Montreal Mystique Interviews Irving Grundman

“Sam Pollock thought differently from you and me.”

Irving Grundman would have known.  Appointed Forum President in 1971, Grundman lunched with the enigmatic, low-profile and magnificently successful Canadiens GM for nearly ten years.

Pollock was that rare hockey savant who combined shrewdness, humility and, yes, a different way of thinking in winning the Stanley Cup nine times in fourteen years.

In 1978, Irving Grundman was named successor to Pollock as general manager.  To this day, his appointment has been criticized.

“By the time Grundman took over … advantages enjoyed by the Canadiens had been stripped from them: No more truckloads of first-round draft choices from have-not teams desperate for expendable mediocrities just to stay alive … no more Pollock acolytes situated in key positions throughout the league.”

Grundman was left a mess of pottage by Sam Pollock, his predecessor, and he carried his burden with unflagging dignity.  “I’m indebted to Sam Pollock for his knowledge and experience.”  - Tim Burke, Montreal Gazette

I gave it 100 percent and the only time I slept better than two nights ago was last night … I don’t think the fans or the media had anything to do with me going.  It was a (Molson’s) boardroom decision which never has anything to do with what the people feel.” – Irving Grundman following his dismissal in April 1983

The rap against fifty-year-old Irving Grundman, Pollock’s successor, is that he is not a hockey man, he lacks fraternity credentials, but neither did he inherit the team with his daddy’s portfolio.  The taciturn, driving Grundman is a butcher’s boy, and when he was a kid he was up at 5:00 a.m. to pluck chickens in his father’s shop on the Main.  He became a city councillor and went on to build a bowling empire, hooking up with the Bronfman brothers, who shrewdly took him to the Forum with them.  “When I came here eight years ago it wasn’t with the intention of having Sam’s job.  But once I got here I took a crash course with him.  Five hours a day every day.  He recommended me for the job.  Now I’m in a no-win situation.  If things go well, I did it with Sam’s team.  If not, it’s my fault.  However, we’ve already won one Stanley Cup, so I’m ahead of the game.” – Mordecai Richler

“I was very surprised the decision was made so quickly and involved so many people.  I feel they should have kept Irving Grundman, who’s a good businessman.  They should have kept him somewhere in the organization.  The error that was made when they named him general manager was that they didn’t put knowledgeable hockey man beside him.” – Guy Lafleur

The Canadiens would win the Stanley Cup in Grundman’s first season in 1978 while Grundman draft picks were significant in the team’s two Stanley Cup appearances in the eighties.  Eight appeared in a 1986 win over Calgary Flames and seven in the 1989 loss to the same Flames.

Those players would be important in Montreal’s ongoing regular season dominance of the eighties.  From 79-80 through 88-89, Montreal teams amassed 983 points, third only to Philadelphia and Edmonton.

Grundman’s 0.665 winning percentage is the best first five seasons of any Canadiens GM including and since Frank Selke’s appointment in 1946.

In February of 2012, Montreal Mystique interviewed Irving Grundman.  The 84-year old remains erudite, precise and passionate.  He remains active with Laurentian Lanes, the family’s bowling business and volunteers two days a week with the Jewish General Hospital.  He still watches the Canadiens and hopes better for the team.