Montreal Canadiens supporters had a few words of encouragement for those in Edmonton who are dreaming of lining a parade route and witnessing their Oilers lift the Stanley Cup: enjoy the trip. The Canadiens, sometimes known as the Habs, were the last team north of the border to win the trophy thirty-one years ago, on Wednesday, June 9, 1993. “The big movie that was opening in theatres was ‘Jurassic Park’ then,” notes NHL.com contributor and historian Dave Stubbs. “I like to joke now saying that dinosaurs were actually roaming the earth the last time a Canadian team won the Cup, and I know that is a bit of a stretch but that is the truth.”
Montreal already had 23 championship banners hanging in the rafters of the Forum, which served as their home ice at the time. However, the Canadiens’ journey to the championship that season, including their victory in the finals versus Los Angeles with Wayne Gretzky as the Kings’ captain, appeared implausible. The squad won 10 extra games in the playoffs, thanks in large part to goaltender Patrick Roy, also known as St-Patrick in Quebec. Gilbert Dionne, the team’s promising left winger, scored 12 points in 20 games. We were just a good group of lads, half French and half English, who were highly coached and trained,” Dionne adds. “We were ready to believe in ourselves.”
When it came time for Dionne to hold the cup during the post-game skate around the ice, he raised it and skated to section 105, where his older brother, Marcel Dionne, an NHL hockey player and Hall of Famer, was watching. “I said ‘we did it’, and I meant that we did it as a family, for our parents,” he continues. “I wanted to let Marcel know that our last name Dionne will be on the cup forever.” Habs captain Guy Carbonneau pushed him to make the most of his time with the cup, but Dionne claims he thought, “Why? I am only 22, and I will win it again.” He never did. A violent brawl broke out after the final game, leaving a scar.