Which Montreal Canadien Wore It Best: #21 New, 11 comments The number 21 has been worn by twenty eight players for the Habs in over a 100 years of history, but only five make it to this list. He joined the team in 1990 and by 1993 became a staple top-four defenceman acting as the power play quarterback for the team, winning the Cup in 1993. Carbonneau was an offensive star in junior hockey, capping off his amateur career with a 182-point season. (Lapointe turned the trick three times during his NHL career, Savard once.). He had an 18-year NHL career, and in the 16 seasons he played for Montreal he scored 87 goals and 371 points in 896 games. 6 of 9 7 of 9 Montreal Canadiens center Tyler Toffoli (73) celebrates a goal with teammate Joel Edmundson (44) against the Ottawa Senators during the third period of … In his time as a Canadien, Higgins scored 84 goals, 151 points in 282 games. He was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1983, three years after his retirement. Even if he wasn’t, it would have been easy to select him as the best. Cournoyer entered the HHOF in 1982 and has been a team ambassador since his retirement in 1979. That son of a bitch Brady Tkachuk—when you first mention someone in a blog, it’s recommended that you use their full name—helped his last-place Ottawa Senators take down the Montreal Canadiens yet again on Tuesday night, scoring two goals and causing one bloodied nose as part of a 5-4 shootout win. tap here to see other videos from our team. He entered the HHOF in 1966. In Damphousse’s seven seasons in Montreal, he scored 184 goals, 498 points in 519 games. That was the moment the Detroit and Colorado Avalanche rivalry was born. We have enabled email notifications—you will now receive an email if you receive a reply to your comment, there is an update to a comment thread you follow or if a user you follow comments. 5 jerseys to the bench to watch the ceremony, which began at 6:30 p.m. “Larry, Serge and I were on the ice for the last three or four minutes of every game – one of us would be on the bench and the other two would be looking like, ‘OK, it’s my turn to change,’ and the three of us would just trade with each other. Now retired, Bouillon is currently working as a player development coach with the Canadiens. Before Gainey, there was no Selke Trophy for top defensive forward. He soon after returned to the NHL, playing three more seasons split between the New York Rangers and Quebec Nordiques. His number 12 was retired on Nov. 12, 2005, in a ceremony prior to playing the rival Toronto Maple Leafs in which Dickie Moore also had his number 12 retired. He hit his stride in year four and never looked back. He was traded in 2016 to Nashville in exchange for Shea Weber, a trade that has divided a fan base and is hotly debated, likely until the end of time. What needs to be said about the first NHL player to ever score 500 goals, or score 50 goals in 50 games? Despite never winning a Stanley Cup, there are fans clamouring for his sweater to be retired. He could never hit his stride and was traded to Minnesota for Pouliot. A fifth-round pick by the Canadiens in 2012, Hudon was an offensive star in the QMJHL. draft. He is best known as a fierce competitor that would do anything to win. He was the starting goaltender for three seasons until the arrival of Patrick Roy. In his six seasons with the Tricolore, he scored 62 goals and 160 points in 324 games. In his eight years with Montreal, he scored 243 goals, 612 points in 617 games. a Nova Scotia native, was drafted by Montreal in the sixth round of the 1980 He was inducted to the HHOF in 1988. He played 27 games before being traded to Toronto in return for Greg Pateryn and a second-round pick. Chelios’ time in Montreal was short compared to the length of his 27-year NHL career and 1,651 NHL games. Fans became enamoured with the Russian winger’s enthusiastic personality and hard-working playing style. He wiped a tear from his eye as the roaring crowd chanted his name, before a wonderful scoreboard tribute showcased his exquisite talent and his sensational practical-joking skills. He had an excellent training camp and preseason. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. pic.twitter.com/tlTJvAy4v5— Canadiens Montréal (@CanadiensMTL) August 15, 2017, August 15, 1986: The Canadiens send goalie Steve Penney to the Jets in exchange for Brian Hayward. The Belorussian native was drafted tenth overall in the 2003 draft by the Canadiens. He led the league in points twice, won the Hart as MVP three times and won three Cups. He played three games for the Canadiens, the only NHL games he would play, in 2015. 