Didier Pitre, nicknamed “Cannonball,” was a huge, gentlemanly player who played defence, rover, and forward, and was the first Montreal Canadien player signed in 1909 in the National Hockey Association. Pitre’s career ended in 1923 with the newer NHL, which had formed in 1917.  He skated for awhile on a line with his old friend Jack Laviolette, who had [...]

Although it’s sad for Vancouver Canucks’ fans that their team has never won a Stanley Cup, they just have to remind themselves that someday, somehow, it could happen. Meanwhile, I’ll try to cheer them up by telling them about the time the Canucks’ great-grandfathers, the Vancouver Millionaires, did hoist the big old mug.
 
In 1915, the Millionaires, led by flashy [...]