A home for my skates (finally); Carbo on Cameo

 Long time, no post!  Nursing school has taken over my life.  Hopefully I will get to post more often.

I have had my Carbo rookie game-worn skates for 12 years, and during that time I could never figure out the proper way to display them.  As a result I have had them in a box in my closet for the longest time which is an absolute crime because they are such a treasure.  Lately I started looking into display cases and found one from Michaels.  I took the plunge yesterday and am glad I did!  The display case I chose has a mirrored back and the skates fit in it perfectly.  Finally, my skates have a home.

The other newsworthy thing in this post (even though the skates are probably only newsworthy to me) is that Guy has recently joined the popular service Cameo, in which you can request customized video messages from favorite celebrities.  You can view his profile and request a message here.

Guy honored by Dallas

On Friday evening Guy, along with former Stars teammate Sergei Zubov, were honored by the Stars before their game against the Vegas Golden Knights for their recent inductions to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Commemorative posters were given out to the first 5,000 fans.

(image source:  eBay)

Here are a few photos of the ceremony.

(image source:  Facebook/DallasStars)

Video of the pre-game ceremony is available here and a brief interview with Guy prior to the ceremony is available here.

Fan mail

I have a big Rubbermaid bin in my bedroom closet that is full of photos and mementos.  One day a few weeks ago I was going through it and I found a beautiful photo of Guy, a black and white of him on the faceoff.  And I thought, wouldn't it be cool if I could somehow get Guy to sign it?

(The photo in question.  I don't remember where I got it from.)

So I typed up a letter and sent it and the photo off to RDS, where Guy works as an on-air analyst.  Fifteen days later (yes, I kept count), I received this.

(Yes, my full first name is Lisa-Marie.  No, my parents are not Elvis fans.)

How cool is that!  What an absolute class act Carbo is.  I love that he also signed it at the bottom "HOF 19."  In the letter I wrote to Guy, I congratulated him on his induction and also talked about how annoyed I used to get every June when he got passed over.

Here is the address I used, if anyone else wants to send Guy some fan mail.

Guy Carbonneau

RDS

1755 Boul. Rene-Levesque Est

Bureau 300

Montreal, QC  H2K 4P6

If requesting an autograph, be sure to include a self-addressed stamped envelope.

The signed photo is now framed on my wall and I couldn't be happier.  Merci, Guy.  You are the best.

Guy honored at Quebec's National Assembly; also, Nick Cousins shows his appreciation

Last Wednesday, Guy was honored by Quebec's National Assembly with a rousing round of applause.  Marquette Member of National Assembly Enrico Ciccone -- also a Habs alumnus -- invited Guy to the Assembly to receive the honor.  

Said Ciccone, 

"Guy has not only had an exemplary professional career, but he is also an exceptional guy who is appreciated by everyone. He was the idol for many young people in Quebec because of his talent and determination. I am very proud that he accepted my invitation to come to the National Assembly so that we can highlight his contribution to Quebec society." (link)

(image source:  Twitter/@EnricoCiccone)

* * *

It was a no-brainer for current Habs player Nick Cousins -- who, like Guy, wears number 21 -- when it came time to decide which past Habs captain to play tribute to at the Captains Reunion on December 3.

"It was cool to see him the other night, going to the Hall of Fame. He played here for [13] years. He was a great player. He won three Selke Trophies," said Cousins.  "He's a legend in Montreal Canadiens history."  (link)

(image source:  canadiens.nhl.com)

The Habs honor Guy

This most eventful week for me, as a Carbo fan, has resulted in one of the most hilarious photos of Guy I have ever seen.

(image source:  Twitter/@Dave_Stubbs)

Per NHL.com's Dave Stubbs on Twitter:  "I haven't fought in 30 years and I'm stuck in the tie-down strap!" Carbo laughed.

The Montreal Canadiens honored Guy before last night's game, adding his portrait to the Bell Centre's Ring of Honor.  The entire pregame ceremony is available on the Habs' official website here.  Additionally, Guy was mic'd up for the ceremony and video of that is also available here.  Unfortunately, my Ottawa Senators rained on Carbo's parade, beating the Canadiens 2-1.

This has been an incredible week.  Congratulations again, Guy.  It is so very well deserved, and thank you for continuing to be such an inspiration to me.  You are my hero.

Finally, I want to give a special shout-out to my friend Kit for being my Twitter eyes and ears this week and tweeting me all things Carbo.  Thank you so much!

Another of Guy's jerseys hits the auction block

(image source:  GameWornAuctions.net)

GameWornAuctions.net's current auction has a Carbo game-worn jersey up for bids.  It is a road Dallas Stars gamer from the 1999-2000 season (the final season of Guy's career).  It is a 1st set jersey and has a lot of game wear.  It comes with a Dallas Stars team letter.