4 … In his 13 seasons with the Canadiens, Shutt scored 408 goals and 776 points in 871 games. Radulov arrived in Montreal as a UFA in 2016, assuming a scoring role on the Habs’ top line immediately. The highlight of his career with the Canadiens was Game 2 of the 1993 Stanley Cup Final against the Los Angeles Kings where he scored all three goals in a 3-2 victory, including the power play goal on the infamous Marty McSorley illegal stick call. He won two Norris Trophies, the 1978 Conn Smythe Trophy, and six Stanley Cups. “My dad would have been proud to see it,” Lapointe said, his father having convinced his son to attend a mid-1960s Canadiens training camp just to give his hockey dream a shot. Roy’s 551 NHL wins sits second all-time behind only Martin Brodeur’s 691 as the winningest goaltenders in NHL history. The Thurso, Quebec native was the 1971 first-overall selection – Lafleur had pressure to perform as soon as he arrived in Montreal. However, the highly talented, puck-moving defenceman soon showed the NHL he was for real, establishing himself as a top-pairing defenceman and winning the Norris Trophy in 2013, becoming the first Habs defenceman to win the award since Chelios won in 1989. The best of the latter came when he heavily baby-powdered the back of then-Montreal Mayor Gérard Tremblay in the dressing room before the team’s 2009 centennial game, the mayor working the room for autographs, totally oblivious to the mess he had become as Lapointe’s teammates dissolved in laughter. Players that wore number 6 for the Montreal Canadiens:. He was traded to Dallas early in his second season in return for Micheal Ryder. Despite health concerns that year, Kostitsyn was drafted to become an offensive star for the Habs. His first few seasons were good, but not at the level of expectations. Malakhov arrived in Montreal in 1995 from the Islanders in the trade that also brought in Pierre Turgeon. Upon his retirement in 1975, the team retired his number 16. Drafted to become a productive two-way centerman, Maxwell couldn’t translate his scoring or defensive touch to the NHL. The left winger scored only four goals and six assists before he was traded to Chicago for a pick. He became a permanent fixture in Montreal in the 2007 season, scoring 26 goals. Savard was known for the famous “Savardian spin-orama” at the blue line to create space from his opponents. If you don't see it please check your junk folder. However, his positional play and an unmatched effort and hard work earned him two QMJHL titles and a Memorial Cup. Richard is the younger brother of Canadiens legend, Maurice Richard. Bouillon, a New York state native of Haitian and Quebecois descent, was never drafted. His 393 goals and 922 points in 883 games played proved that it was an effective weapon for him. 19 joining it one year and one day later. He holds the record for most wins as a Canadien, surpassing Jacques Plante’s previous record of 314 wins. Robinson remembered his first training camp with the Habs, being given used shin pads that were probably two sizes too small. In 2000, Malakhov was traded to New Jersey in exchange for Sheldon Souray. We apologize, but this video has failed to load. He arrived as an NHL regular in 1995. During his 20-year NHL career, Henri won 11 Stanley Cups, becoming the only player in hockey history to win that many championships. Ellis is the only player to wear this number. When the Canadiens hired his junior coach Michel Therrien, he brought Bouillion into the professional ranks where he 776 games over 14 seasons with the Habs and Nashville Predators. He deserves to have his jersey retired.”. After that, there was a sharp drop in production. His 271 goals, 476 points in 550 games earned him a position in the first-ever HHOF induction class in 1945. Stewart, a left winger, was a 2004 eighth-round pick of the Canadiens. He arrived with the reputation as a heavy hitter, sometimes putting himself out of defensive position to lay the big hits, which hurt the team at times, but provided fans with some entertaining plays. “I don’t know how much of the game I’ll see, I have so many friends and people who want to see me. The Stanley Cup Champion Canadiens made significant changes to their team, both on the ice and [...] More On October 9, 1971, just months after witnessing the retirement of their longtime captain, the Canadiens bestow the ultimate honor on Jean Béliveau by raising his famed No. He was traded to Nashville where he infamously broke curfew the night before a second-round playoff game, returning to his hotel at 5 A.M. with Alexander Radulov. In 1995, he and then-coach Mario Tremblay had a public feud that came to a head on Dec. 22, 1995, in a game versus Detroit. Once he arrived, he quickly established