If we talk to you about a Canadiens defender who is skilled and has very good vision of the game, who do you think of? Lane Hutson, obviously. But no.
Let’s instead let Réjean Houle talk about a former teammate, Jean-Claude Tremblay, whose biography was launched Tuesday evening at the Bell Centre.
“He knew how to play defensively and how to support the attack because he was very skilled and he had very good vision of the game. He knew when to go to attack and when to go back to defense.”
Admit that it is still easy to draw links between the former star of the CH and the Nordiques from the time of the World Hockey Association and the young 20-year-old defender.
As an attacker
When Serge Savard talks about the man who amassed 363 points in the NHL and 424 in the WHA, it’s a bit like he’s describing what the future seems to hold for the Canadiens’ nugget.
“He was very mobile, he had good offensive qualities and he was a good passer.”
“You could see that he was a brilliant guy, he was very intelligent with the puck, he skated elegantly, he was quite the hockey player,” adds Yvon Lambert.
It is then difficult not to get carried away by indulging in the game of comparisons.
Best
“I have such a hard time comparing players from different eras,” admits Serge Savard. “Perhaps the only thing we could criticize Jean-Claude for was his speed. He wasn’t a speed merchant, he wasn’t slow, but he was average, whereas Hutson is fast.
“Hutson is smaller than Jean-Claude and he doesn’t handle the stick any better than Jean-Claude otherwise. He had incredible accuracy and that’s what compensated a lot for his lack of speed.”
Where the two players can be compared is in the spectacular aspect that marks their style of play.
“They’re not the same, even if it’s the same result,” Savard said. “Both are spectacular because they make plays that few players are capable of making.”
Eccentric
Yvon Lambert, however, believes that Hutson has a slightly more spectacular side.
“Lane Hutson is more eccentric. I don’t think Jean-Claude was able to retreat like Lane Hutson is able to do. Hutson jumps on his skates, JC, it was big strides like Jean Béliveau.”
Réjean Houle also believes that Jean-Claude Tremblay may not have shown everything he was capable of because he sometimes held back.
“A guy like Jean-Claude would be on the first pair of defenders and he would be on the attacking five. He could bring that spark even though he was very responsible defensively. Having that reading and understanding of the game is something that develops over time.”
Houle also believes that this type of defender who is capable of raising the crowd brings something more to a team and to support his words, he cites a great offensive defender from the 1980s.
“Paul Coffey brought a very special dimension to Edmonton even though there was Wayne Gretzky and other stars.”
