The 1993 Canadiens

An interesting book chronicling the Montreal Canadiens path to the 1993 Stanley Cup, their latest and the last one by a Canadian based team since. What sets this book apart from others that are around about the same subject matter, is that K.P Wee focuses more on the lesser lights and unsung heroes of the team as opposed to the Hall of Fame stars like Patrick Roy. Taking the playoff run one week at a time, the book flows well with chapters spaced in between profiling different players and the obstacles they had to overcome to get on that team. Overall an interesting read and one that will interest many sports fans, not just those who worship hockey.

The last time a Canadian team won the Stanley Cup, the prized trophy that is awarded to the champions in Canada's national sport, was 27 years ago when the Montreal Canadiens surprised the hockey world and took home the Cup. Stories about that team and some of its players are told in this book by author K.P. Wee.

What sets this book apart from other books focused on one season for a team is that this one talks more about some of the unsung players on that Canadiens team instead of the stars like goaltender Patrick Roy and captain Guy Charboneau. Instead the book shares some excellent stories about lesser-known players on that team such as Gary Leeman, Gilbert Dionne and Stephan Lebeau. Each of them had a key play, goal or other performance that helped Montreal continue on its unexpected path to the championship that year.

Each one of them has a different story in which they had some difficulty in their NHL careers but were able to overcome the adversity to come up big for the team. The most interesting story to me was about Dionne. Playing in the shadow of his older brother Marcel, who had a Hall of Fame career playing mostly with the Los Angeles Kings, Gilbert scored a winning goal in the second round in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres and also a goal in the third game in the Finals against the Kings. Leeman had both of these players as linemates and scored a key goal in the opening round against the Quebec Nordiques. It was a great moment for the player who once scored 50 goals in a season for the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Information like this on these players makes the book very informative. The writing in the book, however, is very repetitive as the same stories about these three players as well as others are repeated throughout the book. Also, there are some other points that are repeated later in chapters or after the event happened that didn't need to be said again. As an example, in the conference finals series against the New York Islanders, two Islander players had chances to win the game on a breakaway in overtime in games two and three. That the Islanders failed to capitalize on those opportunities and Montreal later did were important moments in the Canadiens' march to the Cup.

However, in the chapter about the conference finals, it was asked multiple time how would the series (a sweep by Montreal) would have been different had the Islanders scored on those plays? That is a rhetorical question that really didn't need to be asked multiple times. Other events during the playoff run, such as the famous illegal stick penalty called on the Kings' Marty McSorely during game 2 of the finals, are also repeated often, something that hampers the flow of reading the book. Which is a shame, because otherwise, this was fun to read about that Canadiens team which may not have been the most talented Montreal squad to win the Cup, but certainly knew how to get the most from every player. Overall, a decent book on Canada's last Cup winner. Three and a half star rating, rounded to four for NetGalley, Goodreads and Amazon.

I wish to thank Riverdale Avenue Books for providing a copy of the book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I really really liked this book. Reading it in a time when sports are not happening like they normally do, it was super interesting. I do think this book was a little slow and probably could have been a little shorter. I felt like some parts felt super repetitive.

Reading selections can provide a bit of whimsy even when you aren't thinking about it.

My last sports book was on the 1993 NHL playoff series between the Los Angeles Kings and the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Kings won that epic matchup, which is still remember in Toronto for obvious reasons, and advanced to the Stanley Cup final. There the Montreal Canadiens were waiting.

By coincidence, my next sports book (I usually read them in the order they are received) is on ... the 1993 Montreal Canadiens. In fact, "The 1993 Canadiens" is the title. Well, it's good to see how the story comes out.

That Montreal team has an interesting place in history. The Canadiens went through much of their history winning a championship every seven years or less. But the 1993 title was their last as this writing - 27 years later. What's more, no other team from Canada has won the Cup in that span, which is downright odd.

It's often said that you have to be a little lucky to win a Stanley Cup, as a lot can go wrong along the way. In hindsight, a great deal went right for the Canadiens in that particular spring - which, as the subtitle says, indeed makes them unlikely heroes.

You start with the fact that Montreal won ten straight overtime games that year. Apparently the law of averages was repealed, because there is a lot of luck in extra time games. Of course, the Canadiens had the advantage of Patrick Roy on his side, and he was pretty much unbeatable when it counted that year. That playoff run really put him in the argument about the identify of the greatest goalies in history.

Then there were the matchups. Montreal had a tough time with Quebec in the opening round but got through it. The next team on the schedule was not powerful Boston but rather Buffalo, a sleeper as these things go but a team that was too banged up to be a strong Cup contender. Then the Islanders were up next in the conference finals, as they surprised powerful Pittsburgh.

That brings us to the finals, where the Kings were waiting after a rugged seven-game series. They did have Wayne Gretzky, who was just about at the end of his peak performance years because of back problems. The rest of the roster had talent and the team was on a nice roll, but even some of the Canadiens thought the Maple Leafs would have been a tougher opponent.

Author K.P. Wee takes an unusual approach in writing some of this book. He has found some of the players who didn't see a lot of ice time during the finals, and told their stories in chapters that alternate with descriptions of the games. Checking in are such players as Jesse Belanger, Gilbert Dionne, Sean Hill and Stephan Lebeau. The results are a little mixed. It's interesting to check out the stories from guys who don't have the chance to offer a retrospective on their careers very often; the league isn't filled with Gretzkys. Still, some of their observations about the playoff games themselves come off as less than insightful in spots.

It's easy to appreciate the research that went into this one. There are plenty of quotes from newspapers and the link. I appreciate the fact that former two co-workers of mine, Bob DiCesare and Jim Kelley, are quoted a few times. Hockey writer Todd Denault gets plenty of ink too; he wrote a book some years ago on the 1992-93 season, so he knows a lot about the subject.

"The 1993 Canadiens" might not be that interesting for those who don't live and die with the fortunes of Montreal's hockey team. However, it will bring back some good memories for those who do think that way.

The Canadiens are not a team I give much thought to as I am a Penguins fan first and foremost. I had read a book about the Bruins recently whom I consider to be one of our rival teams and decided that by reading about the Canadiens I would have a greater appreciation for that team as well.

I'm actually shocked that I didn't feel much different after reading this book. I liked learning about players that aren't named Patrick Roy for a change. It could be the fact that after reading a handful of sports books they all start to sound the same. A group of guys coming together for a memorable moment of time to become the Champions.

Maybe someday there will be a book about a team that *almost* made it but were still important enough in the grand scheme of things. Until then, I'm sure fans of the Canadiens and people who haven't read many other Hockey books will enjoy this.