himself as a quality playmaking center, albeit undersized and lacking in physicality. player gp g a pts +/-pim pp sh gw s pctg; d: 26: jeff petry: 22: 7: 14: 21: 11: 10: 3: 0: 2: 59.119: f: 73 3 of 11 4 of 11 Montreal Canadiens goaltender Carey Price (31) stops Vancouver Canucks center Elias Pettersson (40) during first-period NHL hockey game action Monday, Feb. 1, 2021, in Montreal. In his time so far in Montreal, he has scored 38 goals and 114 points in his first 179 games with the club. He scored 14 goals and 72 points in 380 games with Montreal before being selected by the Vegas Golden Knights in the expansion draft. The winner of the seven Norris Trophies puts him into elite company with Orr and Nicklas Lidstrom and places him in the conversation as one of the greatest defensemen in NHL history. On November 2, 1937, the Canadiens posthumously retire the No. Former Montreal Canadiens defenceman Guy Lapointe and his wife, Louise, look on as his number is raised during a retirement ceremony prior to the Canadiens-Minnesota Wild game in Montreal on Saturday. Originally drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs, he played six seasons with Toronto and the Edmonton Oilers, establishing himself as a top-line offensive center before being traded to Montreal in a blockbuster deal that sent Shayne Corson to Edmonton. The Canadiens’ famed Big Three after Saturday’s ceremony honouring Guy Lapointe. It’s a well-deserved honour. He won four Stanley Cups with the team before being traded in 1977 to the Pittsburgh Penguins in return for 50-goal scorer Pierre Larouche. He played a defensively responsible two-way game that was highly prized He spent three productive seasons with the team before the 2005 lockout, after which, he signed with the Nashville Predators. Morgan Rielly scored at 3:24 of overtime to give the Toronto Maple Leafs a 5-4 win over the Montreal Canadiens on Wednesday night. Before his trade to Chicago Blackhawks in 1990, a trade that Habs fans still argue the merits of, he held the title of co-captain with Carbonneau. A 5-4 shootout loss in Ottawa against the Senators Tuesday night marked the end of the line for Julien, who returned for his second go-round as Montreal… From left: Serge Savard, Lapointe, Larry Robinson. He won two Hart Trophies, three Art Ross Trophies, one Conn Smythe Trophy and five Stanley Cups. Pouliot was an offensive star for the OHL’s Sudbury Wolves, eventually picked fourth overall in 1995 by Minnesota. The Stratford Streak was one of the first offensive stars in NHL history. In his seven seasons with the Habs, he won the 1993 Stanley Cup, scored 22 goals and 90 points in 352 games. The defensively responsible winger is seen as an essential piece for the Canadiens as he has consistently improved his offensive outputs each season while playing increasingly more difficult minutes. Read more about cookies here. His ability to block shots played a big role in the Canadiens’ 2010 playoff run defeating the favorite Penguins and Capitals before losing to the Flyers. It will great to see them reunited on the ice for Guy’s jersey retirement. In his 20 games with the Canadiens, he scored zero points. His excellence in that style was the reason the NHL created the award, which Gainey won four years in a row after its introduction. Shipped with eBay Standard Envelope for Trading Cards up to $20. Sports Quiz / Top 5 Montreal Canadiens who wore #6 (points) Random Sports Quiz Can you name the Top 5 Montreal Canadiens who wore #6 (points)? eval(ez_write_tag([[336,280],'thehockeywriters_com-box-3','ezslot_6',801,'0','0']));Assembling a list of greatest players to ever wear a number is not easy with a franchise as old and as storied as the Montreal Canadiens. In 2009, after an underwhelming few seasons, he was traded to the Canadiens in return for Guillaume Latendresse. Ralph Backstrom 1959 - 1971. A fourth-round pick in 2016 draft, the 5-foot-9 defenceman from the OHL’s London Knights wasn’t expected to make it to the NHL. We encountered an issue signing you up. The first number Richard wore. Before joining the team as a permanent fixture, he won Olympic silver with Team Canada in the 1994 Winter Games. He played only one more season in the NHL before returning to Europe. In a moving ceremony attended by his family, including his son Danny and grandson Blake, who both also played for the Canadiens, his number was hung in the rafters next to that of number seven, Howie Morenz, his father-in-law. He scored 20 or more in his first three seasons, then he was traded to the New York Rangers in the ill-fated Scott Gomez trade. They had the Vancouver Canucks' number especially, but against non-Vancouver teams, the