Famous Moments in September
Mario Lemieux – September 1
1999 – Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) was approved as a owner of the team Pittsburgh Penguins on September 1, 1999. On December 27, 2000, Mario Lemieux made a comeback to the NHL (was retired since 1997) and he became owner and player of the Pittsburgh Penguins.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVPa1zF3h6c
Summit Series – September 2
1972 – Game 1 of Summit Series (Canada, USSR) was held in Montreal on September 2, 1972. The first game of the Summit Series was won by team USSR (Russia) 7-3. For all, this was a big surprise as many expected that Canada (for the first time with professional players from NHL) will easily beat USSR. Canada won this 8-game-series with 4 wins, 1 tie and 3 losses. You can watch the full game on:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z34w_w6pHUg
Martin Straka – September 3
1972 – Martin Straka (Czech Republic) was born on September 3, 1972 in Plzeň, Czech Republic. Martin Straka played 954 games in NHL (mostly for Pittsburgh Penguins and New York Rangers) and scored 257 goals and added 460 assists. He was part of the Czech team in Nagano 1998 (The Tournament of the Century) where he won olympic gold medal along with Jaromír Jágr, Dominik Hašek and others. With Czech team, Martin Straka won gold medal at the IIHF World Ice Hockey Championship in 2005 (Vienna and Innsbruck, Austria). In 2009, Martin Straka bought 70% share in his home town ice hockey team called HC Plzeň 1929. Watch some of Martin Straka’s great goals:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ScGsQ0IjxI
Summit Series – September 4
1972 – Game 2 of Summit Series (Canada, USSR) was held in Toronto on September 4, 1972. Canada made several changes in their roster and the starting goalie was Tony Esposito. Canada was able to win the second game 4-1 over Soviets.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFkOk2Aqh-0
John Ferguson – September 5
1938 – John Ferguson (Montreal Canadiens, Canada), bad guy of Montreal Canadiens, was born on September 5, 1938. He played for Montreal Canadiens from 1963 to 1971 and in his career, he won 5 Stanley Cups. In each of his NHL season, John Ferguson earned at least 100 penalty minutes. Ferguson later became coach and general manager.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzlyRuqjYhc
Gordie Howe – September 9
1965 – Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) announced his retirement on September 9, 1971. Two years later, Gordie Howe was back playing in the WHA and also one last season in the NHL for Hartford Whalers in 1979/80. He was 53 year old at the time and still, he scored 15 goals and added 26 assists in 80 matches.
In the whole NHL career, Howe scored total 801 goals in regular season games and 68 goals in playoff. He won 4 Stanley Cups (1950, 1952, 1954 and 1955), all of them with Detroit. He is nicknamed Mr. Hockey and he is regarded as one of the best players in hockey history. Amazing video with Gordie Howe:
httpvh://youtu.be/oD3fD6VX0uc
Joe Nieuwendyk – September 10
1966 – Joe Nieuwendyk (Canada) was born on September 10, 1966. Nieuwendyk played in the NHL from 1986 to 2007. He won Stanley Cup in the 1988/89 season with Calgary Flames, in the 1998/99 season with Dallas Stars and in the 2002/03 with New Jersey Devils. Joe was part of the gold winning Canada national team at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. In 2011, Joe Nieuwendyk was introduced to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UOsWnWX3OlY
Vancouver and Buffalo – September 11
1969 – Vancouver and Buffalo. On September 11, 1969, the NHL announced that Vancouver Canucks will join the NHL for the season 1970/71 and one team from the list of Atlanta, Baltimore, Buffalo, Cleveland, Kansas City and Washington will also join. Later, Buffalo Sabres was chosen and NHL had 14 teams, in two divisions, for the season 1970/71. Later, Buffalo Sabres won over Vancouver Canucks the first pick in the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft. The pick was clear: Gilbert Perreault.
Börje Salming – September 16
1996 – Börje Salming (Sweden, defenseman) was introduced to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame on September 16, 1996. He spend 17 seasons in the NHL (16 in Toronto Maple Leafs and one in Detroit Red Wings). In +/-, Salming ended his NHL career at +175 (85th place in the whole history, as of 2013). Thanks to him, European players became respected in the NHL. In fact, Salming is the first Swedish player and the second European player in the history named to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame (the first one is Vladislav Tretiak).
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rLBoob7MpSo
Guy Lafleur – September 17
1971 – Guy Lafleur (Montreal Canadiens) made his NHL debut on September 17, 1971 in the Montreal Canadiens’ 7-4 exhibition game win over Bostun Bruins. Lafleur picked up three assists in this game. Guy Lafleur won 5 Stanley Cups with Montreal Canadiens.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMVczlhrp78
Mike Bossy – September 23
1991 – Mike Bossy (New York Islanders) was introduced to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame on September 23, 1991. Mike Bossy is one of the best hockey players in the history of ice hockey. Bossy spend all his career in the New York Islanders and along with Bryan Trottier and Clark Gillies he created line called “The Trio Grande“. Mike Bossy is the best scoring player in the NHL history with 0.762 goals per game! More about him: Mike Bossy at hockey-history.com.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iROGrf6aYjI
Phil Esposito – September 25
1994 – Phil Esposito (Canada) was introduced to the NHL Hockey Hall of Fame on September 25, 1994. Phil Esposito won Stanley Cup in 1970 and 1972 with Boston Bruins. In his career, Phil Esposito scored 717 goals in regular season and 61 goals in playoffs. In 1976, Phil Esposito won Canada Cup with team Canada.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yz8YZxYY82c
Daniel Sedin a Henrik Sedin – September 26
1980 – Daniel Sedin and Henrik Sedin (Sweden) were born on September 26, 1980. These identical twins played whole carreer together. In Sweden, they both played for Modo Hockey and in the NHL, they are both playing for Vancouver Canucks. Back in 1999 in NHL Entry Draft, Vancouver Canucks had 3rd pick and after several transactions Vancouver obtained also 2nd pick. They used it to obtain both twins and allowed them to play in one team together (this seamed to be impossible before the draft). Top moments of Sedin twins:
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D27-KESmD6o