THANKS for stopping by, I do my best to acknowledge when someone leaves a comment,you do not have to be a member here & everyone is welcome. Ps: This site is monitored but not actively posting on a regular basis. Mostly these are stories & some photos saved from a defunct site known as Verdun Connections which was on MSN Groups initially then on a social network called Multiply.
The passenger ferry between Verdun and Ile-des-Soeurs is back in operation, from 10am to 6pm thursday to sunday, near the Crescendo restaurant on the Verdun side and near the Archambault park on the Ile-des-Soeurs side.
Guy
Photo Le Messager http://www.messagerverdun.com
Approval has been given for the establishement of a microbrewery (microbrasserie) in the former Bank of Montreal building at 4026 Wellington street where beer will be brewed and served but will not be bottled.The full article by Pierre Lussier can be read on the Messager site:
http://www.messagerverdun.com/
Guy
Former Sabres great Rick Martin dies
CBC News
Rick Martin, the first 50-goal scorer for the Buffalo Sabres and a member of their famed French Connection line, died Sunday.
Martin, who was 59, suffered a heart attack while driving in western New York state, according to numerous local media reports.
He was an NHL star in the 1970s with 384 goals and 317 assists for 701 points in 685 games, all but a handful with the Sabres.
During that time, Martin combined with fellow French Canadians Gilbert Perreault and René Robert to give Buffalo the top line in the league for a time, and they helped lead the Sabres to the 1975 Stanley Cup final in just their fifth year of existence.
Martin is survived by a wife and two children.
Born in Verdun, Que., Martin starred with the Montreal Junior Canadiens and was selected fifth overall by Buffalo general manager Punch Imlach in the 1971 NHL amateur draft. The Sabres claimed longtime contributors Craig Ramsay and Bill Hajt in the later rounds of that draft.
Martin was such a precocious talent that after a 44-goal rookie season with Buffalo, he was part of the Canadian contingent selected for the Summit Series against the Soviet Union. Although he never played in the famous 1972 series, he did score three times for his country in its triumphant Canada Cup win four years later.
Martin scored 52 goals in consecutive seasons for Buffalo, including in 1974-75, when he contributed seven goals and eight assists in 17 playoff games as the Sabres eventually lost in six games to Philadelphia in the Stanley Cup final.
Perreault and Martin were former teammates in junior hockey with the Junior Canadiens, but the pair had a spat in 1975-76, leading coach Floyd Smith to break up the line for a while.
The French Connection was done for good after 1978-79, when Robert moved on to the Colorado Rockies.
Martin was mostly healthy through nine NHL seasons, but his body began to betray him. He was traded to Los Angeles but played just four games with the Kings and was finished in the NHL before his 31st birthday.
There was acrimony for several years with the Sabres, as Martin, the team and insurance companies were entangled in several lawsuits. Martin claimed he was given an improper diagnosis for a knee injury by the team doctor, and that he was pressured by Scotty Bowman and others to return to the lineup too soon after the injury, leading to a premature end to his career.
Martin won an undisclosed amount in 1994 against the estate of the late team doctor.
He settled in the Buffalo area and had business interests in the community. In recent weeks, Martin joined Perreault, Robert and other former Sabres to help welcome new owner Terry Pegula.
Richard Martin
Born: July 26, 1951
Verdun, Quebec
The new refrigerated Willibrord skating rink financed by the Canadiens hockey club, now owned mainly by the Molson family, was inaugurated a couple of weeks ago and one of our members (SHGV) Gilbert, brought his camera and took these pictures. Many of the top brass of the Canadien hockey club including some Canadien hockey players attended the celebration as well as some special needs youngsters. As I previoulsly reported, three of these rinks where installed in various sections of Montreal and the Molsons deserve a big hand for their charitable donation. I will try to get a list of those VIPs present.Here are some of the photos Gilbert took:
Here are the names of the VIPs present:
Players:
No. 31, Normand Baron, former player and his father François and his son Sun. Normand is a personal friend of Gilbert, one of our members (SHGV) who took the photos.
No. 75 Hal Gill.
No. 45, Alexandre Picard.
No. 52, Mathieu Darche.
No. 57, Benoit Pouliot.
Administrators:
Geoff Molson, Owner of the Canadien.
Pierre Boivin, President of the Canadien.
Réjean Houle, President of the old Canadien players,
Verdun Mayor Trudel with all HIS city councillors.
Provincial Deputy Gautrin and his wife.
This is a new residential project wich started on the 13th of january called EVOLO condominiums situated on the north side of Nun's Island.
The cost of the units vary between $249,000 and $1.6 million consisting of 253 appartments in a 30 floor building, the highest ever built on the island, in case you are interested.
More details at www.evolo.ca
Guy