Canadiens had just a 5-5-3 record on the year. Pouliot played two seasons with the Habs, scoring a respectable 28 goals and 54 points in 118 games. His hard-nosed playing style drew plenty of controversies and earned him a reputation as a hated rival. Wiki User Answered 2010-06-06 14:51:19. the number is currently worn by Georges Laraque. League Search Page-> NHL-> 1960-61-> Montreal Canadiens-> Roster & Statistics. He was not a goaltender known for technical perfection, but was known as a fierce competitor. (from ‘Stu Cowan: Former Canadien Greg Pateryn thrilled to get a fresh start in Dallas,’ Montreal Gazette, 03/29/2020). He was inducted to the HHOF in 1993. While he was able to put up 221 goals and 547 points in his 912 games with the Canadiens, he became best known as a stalwart defensive centerman and the winner of three Selke Trophies. History has proven Gainey correct. One incident occurring in the 1996 playoffs where he checked Detroit Red Wings forward Kris Draper from behind, breaking Draper’s jaw. Francis Bouillon (2000-2009) wore it the longest. And as Lapointe wept with happiness, with his wife, Louise, and three grown children and his brother by his side, Pointu was reunited in Montreal’s hockey heavens with Robinson and Serge Savard. He joined the team full-time in 1989 and became a staple on the top pair. Brady Tkachuk (Ottawa Senators) with a Goal vs. Montreal Canadiens, 02/23/2021 What may be most memorable is he was the player used to trade for Dale Weise, who himself was later traded to Chicago for centerman Phillip Danault. Before he left Montreal as a free agent to sign with the Ottawa Senators, fans assembled outside the Bell Center in protest, demanding the team keep Kovalev. Montreal has a long history of great goaltenders and Dryden is near the top of that list. Paul Mara chose number 22. After winning two World Junior Championship Gold Medals and two Memorial Cups, Brisebois was a 1989 selection for the Canadiens. Over 3 million monthly readers now come to THW for their hockey fix. As a six-time Stanley Cup Champion, seven-time Vezina Trophy and 1961 Hart Trophy winner, his illustrious career earned him legend status in Montreal. He played 82 games over parts of four seasons with the Habs and was traded to Dallas in 2017 for Jordie Benn just days after Pateryn’s spouse made derogatory posts on social media about Francophones. We ask you to keep your comments relevant and respectful. He becomes the first player in franchise history to be honored by the club in such a way. As well as being a playoff producer, he helped the Habs make deep playoff runs in every season he played in Montreal, including a Stanley Cup Final in 1989 and a Cup championship in 1986. A 4 time Stanley Cup winner with the Montreal Canadiens, Olmstead was later acquired by the Maple Leafs and added a 5th cup ring. Maxwell was drafted out of the WHL by the Canadiens in the second round of the 2006 draft. Visit our Community Guidelines for more information and details on how to adjust your email settings. A 1991 second-round pick for Montreal, Darby never was able to reach his potential as a two-way center in the NHL. Projected to be a sniper at the professional level, the hope was for Dionne to add scoring punch to the Canadiens’ lineup. by his coaches. A member of the famed Team Canada 1972 Summit Series team, he scored 428 goals and 863 points in 968 NHL games played. In his seven seasons in Montreal, he scored 43 goals, 179 points in 405 games played. For today’s Habs fans, picture Andrew Shaw only with more skill. © 2021 Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. All rights reserved. A 2013 second-round pick, Lehkonen spent time developing in Finland before jumping the pond and joining the Habs in 2016. His NHL career final would total 894 games, with 171 goals and 451 assists. In 2019, Carbonneau was inducted into the HHOF. He was traded to the Vegas Golden Knights in exchange for Tomas Tatar, Nick Suzuki and a pick. Olmstead was inducted into the hockey hall of … Acquired in a trade with the Philadelphia Flyers, Daigneault was brought in to provide strong positional defensive play. He scored 235 goals, 529 points in 577 games. Get the latest Montreal Canadiens news, rumors, scores and highlights from Yardbarker, your source for the best Montreal Canadiens content on the web. “The only one who had every worn that, other than myself, was the Rocket (Maurice Richard). His best season with the team was in 2006-07 when he scored 26 goals and 64 points. Sign up to receive daily headline news from the Montreal Gazette, a division of Postmedia Network Inc. A welcome email is on its way. He followed in his brother’s footsteps and became captain of the Habs for four seasons. To mark that bond, the number seven was lowered halfway so that both men could join each other in the rafters.