Habs Retire Ken Dryden’s Number 29
Posted January 30, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
The number 29 was raised to the rafters in Montreal’s Bell Centre Monday night, where it will remain permanently – a tribute to one of the greatest goaltenders to ever wear a jersey.
Ken Dryden had his number retired by the Canadiens prior to Monday’s 3-1 win over the Ottawa Senators, and the once-dominant netminder from the equally dominant Montreal teams of the 1970s was on hand to take it all in.
Dryden alternated between French and English as he addressed the sellout crowd, and the 59-year-old thanked fans past and present for accepting a young goalie from Toronto in 1971.
“How do I thank you?” Dryden asked after a standing ovation. “Sometimes when you’re lucky you get really lucky.
“I was lucky to be here in Montreal, in Quebec, to play at the Montreal Forum and to be a member of the Montreal Canadiens. You gave me a gift. Thank you.”
Dryden was joined on the ice by his wife, Lynda, his two children and a three-week-old grandchild.
The banner was hoisted from in front of the Canadiens net, and was ushered onto the ice by current captain Saku Koivu and the team’s two current goalies, Cristobal Huet and David Aebischer.
“This is that final piece,” Dryden said. “Who would ever dream of having their number retired by the Montreal Canadiens? It’s just great.”
Another of the special guests was the man who introduced Dryden, his opposite during the 1972 Summit Series, which pitted Canada against the Soviet Union.
“I played against Team Canada in 1972 and in 1975 against the Montreal Canadiens – the best hockey I ever saw,” said Vladislav Tretiak, now president of the Russian Ice Hockey Federation.
“Ken Dryden played unbelievable.
“He was a fantastic goalie and a great man.”
The numbers certainly demonstrate that.
Dryden won six Stanley Cups, five Vezina Trophies, a Conn Smythe Trophy and was a first-team all-star five times in an eight-year career that ran from 1971 to 1979.
He won 258 games, lost just 57 and tied 74 on an amazing Habs team that featured legends Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt, Larry Robinson, Serge Savard and Guy Lapointe.
Dryden admits playing behind that group made his job easy at times, but fans recall that he always made the big save when he needed to.
“Watching, waiting, not doing much of anything,” Dryden joked, thinking back to his time in net. “That is pretty much what the 1970s were all about – that and a whole lot of Stanley Cups.”
Dryden’s the 12th player to have his number retired by the Canadiens.
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