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Canadiens share emotional Ken Dryden tribute video before Kraken game
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- Canadiens share emotional Ken Dryden tribute video before Kraken game
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The post Canadiens share emotional Ken Dryden tribute video before Kraken game appeared first on ClutchPoints .
The Montreal Canadiens opened Bell Centre for the 2025-26 NHL season on Tuesday against the Seattle Kraken . After a 2-1-0 road trip to start the season, they finally made their home debut. The Canadiens remembered Ken Dryden, the legendary goalie who died in September, with an incredible tribute.
The tribute video begins with former Canadiens captain Bob Gainey reading an excerpt from Dryden's famed autobiography "The Game." Widely considered the greatest hockey book ever written, the book follows Dryden as he wrestles with the decision to retire while backstopping the eventual champion 1979 Canadiens.
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"We need teammates and opponents to make us better. We want to do something more important than ourselves." The excerpt read, "We try because it matters to us, we try because it's more fun that way. We practice because we like to be good. We don't quit because it doesn't feel right when we do. We play a game. Not only a game, we dream, we imagine, we hope. Because there's always a way. We are players."
As the passage continued, highlights of Dryden's career with both the Canadiens and the Canadian National Team played on the screen. It ended with clips from his jersey retirement ceremony in 2007. Dryden's 29 remains in the Bell Centre rafters , he is in the Hockey Hall of Fame, and won five Vezina Trophies as top goalie of the season.
Dryden's impact goes far beyond the ice, as he famously obtained a law degree while playing in the NHL. After his playing career, he wrote books, was an analyst for multiple Olympics, including the 1980 Miracle on Ice, worked in the Toronto Maple Leafs' front office, and had a political career.
The Canadiens scored a late goal in the third period to send the game to overtime on Tuesday. They beat the Kraken 5-4 in the extra frame.
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