Doug Harvey

Whether the game was rough or fast, his rare talent would let him adapt to all kinds of plays and all kinds of situations. When they were one man short on the ice or towards the end of the game, they would invariably call on Doug Harvey. the crafty defenseman could control the puck at will and would make skillful passes to his teammates without ever losing his calm, even in critical situations.

For Harvey, everything looked easy. He never appeared tense or tired and was without boubt a leader and an undisputed hero with the Canadiens during most of his illustrious career. When Montreal won five consecutive Stanley Cups, from 1956 to 1960, Harvey was one of the main sparkplugs of the team.

Originally from Montreal, Doug decided to become a professional hockey player after having rejected alluring offers from major football and baseball teams. His was a wise choice for himself as well as for the Canadiens. During his thirteen seasons with the Blue, White and Red, Harvey was chosen for the first All-Star team nine times and once for the second All-Star team. He also won the Norris Trophy six times.

Experts could find only one thing wrong with the style of play of this wonderful athlete. He did not shoot often enough, and therefore his highest scoring total for one season was nine goals. Doug gave the following explanation about his low scoring totals: "I would not get any bonus for scoring a certain number of goals during one season; so why not help those who were paid for scoring since they were receiving bonuses." As we know, Harvey would constantly feed his teamates with skillful passes, and he would himself produce slap-shots from the point. Doug was a very intelligent player whose play was subtle and precise.

Hero of the Montreal Canadiens youth, Harvey began not to get along too well with the Canadiens' management when he decided to belong to the National League Players Association. In June 1961, he was traded to the New York Rangers where he bacame player-coach. He managed then to lead the unfortunate Rnagers to the playoffs for the first time in four years. That year, he won the Norris Trophy for the seventh time and was chosen for the NHL All-Star team.

The following year, Doug quit his coaching post, because he hated the responsibilities that came with the job. He kept playing with the Rangers for eighteen months, and used to say: "When I was a coach I could not belong to the players' group and live like they did. I was not one of them. Now I can go for a beer with my teammates without a second thought."

After that, Doug Harvey roamed in the minor leagues and played successively for Baltimore, St. Paul, Quebec, Pittsburgh and Kansas City. He returned to the National League in 1968 wearing the St. Louis Blues' uniform. He even played against his old team, the Canadiens, when the Blues played Montreal in the Stanley Cup final that year.

Even at the age of 45, Harvey stayed with St. Louis during the 1968-69 season and held both jobs of defenseman and assistant-coach. He then became defensive coach for the Los Angeles Kings before definitely retiring and returing home to Montreal.