The current bid is $322.10 USD and the auction closes on December 6 at 10:00 PM EDT.  It will be interesting to see what this jersey goes for with Guy now in the Hockey Hall of Fame.

You can find the jersey here. 

Video of Guy's HHOF acceptance speech, among other things

Guy shows off his HHOF ring next to his plaque.  (Image source:  Twitter/@DallasStars)

NHL.com has posted video of Guy's acceptance speech from last night.  You can find it here.

In addition, Dave Stubbs of NHL.com spoke to many of Carbo's peers prior to the HHOF induction.  He has posted a round-up of those comments here.

Finally, the HHOF official website has posted many photos of the weekend's festivities.  Those galleries can be found here.

On a personal note, was Guy's HHOF induction worth my 12-year wait?  (Not as long as Guy had to wait, mind you!)  The answer is yes.  Absolutely yes.

Some reading for you all on HHOF Induction Day

A number of articles about Guy have been published prior to his HHOF induction which will be happening tonight.  Here are a few.

Hockey Hall of Fame 2019: Montreal Canadiens legend Guy Carbonneau finally gets call 19 years after hanging up skates (Sporting News)

Carbonneau has late father on mind entering Hockey Hall of Fame (NHL.com)

Q&A with Hall of Famer Guy Carbonneau: 21 questions with No. 21 (Sportsnet)

Former Canadien Guy Carbonneau earned spot in Hall of Fame (Montreal Gazette)

More HHOF content will be published in the coming days.  I'm currently in nursing school and am extremely busy with my studies, but I'm taking time out this evening to watch Carbo's induction.  Wouldn't miss it for the world!

Another profile of Guy ahead of the HHOF induction

This time, by the Habs' official website.

Guy Carbonneau: a song for the unsung heroes

Enjoy!

A wonderful article about Guy's impending HHOF induction

And we're back!  My domain expired at the end of September but it is now renewed just in time for the HHOF festivities next week.

Dave Stubbs of NHL.com has written an absolutely fantastic profile of Guy ahead of his HHOF induction.  In it, Carbo reveals that he shed a few tears when he got the call from Lanny McDonald and John Davidson.  He isn't the only one; I cried, too.

The HHOF induction festivities are next week, and I can't wait.  I'm sure Guy can't, either.

A young Guy prepares a stick for use with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens.  (Image source:  NHL.com)

Here is the article:  Carbonneau embraced defensive role with Canadiens on way to Hall of Fame

Three little words

ABOUT FREAKING TIME!!!!!

Guy was selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame today, along with fellow players Hayley Wickenheiser, Vaclav Nedomansky and (former Stars teammate) Sergei Zubov and builders Jim Rutherford and Jerry York.  (TSN article)

Personally, I wasn't paying too much attention to selection day today, because I have been waiting for Carbo to be selected for a very long time and was expecting to be disappointed yet again.  I actually heard it on the news this evening and was quite literally hyperventilating.  (Just ask my poor mother.)  I think this is nearly as big a deal for me as it is for him.  This just means SO much to me as a Carbonneau fan.  He is, in my (okay, maybe biased) opinion, the best defensive forward of his era and he has been such an inspiration to me both on and off the ice.  Once my hero, always my hero.

And a shoutout to my buddy Diane Lau, who is the only other person I know who knows how I'm feeling about this.  It was learning about Guy as a player and a person through her website that really fueled my early love for him.  And it has remained, for over a decade.

This is your time, Guy.  Enjoy it.  You deserve it.  Congratulations.

EDITED to add TSN video:  Carbonneau on being named HHOF inductee: 'This is something you dream about'

Two Carbo gamers hit the auction block

Apologies for the late post, this has come on my radar just now.

GameWornAuctions.net's Spring 2019 auction features two jerseys worn by Guy.  

The first is a home jersey from the 1986-87 season, which is hammered with wear and team repairs.  The current bid for this jersey is $707.39 USD.

1986-87 Game-Worn Jersey

The second is an away jersey from the 1989-90 season, during which Carbo shared captaining duties for the Habs with Chris Chelios.  Therefore, this is one of Guy's first captain's jerseys.  The current bid for this jersey is $855.94 USD.

1989-90 Game-Worn Jersey

Both auctions close on Tuesday, May 21 at 10:00 EDT.

A fantastic photo of Guy

Just a quick post to share this wonderful photo of Guy that I found on Facebook.  He looks like he's having an absolute blast playing with the Habs alumni, doesn't he?

(Photo source:  Facebook/Anciens Canadiens de Montreal)

Happy Easter!

Carbo does breakfast

Guy has teamed up with Holiday Inn Express to promote the hotel chain's breakfasts.  Going head to head with longtime rival Doug Gilmour and refereed by Mike Johnson, the challenge for Guy was to create the best breakfast using items from Holiday Inn's menu.  And as fate would have it, he won!  

The promo video is a blast and you can watch it here.

