley Cup-winning seasons, were you in top condition?

"Playing alongside Henri and Dickie, I weighed over 200 pounds and I weighed only 160 when I started playing pro hockey. With my weight that high I wasn't the same Rocket. I tried dieting a couple of times and lost about 10 pounds each time but it made me weak. What I should have done was dieting during the summer. But I was always trying diets in the winter and it did me more harm than good. With my weight up I was more of a mark for opposing defensemen like tough guy Lou Fontinato of the [New York] Rangers. We had one really big bout in New York. I had been cut in the head a game earlier and when Lou hit me it opened the cut and I bled pretty good. The Garden crowd really loved that."

Who was your favorite teammate during the last five Cup years?

"I was very friendly with Ken Mosdell. Although he was one of the English-speaking players on the team, Kenny was always the guy I stayed with. His wife and my wife got along well together, which helped. Kenny was one of the most
underrated players on the Canadiens. He was good defensively, a good skater and playmaker and a very hard worker, as well as being a very nice guy."

Jacques Plante was Montreal's goalie during this great run. What was he like?

"He was an outstanding goalie and that helps explain why we had the five-Cup run. Plus, he had a fine defense in front of him. But I liked Plante better as a player than as a person. He popped off to the press a lot and never seemed to want to take the blame for anything, especially when he was beaten and looked bad. As a result, some of my teammates took a dislike to him. The record shows that he didn't get along with Dick Irvin and he didn't get along with Toe Blake. To my mind, there had to be something wrong if a guy couldn't get along with Blake."

No team had won the Stanley Cup four consecutive seasons when your club did it in 1959. What was the secret?

"Each year my kid brother, Henri, kept getting better and better. That helps explain why we were able to beat Toronto for the fourth Cup in a row. I remember the [Maple] Leafs manager Conn Smythe saying that 'strength down the center' is the key to success. We sure had it with Henri, Jean Beliveau and young Ralph Backstrom. Then, you take our defense; Doug Harvey was the leader, one of the greatest of all time. Then, you add Plante in goal. He not only was good but always was coming up with new ideas. Blake rounded things out. He played a big part in making us a consistent winner."

Who was better -- Beliveau or Henri?

"Their styles were very different. My brother was a better puck carrier and better skater and he could take more of the rough stuff. Beliveau was a better scorer. But Henri always was skating in Beliveau's shadow, although that never should have been the case. The difference was that Henri was on the puck all the time and if he didn't have the puck, you knew that he was always around. His one mistake always was not shooting enough."

What were your thoughts on retirement after winning the fifth consecutive Cup in 1960?

"I began thinking about hanging up my skates because the game became harder and harder for me to play. When it came to our line, Henri was such a speedy skater that I had to work hard to keep up with him and Dickie Moore. Part of the problem was the effect of all my previous injuries, especially the one to my Achilles tendon. I felt myself slowing down but after the fifth Cup in a row, I decided to at least come to camp in September 1960 and see what happens. I knew that (managing director) Frank Selke wanted me to quit and go to work for the team in public relations."

What happened at your last training camp?

"I surprised myself. I played very well and was scoring goals but, at the same time, I was feeling it. I was forcing myself and seemed to be trying too hard. Back on the bench I'd get dizzy spells and started to worry about injuries. Then, all of a sudden in the middle of camp, I made up my mind that I had had it. The combination of dizziness, pushing myself and the fact that it was so hard to lose weight convinced me that I'd be better off retiring."

How tough was it to finally retire?

"My wife went along with the decision, but it was awfully tough telling the kids, especially my son, Normand. My kids were growing up and they had been watching every one of my games. I didn't like the idea that they would see their father playing less than at his best."

Photos Courtesy of: Turofsky, Alain Brouillard/Hockey Hall of Fame