Nowadays, away days aren’t as fun as they used to be in the NHL.
When teams went on road trips, it was common for them to let loose a little, and that was also the case when teams came to Montreal to play the Canadiens.
In the early 1990s, the St. Louis Blues came there to play, and fans were eager to watch notorious goalscorer Brett Hull playing against Canadiens legendary netminder Patrick Roy.
But Brett Hull didn’t have the best preparations ahead of the game.
When Blues cult hero Kelly Chase was a guest on the Spittin’ Chiclets podcast, he shared an awesome story about what happened the day before the game and how he had to drag Hull out of one of Montreal’s infamous strip clubs.
”[Hull] was scoring all the goals and [Roy] was having one hell of a year,” Chase said. ”We came into town early. We practiced. And what do we do after practice? We go to Chez Parée.”
Hull wasn’t the only one on the team at the strip club that evening, but he was the one sticking around downtown the longest. Chase, a fighting legend, had the task of collecting his teammates and bringing them back to the hotel before curfew.
”I go in there and Hully, he’s in a great mood … Now, the players have left. Now it’s these hangers-on,” Chase said.
”So, finally, I get him to go. He complains the whole way out of the place. Doesn’t say anything to me, pissed off, brushes his teeth, goes to bed.”
It’s a great story, but it gets even better by the fact that Hull scored a hat trick in the first period.
During intermission, instead of celebrating his three goals, Hull was still fed up over Chase’s behavior the night before.
”I’m the last guy off the ice. I’m coming across the old Forum,” Chase said. ”I get to the door. He goes ‘I told you we should’ve stayed. There was no reason to leave. This French guy can’t stop me!’”
