Tom Pyatt began the NHL season as spare change with the Montreal Canadiens organization, a body filling a hole with the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs, an emergency replacement.
But by the time the team’s magical playoff run ended in the Eastern Conference semifinal, Pyatt was front-and-centre in the team’s game-plan, an invaluable cog in a well-oiled machine that briefly awoke the ghosts of championships past.
It’s hard to believe that just seven months ago, Pyatt, the younger brother of Phoenix grinder Taylor Pyatt, had yet to dress for an NHL game.
“It’s been an exciting time for me and the whole family,” Pyatt said late last week at a charity golf tournament held in the Thunder Bay area. “It was exciting for me to get that first call-up in November. And the second call-up I got a goal the first time and stuck up ever since. It was an amazing season.”
Drafted by the New York Rangers in 2005, Pyatt bounced around the minors for a couple of seasons before being dealt last summer to Montreal alongside Scott Gomez.
He played sparingly during his first stint with the Canadiens in 2009-10, a 19-game affair that began Nov. 5 against the Boston Bruins and ended abruptly after he posted no points and a minus nine rating.
Recalled in February, he scored a goal and added an assist in his first game back against Washington, the No. 1 team in the conference and one he’d become much more familiar with come April.
He had two assists against the Bruins immediately following the Olympic break, and finished his rookie campaign with two goals and three assists in 40 games.
The eighth-seeded Habs weren’t given much chance of success in the postseason, facing Alexander Ovechkin and the Capitals in the first round.
But after falling behind three games to one in the series, they stormed back to win Game 7, then knocked off the defending champion Pittsburgh Penguins in Round 2 to reach their first conference final since Montreal last won the Stanley Cup in 1993.
Midnight struck against the Philadelphia Flyers, but it was a run to be proud of, Pyatt said, fondly recalling his first NHL playoffs.
“That was unbelievable. We started winning games and surprising a lot of people. We beat a great team like Washington. Our confidence just grew and we beat Pittsburgh and it was pretty special,” he said.
Pyatt had a goal and an assist in Game 4 of the Penguins series, a 3-2 Montreal win that knotted the series at 2-2, and matched those totals in Game 3 against the Flyers, the lone game the Canadiens would win in the series.
He was named the game’s third star for his efforts.
He’s not resting on his laurels though, knowing he still has something to prove to the Montreal brass.
“I’ve still got to make the team. My contract is up and I hope to get a deal done within the next month. That’s the team I want to play for. So I’ll work hard this summer and I’ll make some gains next year.”