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'thehockeywriters_com-banner-1','ezslot_4',805,'0','0'])); Toe Blake has had a major impact on the Canadiens as a coach, winning eight Cups in 13 seasons in that role. The Canadiens acquired the former Calder Trophy winner to add a top center who could lead a young, rebuilding team. Unfairly maligned by fans, he was mockingly nicknamed “Breezeby” for having a penchant of being beaten wide by attacking forwards and not living up to his multi-million dollar paycheck. He played only 115 games over five seasons with the Canadiens. His time in Montreal came to an end in 2006 when he lost the starter’s job to Cristobal Huet and was traded to Colorado for David Aebischer. The man is beyond a legend – he was an icon, not just in hockey, but in Quebec culture. This obscure number was previously worn by two different players. The man in the spotlight had literally been losing sleep in the days leading up to the ceremony, almost overwhelmed by the fact his name would rise into Bell Centre rafters alongside Robinson and Savard. McPhee, His other distinction is that he was the first captain of the Florida Panthers, a role he held for four seasons. That second was later traded to Chicago in return for Robert Lang. Brian Gionta took number … Savard spoke of pranking the rookie Lapointe, telling him that goalie Gump Worsley, who didn’t wear a mask, liked to practice with his catching glove, thus needing high shots. Halak was a ninth-round pick of the Canadiens in 2003. Lapointe did as instructed, only to find the enraged Worsley chasing him around the ice when he nearly took the goalie’s head off with a shot. Now retired, he is the director of player development for Toronto. The only player to wear this number is Carey Price’s brother-in-law, Yannick Weber. In his seven seasons with the team, he scored 99 goals and 201 points in 379 games. Pateryn is the only player to ever wear this number. “Le Gros Bill” is looked to as the epitome of class and style for all of … “I had to check my shorts to make sure there was no hot stuff in them, I had to change my laces every morning because he cut my laces, one night, I go to drive off after practice and I turn my windshield wipers on and they were full of Vaseline so I had to stop at the gas station to clean them off. Latendresse was a second-round pick of the Habs. The behemoth 6-foot-7, 245 pound defenceman was not known for being fleet of foot, he was however quite effective at keeping forwards outside the slot and killing penalties. Pacioretty earned the 2012 Masterton after returning the following season and scoring 33 goals. After another disastrous specials-teams failure in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday, the Canadiens have the worst expected-goals-for percentage away from 5-vs-5 … Acquired in a late-season trade, Nestorov only wore this sweater for 13 games. In his three seasons in Montreal, he played 198 games, scoring 5 goals and 28 points. Nilan was a 19th-round selection in the 1978 draft for the Canadiens. He played two seasons in the Canadiens organization, mostly with the AHL affiliate. During his time in Montreal “Big Bird” played a physical, two-way game that earned him a reputation as a feared competitor. In parts of five seasons with the Canadiens, Dionne scored 60 goals and 130 points in 196 games and winning the one thing his brother Marcel couldn’t – a Stanley Cup with the 1993 Canadiens. 1, Jacques Plante, retired Oct. 7, 1995. Robinson, the 1971 second-round selection, joined the Canadiens full-time in 1973. Koivu is also the source of one of the most iconic moments for the Canadiens in the 21st Century. On Tuesday, Lapointe sat for an hour at the old Montreal Forum, eight blocks to the northwest of the Bell Centre, and tried to wrap his mind around being immortalized with the team’s all-time greats. He won four Stanley Cups but was best known as the first Quebec-born captain of the Canadiens. In 1986, Penney suffered a season-ending injury that allowed Roy to take over and lead the Habs to the 1986 Cup. The Canadiens and Roy mended their feud when they brought him home to retire his number 33 on Oct. 28, 2008. He was also instrumental in the 1993 Cup championship, scoring 23 points in 20 games during their surprise run to the title. In 2010, he became a cult icon in Montreal as he led the underdog team into the Eastern Conference Final that year, beating powerhouse teams such as the Pittsburgh Penguins and Washington Capitals. The former 2013 third-overall pick was acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Lightning in return for defenceman Mikhail Sergachev. The Minnesota Wild, for whom Lapointe has been director of amateur scouting since 1999, came to their bench, too, in a sign of respect. Shaw, a gritty forward who could play any role up and down the lineup, arrived to the team with the pedigree of a two-time Cup champion with Chicago. eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'thehockeywriters_com-leader-1','ezslot_7',807,'0','0']));eval(ez_write_tag([[250,250],'thehockeywriters_com-leader-1','ezslot_8',807,'0','1'])); .leader-1-multi-807{border:none !important;display:block !important;float:none;line-height:0px;margin-bottom:15px !important;margin-left:0px !important;margin-right:0px !important;margin-top:15px !important;min-height:250px;min-width:250px;text-align:center !important;}. He becomes the first player in franchise history to be honored by the club in such a way. As a member of Team Canada in the 1976 and 1981 Canada Cups, his play was so technically sound that the Soviet coach at the time, Viktor Tikhonov described him as the world’s best technical player. He matched his career high in points his second season, but injuries and consistency issues continue to leave doubt for fans. “After that, it was downhill,” Robinson said, laughing. In his 53 games with the team, he scored 4 goals and 12 points. His jersey was retired immediately after he retired as a player in 1971 and was inducted to the Hockey Hall of Fame one year later. In 2005, somewhat ironically considering his offensive output in junior hockey, the QMJHL created the Guy Carbonneau Trophy to be awarded annually to the top defensive forward in the league. I’m happy for him. The Canadiens all wore No. His number was retired on Dec. 4, 2009, as part of the Canadiens’ Centennial ceremony. That was the first good thing he ever did for me. Robidas was a seveth-round pick in 1995. In his eight NHL seasons, all with Montreal, he played 397 games and won five Vezina Trophies and six Stanley Cups. Price has become a premier goaltender, having won at the AHL, World Juniors and Olympic levels. During the 1970s, he formed part of the famed “Big 3” with future HHOF players Larry Robinson and Guy Lapointe. He was traded to the St. Louis Blues for a second-round pick that would later become Patrice Brisebois. This is kind of cheating the system because Gallagher only wore this number in his rookie season before switching over to number 11, yet he is still the better player to have worn this number over the only other one, Micheal Ryder. In the NHL, he’s won a Vezina, a Hart, a Ted Lindsay and a Jennings Trophy. In his only season with the team, Radulov scored 18 goals and 54 points in 76 games. He plays every shift giving his entire effort possible, which has made him the heart and soul and fan-favorite of the Canadiens. Arriving in 1999, he played three seasons scoring 34 goals and 71 points in 170 games. And David Desharnais (2012-2017) wore it for 5 seasons. In his eight seasons with Montreal, Skrudland scored 78 goals and 217 points in 475 games. He won two Stanley Cups with Montreal and one with the Dallas Stars at the end of his playing career. Diaz, an undrafted UFA and 5-foot-11, right-handed defenceman isn’t a household name – he only played 128 games in Montreal out of a 201-game NHL career. 5 Canadiens banner having just been hung in the arena bowl, Robinson moved with gentle mischief. Smith arrived in Montreal in Oct. 1983 in a trade with the Minnesota North Stars in return for Mark Napier and Ken Hodge. GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM At the time he was still considered a quality playmaking center providing a 59-point season in his first with the team. His 314 career wins had him at the top of the wins list in franchise history for half of a century and also helped have his number retired and placed him into the Hockey Hall of Fame (HHOF).eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'thehockeywriters_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_3',802,'0','0'])); Before his induction into the HHOF, before his number two was hung in the rafters of the old Montreal Forum, before Bobby Orr, Harvey was known as the most mobile defender to have ever played the game. Drafted by the Canadiens in the third round of the 1992 draft, Rivet was seen as a future physical, stay-at-home defenceman who can play in a top-four role. 5 jerseys to the bench to watch the ceremony, which began at 6:30 p.m. He was the original offensive defenceman – his style of activating into the rush and using crisp passes on the fly to generate offense was highly criticized yet revolutionized the position.