Canada Dry? Habs seek to end nation's 28-year Cup drought

MONTREAL (AP) — One of hockey’s most iconic shrines still stands at the corner of Atwater and Rue Ste-Catherine, overlooking Cabot Square and amid the Shaughnessy Village’s Victorian grey-stone row houses and Parisian-styled apartment blocks in downtown Montreal.

Aside from a few identifying banners on its black, painted-over walls, there are few remaining hints of the rich history of the Montreal Forum. The building where the Stanley Cup was awarded 15 times — including 12 to the hometown Canadiens — is now home to a multiplex theater.

Tucked inside is Robert Girard's sports memorabilia shop. The Canadiens are back in the Stanley Cup Final for the first time in 28 years yet Girard can't help but wonder whether memories of the Forum are beginning to fade.

“It’s going to be lost somewhere, for sure,” said Girard, whose shop features signed plaques, photos and jerseys. “The old generation will still remember. But the new generation, unfortunately, they won’t be related to the Forum.”

Girard closed his store, switching to online sales once the coronavirus pandemic began. He would have likely done so anyway given how few people visit the Forum.

“Business the way it is, they have to make more money, and that’s why they built the other place,” Girard added. “But it’s never going to be the same.”

The “other place” is Bell Centre that opened in the heart of downtown in 1996 and features all the modern age bells and whistles. Thousands gathered in the arena’s plaza for viewing parties as the Canadiens advanced past Toronto, Winnipeg and Vegas to face defending champion Tampa Bay in the final. The Lightning have a 2-0 lead with Game 3 coming up in Montreal on Friday night.

The Canadiens’ unlikely run — they had the worst record...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Canada-Dry-Habs-seek-to-end-nation-s-28-year-Cup-16288304.php