When people talk about the greatness of the Montreal Canadiens’ history in net, they mention George Vezina, Jacques Plante, Ken Dryden, Patrick Roy, Carey Price, and so many others. All too often, Rogatien Vachon doesn’t even enter the conversation, but the Pallamarole, Quebec, native was no slouch in the Habs net.
Born on September 8, 1945, just days after the end of the Second World War, Vachon joined the Canadiens in 1966-67 and would spend parts of six seasons with the club before requesting a trade. While wearing the Sainte-Flanelle, Vachon had a 108-58-31 record with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .913 save percentage. Those were amazing numbers, and he helped the Canadiens dominate the late ’60s; in three of his six seasons, the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup.
Advertisement
Canadiens Prospect Is Enjoying College Life
Former Canadiens Had A Big Challenge In The Playoffs
Former Canadiens Goaltender Calls It A Career
In the 1968-69 playoffs, he had a 7-1-0 record with 1.42 GAA and a .953 save percentage, but that wasn’t enough to win the Conn Smythe Trophy. He had only played half the games, splitting goaltending duties with Gump Worsley, while defenseman Serge Savard put up 10 points in 14 games and earned the MVP title.
Why did the Canadiens let go of Vachon? Well, in short: because of Ken Dryden. It’s not that the Habs decided to trade Vachon; the player actually asked to be traded, as Dave Stubbs explained in a 2021 article. After Dryden drove the Habs to the Cup in 1971, playing all of the Canadiens’ 20 games, the goaltender knew he needed to move on.
He was traded to the Los Angeles Kings on November 4, 1971, for Denis De Jordy, Dale Hoganson, Noel Price, Doug Robinson, and an option to swap 1975 first-round picks. While none of those players ended up having as great a career as Vachon, it’s hard to lament the trade since the Habs would go on to win another five Stanley Cups with Dryden in net, but it does make you wonder how Montreal would have fared if that had kept Vachon around. He played until the end of the 1981-82 season, while Dryden called it quits after just eight seasons, at the end of the 1978-79 campaign.
Follow Karine on X @KarineHains Bluesky @karinehains.bsky.social and Threads @karinehains.
Bookmark The Hockey News Canadiens’ page for all the news and happenings around the Canadiens.
Join the discussion by signing up to the Canadiens’ roundtable on The Hockey News.
Read the full article here
