A Dandy Retirement

(There's a game preview of sorts in the previous post, if that's what you're looking for)

Mathieu Dandenault announced his retirement yesterday, finally giving us an answer to the ever-present "What happened to that guy?" question.

In all seriousness, though, I wish him happy trails. I wasn't his biggest fan at first; I didn't really see his impact on the ice and there were some games that I didn't notice him at all. He eventually won me over thanks to the "Get To Know Your Habs" videos, of all things. I don't think I've seen a player have as much fun answering those questions as he has. (Potential exception: Hal Gill and the Randy Johnson answer.) Dandy always seemed to be patient and in good spirits, exactly the kind of guy you'd want on your hockey team. And he was dedicated.

Czechtacular and I were at the Bell Centre for a certain game against Calgary. My eyes were on the ice as Dandy broke his arm, kept playing, and only sought medical attention once he left the ice at the end of that shift. Did I have any idea this had happened? No. There was no suspense, no theatrics. Dandy just kept playing and I found out about the injury the next day. That's dedication.

Dear future Habs: Take a page out of this guy's book. Be nice. Be patient. Try not to break your arm, but if it happens, take it all in stride.