Guy tries his hand at reffing

Well, sort of.

To celebrate the new Canadiens season, Guy teamed up with legendary Habs organist Diane Bibeau and Toronto punk band F*cked Up for a music video for Red Bull Music Academy.  As a referee.  Go figure!  

Enjoy!

Rubbing elbows with world leaders

This week Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau met with Chinese Premier Li Keqiang for trade talks, which included a visit to the Bell Centre on Friday to check out Trudeau's favorite hockey team.

The two leaders met with Guy as well as fellow Habs alumni Yvan Cournoyer, Francis Bouillon, Mathieu Dandenault, Patrice Brisebois, and Gaston Gingras.  Also, they took a tour of the team's dressing room.  Following the tour, Trudeau and Li watched Montreal-area children of Chinese descent play a game on the Bell Centre ice.  (link)

(image source:  Twitter/CanadiensMTL)

(image source:  Twitter/JustinTrudeau)

Guy on Kirk Muller's re-hiring by the Habs

Interviewed by the Montreal Gazette, Guy recently had some kind words about Kirk Muller, who has just been re-hired by the Montreal Canadiens as an assistant coach.  Muller was originally hired as an assistant coach by Carbo when he took over as head coach of the Habs in 2006.

This video was shot at a Pro-Am tournament in Brossard, QC to support Alzheimer's research.

Guy's '93 Finals jersey hits the auction block

Classic Auctions is doing another auction and this time, Guy's red Canadiens jersey from the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals is up for bids.  This jersey was worn during games 3 and 4 of the series in Los Angeles.  Typical of Guy's game-worn jerseys, there is wear on the sleeves.  The current bid on the jersey is $1,302.  The auction ends on June 14 at 9:00 PM EDT.  To view and bid on the jersey, click here. 

Guy's playoff bracket

Exciting news for all Carbo fans:  Guy has joined Twitter (more on that in a second) but first, he has posted his predictions for the 2016 NHL playoffs.

(source:  Twitter/@gcarbo21)

As you can see, Guy is predicting that the St. Louis Blues will emerge victorious as the 2016 Stanley Cup Champions.  Will he be right?  Only time will tell.  As for Twitter, you can follow him here.

Cheers, Brenden; and a new interview

Guy's son-in-law Brenden Morrow announced his retirement from hockey on March 17 after a 15-year career, signing a ceremonial one-day contract with the Dallas Stars so he could retire as a member of the team that drafted him in 1997.  Guy was in Dallas for the announcement, as was Brenden's wife Anne-Marie and the three Morrow children.  Congrats to Brenden on a great career!  Read more about his retirement here.

Guy also joined Mike Tyler of TSN 1150 to talk about the playoffs and Subway Canada and Pepsi's new "Hoist the Cup" promotion, in which Guy is taking part by appearing in an online video series  (link to "Hoist the Cup" press release).  You can listen to the interview here.  I haven't been able to find the "Hoist the Cup" online video series yet but I will link it here as soon as I do.

That's all for now.  Enjoy!

False report; and a radio interview

Last week the Habs blogosphere was abuzz over a reported meeting between Carbo and Habs management...with the Canadiens' fortunes in freefall, would he return as a coach?  The meeting was not as it seemed, though; there were a hundred other persons there too as part of a marketing event with Evenko.  (link)

As well, Guy was also interviewed last week on TSN Radio recently for the Leafs Lunch program.  You can listen to that interview here.  

A Facebook page for the blog

I decided to enter the 21st Century and create a Facebook page for the blog.  The purpose of this page is twofold; new posts to the blog will be linked there, and any other Carbo content that I find around Facebook will also be linked there as well.  Feel free to check it out and give us a like if you're so inclined.  You can find the page here!

Some Carbo news that I missed, and another new interview

Going way back to October!  Former Habs captain Guy passed the iconic torch to current captain Max Pacioretty during the Canadiens' home opener.

