According
to the Internet
Hockey Database, the Providence Reds spent their first decade of operation in
the Canadian-American League. For half of that time, they partnered with the
Habs as their first parent club.
That
alliance lasted from 1928-29 to 1932-33 and featured a pair of Fontaine Cups
titles (1930 and 1932) for Providence. Montreal concomitantly stamped
back-to-back Stanley Cup titles in 1930 and 1931.
In
their 41 years
under the AHL heading, the Reds variously served as the primary feeder base
of seven NHL and WHA franchises. The Blueshirts served as their major-league
affiliate for two stints: 1955-58 and 1971-76. The first season of that first
stint witnessed the Divine City’s last professional playoff hockey title until
the P-Bruins nabbed the 1999 Calder Cup.
In
addition, the Rangers’ current Triple-A club in Hartford is a distant reincarnation
of the Reds. The franchise in question spent two decades in Binghamton, N.Y. as
the Dusters, Whalers and Rangers until transferring to Connecticut in 1997.
While
Bruins buffs lick their wounds and the current Canadiens and Rangers prepare to
lock twigs, there is a way to service the fans of all three franchises at once.
On that note, here is a look back on the latter two franchise’s historic connections
to Providence. (Note: Only those who played for both Providence and the parent
club when the affiliations were active are eligible for mention.)
5 Key
Reds-Canadiens Connections
Gerald Carson, D: Carson’s first
NHL season in 1928-29 saw him transfer via trade from the Rangers to the
Canadiens. The next year, he spent a six-game conditioning stint in Providence,
but otherwise remained north of the border. As it happened, both the Reds and
the Habs won their respective playoff titles that spring.
Carson
spent the entire 1930-31 and 1931-32 seasons in the Ocean State, winning a
Fontaine Cup in the latter year before permanently returning to The Show. He
dressed for every game with the Canadiens in each of the three campaigns from
1932 to 1935, then tacked on a 42-game ride with the intramural rival Maroons
in 1936-37.
Johnny Gagnon, RW: Gagnon’s final
CAHL season yielded 20 goals and the 1930 Fontaine Cup. In each of the next two
seasons, he placed second on Montreal’s goal-scoring leaderboard only to Howie
Morenz. As a rookie, he added six goals and eight points in 10 playoff games to
help the 1931 Canadiens repeat as champions.
Gagnon
later topped Montreal’s charts with 20-16-36 scoring totals in 1936-37. His
final NHL transcript reads 454 games and a 120-141-261 production log.
Art Giroux, RW: To cap off his
second full season in Providence, Giroux co-led the team with a 3-1-4 playoff
scoring log en route to the 1932 Fontaine Cup. The next season, he broke in
with the Canadiens, seeing action in 40 of his eventual 54 NHL games.
Wildor
Larochelle, RW:
A decade-plus with the Habs (1925-35) sandwiched a 39-game stay in Rhode Island
during the first year of the affiliation. Larochelle pitched in eight goals and
12 points, then returned to Montreal for six-plus additional seasons.
Following
his refinement with the Reds, he cracked double digits in the goal column four
times and partook in the 1930 and 1931 Stanley Cup. The Canadiens ultimately
dealt him to the Blackhawks early in the 1935-36 campaign.
Armand Mondou,
LW:
In a 14-year playing career (1926 to 1940), Mondou made only three cities his
place of employment. Leading up to and whilst logging 385 games and two Stanley
Cup rings with Montreal, he saw multiple minor-league stints in Providence and
New Haven.
5 Key
Reds-Rangers Connections
Johnny Bower, G: Before he
built his “China Wall” persona in Toronto, Bower was on the Providence-New York
shuttle. Between 1954 and 1957, he scraped the blue paint for the Rangers 77
times, the Reds 118. That does not even count his 14 playoff appearances,
including nine for the Reds’ last Calder Cup run in 1956.
Camille Henry, LW: In his lone
full-length AHL season, Henry led the Calder Cup-winning Reds with 50
regular-season and 10 playoff goals. He buried another 31 strikes in 29 games
before earning a permanent promotion to Manhattan.
For
the next eight-and-a-half seasons, leading up to a 1965 trade to Chicago, Henry
donned nothing but Blueshirt attire, thrice leading the team in goals. His final
NHL totals: 727 games played, 279 goals, 249 assists and 528 points.
Dave Maloney, D: Maloney
stepped into the pros months after the Rangers drafted him 14th overall in
1974. He mustered four NHL appearances in his rookie season, otherwise devoting
58 games to Providence. He subsequently averaged an assist per game in six
contests in the 1975 Calder Cup playoffs.
After
another 26 AHL twirls in 1975-76, the two-way blueliner became a permanent
NHLer for the 10-year balance of his career. His plus-18 rating topped the team
chart in 1977-78 and his career-high plus-24 rating led all Blueshirt skaters
in 1980-81.
Rick Middleton,
RW:
Bruins buffs knew him as “Nifty” by the time Middleton had finished his career
with a prolific 12-year ride in Boston. But he spent his first three
professional seasons in New York’s organization, devoting his first to minor-league
development in 1973-74.
All
he did that year was endear himself to a more selective sector of New England
puckheads with a team-leading 36-48-84 scoring log in 63 games. He followed
that with a point-per-game average (9-6-15) in the 1974 playoffs, co-piloting
the Reds to their last Calder Cup Final, where they lost to Hershey in five.
On
the heels of that output, Middleton collected the AHL’s top rookie laurel,
broke in with the Rangers the next fall and never looked back. His first 90 of
988 points in The Show benefitted the Blueshirts.
Gump Worsley, G: With two
exceptions, the colorful Hall of Fame netminder was consistently in The Show
with New York from 1954 to 1963. The first of those exceptions was a 25-game
stint with the Reds during the 1957-58 season.
