Carbo's draft day

In the last post, I mentioned how I attended the 2008 NHL Draft in Ottawa.  This post is about Carbo's own draft day.

Guy was drafted on August 9, 1979 at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal.  In his previous junior year, his third with the Chicoutimi Sagueneens, he notched 141 points.  The Montreal Canadiens sat up and took notice.

Carbo was actually on a golf course in Chicoutimi when he was called.  He remembers in the 2008 Hockey Night in Canada book My Greatest Day:

"When they called me on the golf course and told me that I was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens, that made my day.  I think it was [Habs director of player development] Claude Ruel who called.  I had heard rumours that I might end up in Montreal.  I had a few calls beforehand.  I had somebody from Montreal call and ask me if they drafted me would I be interested.

I remember that I was kind of anxious that day, but when the call came, believe me, I was happy.  Obviously, being French and growing up in Quebec [Sept-Iles], Montreal was the team I watched all the time.  So it was a big day for me.

I finished the game after the call -- with a big smile on my face.  I spent the night with my friends and we had, well, a couple of beers."

Carbo in his junior days.  He was selected in the third round of the draft, 44th overall.

Some other facts about the 1979 NHL Draft:  Rob Ramage was the number one pick that year, drafted by Colorado.  Also in the class were Kevin Lowe, Dale Hunter, Ray Bourque, Lindy Ruff, and the late Detroit Red Wings assistant coach Brad McCrimmon, who perished in the Lokomotiv Yaroslavl crash.  23 players from that class became Stanley Cup Champions -- of course, Guy was one of them.  

My moment with Selke

In 2008, I was lucky enough to get to attend the NHL Draft here in Ottawa.  All the NHL trophies were on display in the concourse and of course, being the Carbo fan that I am, there was only one that I was really interested in seeing.

The Frank J. Selke Trophy, awarded yearly to the best defensive forward in the NHL (which Guy won three times; in 1988, 1989, and 1992).

Here's a close-up of Guy's name on the trophy (twice!)

Carbo cookie!

I just remembered that a few Christmases ago, my dear boyfriend Erik made this:

Carbo, in cookie form -- complete with lucky tie.  He was then promptly devoured by said boyfriend, who noted later that Guy makes a good breakfast.

Revisiting the lucky tie

In 2007-08, Guy's second season as Canadiens head coach, the Habs finished first in the Eastern Conference with 104 points; the team hadn't had that kind of showing since the days when he was captain.  Carbo was nominated for the Jack Adams Award as top NHL head coach; he finished second in the voting to the Washington Capitals' Bruce Boudreau.

That spring, Guy's wife Line gave him a Hermes tie, purchased in Dallas, for his 48th birthday.  Many Habs partisans considered it ugly; it had a wild psychedelic pattern.  But more importantly, they believed it brought the team luck.  By the first round of the playoffs against Boston, Guy was 3-0 in the tie (and wore it the night Montreal eliminated Boston in the seventh game of the series).

Said Carbo at the time:

"It's certainly been building up, but it's more fun than anything.  Am I superstitious?  Yes, a little.  I think we all are.  As the playoffs go on,  you become more superstitious.  All the little things become more important, not only individually, but with the team as well."  (Canadian Press, April 24, 2008)

The city of Montreal went crazy for Guy's lucky tie.  Le Journal de Montreal published a paper cutout of the tie for fans to wear; they also held a contest for readers of the newspaper to win an identical Hermes tie.  I recall that several of the ties sold on eBay at the time for an average of three hundred dollars, well over the tie's suggested retail price of $250.  The tie was out of stock at the Hermes store in Montreal.  A Facebook group was started for the tie; at the time of the Canadian Press article quoted above, it had over 6,000 members.  

The tie cutout from Le Journal de Montreal.

Eventually, the tie ran out of luck in the second round against Philadelphia.  In August 2008, Carbo put the tie up for auction at the Canadiens' annual golf tournament.  Metal dealer Herbert Black paid $100,000 for the multi-coloured piece of silk.  But, when Guy became involved in the first season of the TVA hockey reality series La Serie Montreal-Quebec, he borrowed the tie back from its new owner.

(photo credit:  Facebook)

My grail.

Of course I collect Carbo memorabilia, and have for the past four years.  There's not a whole lot of stuff anymore that I don't have -- some things, like my Kraft Drawings poster and Nescafe mug, I've waited the whole four years to obtain.

My holy grail is a Carbo game-worn jersey -- but being unemployed, as I currently am, leaves that particular item elusive to me.  (Which has been quite frustrating at times.)  I find the subject of game-worn memorabilia fascinating.  What better than a piece of history that your favorite player actually wore on the ice?  The puck marks, stick slashes, and board burns are evidence of that player's drive and passion to play hockey.

I would treasure any Carbonneau gamer, but if I had my choice, it would have to be one like this:

This 1995-96 home Dallas jersey sold in a Lelands auction in 2001.  What I find annoying about discovering this item is that had I been a Carbo fan at the time, I had a job then and the means to bid.  Argh!  Anyway, I digress.  

A close friend, who herself is the biggest fan of the goaltender Manny Legace, noted to me that it's interesting how we place different meanings on certain periods in our favorite players' careers.  For me, I value Carbo's years in Dallas most.  Why?  Because in 1994, he was abruptly traded from the Canadiens, a move that I can only imagine caused great upheaval for his family, as well as nearly convincing him to retire.  Guy played for a year in St. Louis -- a season that was shortened by a lockout -- before being placed in a waiver draft in October 1995.  On the eve of the 1995-96 season, Bob Bassen was injured, the Stars needed a center, and general manager Bob Gainey traded for his former linemate.

Which led to five more years of hockey, and another Stanley Cup.  Imagine if Guy had never gone to Dallas -- his daughter Anne-Marie certainly would never have met Brenden Morrow, a union that has blessed the Carbonneaus with three grandchildren.  It's funny how things work out.  Some things are just meant to be, I guess.

To this day, Carbo is one of the most beloved Dallas Stars alumni.  After his retirement in June 2000, fans so strongly wanted his #21 to be retired that the Stars placed a moratorium on the number being worn the following year.  I personally noted that when the Stars asked their fans on their official Facebook page who was their favorite Stars alumnus, many named Guy.  It is that drive, that passion, as well as the way Carbo always conducted himself off the ice -- always a gentleman -- that makes him so loved and admired.

The jersey pictured here is my favorite style worn by Dallas.  The jerseys worn by that team in the '90s were simply beautiful.  But it is for a bigger reason that if I had my pick and the cash to spend, a Dallas jersey would be my Carbo gamer.

Artwork

Tonight's blog post features artwork, courtesy of Carbo webmaster extraordinaire Diane Lau.

This is a drawing of Guy that Diane did in 1998.  For Mother's Day 1999, her daughter Katie did a montage drawing of Carbo and gave it to Diane as a gift!  Here it is:

Thanks, ladies!

I used to draw but have not done so in a long time.  That thing called life has gotten in the way.  However, I have a small piece of Carbo artwork of my own, humble as it is.

Tattoos are considered artwork, right?  I had this done in 2010.  This photo was taken shortly after the tattoo was finished, which is why it looks a little angry.

another funny, courtesy of Guy himself

If I may be a puckbunny for a moment, this is just cute.

Apparently our hero is finding the time on RDS a little long.  This was posted on YouTube by three different people.  Moral of the story:  don't get caught yawning on RDS, or it'll wind up on the Internet for posterity.