(image credit: PC)

Guy said of Pacioretty:  "I wanted him to make the most of the experience (as captain) and to have the chance I had to lift the Stanley Cup."  (link)

* * *

From an older Montreal Gazette article about the suicide of former Canadiens tough guy Todd Ewen, Guy on fighting in the NHL:

“Guys like that, it’s not the first one,” former Canadiens captain and coach Guy Carbonneau said about Ewen, who was his teammate on Montreal’s 1993 Stanley Cup team. “Now, four or five … even more than that … so it’s starting to be a big problem. Hopefully we can keep looking into it — and I know some people are looking into it — but I think we need to really look deeper and if those people don’t want to come out, we have to go and find them.”

Carbonneau said that fighting is already “weeding itself out” of the NHL and thinks it’s time to put in rules similar to in European hockey, where a player who gets in a fight is automatically thrown out of the game. A suspension would come after a certain numbers of fights — say five or 10.

“I think you’ll see less and less fighting in the NHL (in the future),” Carbonneau said. “I don’t think we’ll see the kind of athletes who were just sitting on the bench and were just there to fight. We don’t see that anymore. The game is too fast, teams can’t afford to have a guy like that on the bench, playing only two or three minutes of hockey.

“In 10 years, we’ll probably talk about: ‘It’s funny, I haven’t seen a fight in a year or two years.'” Carbonneau added. “I think it’s just going to go away by itself. But it’s always been a tough decision because the feelings are mixed among the organazizations (sic) and the people that make those decisions. So we just have to give it time a little bit.”

Carbonneau — like just about every hockey player — has great respect for the guys like Ewen, who stood up for their teammates.

“Guys like him, Chris Nilan and John Kordic, I think they understood the role they had and they knew it was a tough job, but they never backed down and they always had our back,” Carbonneau said. “They were well respected around the room, that’s for sure.”  (link)

* * *

On December 31, Guy played as part of the Canadiens alumni roster at the 2016 Winter Classic Alumni Game in Foxboro, MA.  The Bruins alumni took the game 5-4 in a shootout (and it must have been something for the retired players to play in the relatively new shootout!), but Guy led his team onto the ice in his classic captain's sweater.

(image credit:  The Boston Globe)

* * *

Back in October, Rogers Hometown Hockey brought their show to Gatineau, QC and Guy was part of the festivities, chatting with fans and signing autographs.  Here he is being interviewed by Ron MacLean.

(image credit:  Twitter/hometownhockey_)

* * *

Switching back to current news, Guy has given an interview to the Montreal Gazette about the Canadiens' current slump.  Excerpted from the French, Guy says that he expected a slowdown in the absence of Carey Price, but never to this point, and that he has never witnessed such a collapse.  He believes that it will be very difficult for the Habs to clinch a playoff spot, and by the time the injured Carey Price returns to the roster, it will be too late.  The full article is here.

Carbo on the Habs' recent woes; and his Stanley Cup skates hit the auction block

The wheels have fallen off the Montreal Canadiens' season, and Guy has some things to say about it, having been fired in 2009 when the Habs' fortunes went downward.  From the Montreal Gazette, when asked if he has any advice for head coach Michel Therrien:

“It doesn’t matter what kind of advice somebody would give him. You’re in this by yourself. You’re surrounded by people that you trust. His assistant coaches and his GM and the owners, the players — and that’s pretty much the bubble that he lives in right now. He’s got people around him, a girlfriend and the kids that love him and always support him.”

And Guy's thoughts on coaching:

“It’s like raising a family,” Carbonneau said. “Before, coaches were paid to coach. Now, they’re paid to babysit, to be a father, a mother, a coach, a psychiatrist, a psychologist. They have to deal with the media, they have to deal with the fans … it’s not an easy thing.”

The full interview can be read here.

Finally, switching gears:  Classic Auctions' Winter 2016 auction is now online, with a fantastic pair of Guy's skates -- the ones he wore when he hoisted the Stanley Cup with Montreal on June 9, 1993.  These skates have tons of wear and have been photomatched.  The current bid is $220, and you can view them (and bid) here.