In addition, Guy also appeared on Breakfast Television in Montreal this week to talk about the challenge as well as the Habs, who have since been eliminated from playoff contention.

All in all, good fun!

More retro Guy!

I enjoy occasionally perusing the #guycarbonneau tag on Instagram.  While the bulk of the photos posted are selfies taken with fans, there is the occasional gem.  Such as this:

Here is Guy accepting an award as a member of the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, in the late 1970s.  He is second from the left.  The original post I found this photo from is gone, so I cannot provide credit.  If the original poster sees this, let me know!

Unrelatedly, this is my 200th post to this blog.  Congrats to me!

An absolute GEM of a video

Found this while perusing YouTube this evening, a 1981 news report from Radio-Canada (the French-language arm of the CBC) on Guy when he was playing with the Habs' farm team at the time, the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the AHL.  The video is in French but it is a definite must-see!

Oh, so young!  Enjoy!

The bird

Let me start by saying that I really struggled with whether to post this photo.  It is not one of Guy's greatest moments, for sure, but it is part of his history.

After nearly 25 years, the infamous Carbo "finger photo" has once again seen the light of day.  I found it a few weeks ago in a Google search and then subsequently found it on Twitter.  The photo was taken on May 2, 1994, three days after the Habs were eliminated from the playoffs by the Boston Bruins in seven games.  

It appeared on the front page of Le Journal de Montreal on the following morning, May 3.  It is said that the photo is one of the main reasons why Guy was traded from the Canadiens to St. Louis three months later.  The player to the right of Guy in the photo is Vincent Damphousse.

(image source:  Twitter/@photoshistos)

See also my previous blog post on the subject:  Guy et le doigt d'honneur*.

A nice little article about Carbo; plus, some new items hit the auction block

Last week, the Montreal Gazette published an article by Stu Cowan, about Guy being the last Canadiens captain -- and indeed, the last captain of a Canadian team -- to hoist the Stanley Cup.  Carbo had this to say about the pressure to win in Montreal versus that of later on in his career with Dallas:

Carbonneau doesn’t buy the pressure of playing in Montreal as an excuse for the Canadiens’ lack of success in recent years, saying there was also a lot of pressure to win in Dallas.

“Was it easier at the start? Yeah,” Carbonneau said about playing for the Stars. “But once we got going and (GM Bob Gainey) built a franchise that could win, the pressure to perform was there. Obviously, you could hide a little bit there, but you can do that here, too. I tell people: ‘You think that (Sharks stars) Brent Burns and Joe Thornton grow their beards not to be recognized in San Jose?’ I mean, come on.

“When things are good and you’re scoring lots and you’re getting points and the team is winning, everybody wants to be seen,” Carbonneau added about the players. “Everybody wants to go in the bars and be happy, go to the restaurants and everybody’s laughing. But all of a sudden when it’s not going well, now they want to hide? Or they’re bitching because they can’t hide? It doesn’t work.” 

 You can read the full article here.

* * *

Some interesting memorabilia items have appeared on the auction block recently.  Classic Auctions has Guy's goal puck plaque from his first NHL hat trick, here.  The current bid is $393.00 USD and the auction closes at 9:00 PM EDT on Tuesday, June 19.

Also, the goal puck plaque from Guy's first ever NHL goal has appeared on eBay, here.  At $2500 USD it's a bit too rich for my blood but it's a marvelous item.  Oh, if only I could win the lottery...  

Ten years!

Today I'm celebrating a very significant milestone -- 10 years of being a Carbo fan.  Some of my blog readers may be surprised to learn that I've only really been a fan of Guy since 2008 and not since his playing days.  Believe me, the fact that I missed out on his playing career is one of my biggest regrets.  I think of all the things that have happened in my life since I started following Guy.  Jobs, a relationship, the death of my father.  My admiration for this man has inspired me during the good times and comforted me during the hard times.

I think it speaks to how special Guy is that he's managed to hold my interest for this long.  I've always been a fangirl -- in fact, I jokingly list one of my job titles as "professional fangirl."  Some of the fandoms I've been in haven't lasted ten minutes, let alone ten years.  Carbo's achievements in the sporting world, his kindness to his fans, and his humble personality are a true inspiration.  

So here's to ten years, and many more.  Thank you, Guy, for being you and for continuing to be my hero.  Bless you.

Guy, the condo salesman

I'm signed up for Google alerts for articles related to Carbo.  Most of the time they're hockey articles that mention him in passing, but I found one that came across my e-mail interesting.  Earlier this month, Guy participated in an open house for a Habs-themed condo development in Montreal.  The condos are being built in the shadow of the Bell Centre, and Guy was there to sign autographs and promote the units.  (source)

(image source:  CBC.ca)

I'd certainly buy a condo if Guy was selling it!  Then again, I'd also buy oceanfront property in Colorado if Guy was selling it, so maybe I'm not the best person to ask.