On This Day in Hockey: 1994

August 30, 1994
The Montreal Canadiens named Kirk Muller as their new team captain. He became the 20th player in team history to wear the 'C' for the Canadiens.

This may seem like a boring event that Eric Zwieg had to come up with just to fill in the summer dates in his book, but there is an interesting story behind it. Kirk Muller was the heart and soul for the New Jersey Devils in the 80s, serving as captain there as well, but when he was traded to Montreal in 1991, he became a fan favourite in Montreal. O-Pee Chee thought he represented the franchise enough that they made him one of the Canadiens' cover players for the OPC Premier '92 line.

 Then in the summer of 1994, Muller was named captain of one of the most storied franchises in the NHL. The 20th captain, no less. Muller loved Montreal, but his time as captain was short, as 33 games into the 94-95 season, Muller was traded to the New York Islanders. He didn't support the trade, and even considered skipping out on Islanders games. He never played a full season for the Isles, and after stops in Toronto and Florida, ended his career on a good note with the Stars.
Muller's glory days were in New Jersey and Montreal, as he hit 94 points twice, setting the record for most points and assists by a Devils player in a game and a most points in a season by a Devils center.

 He scored 30 goals four times in his career and had 4 points for Team Canada at the 1984 Winter Olympics. As Montreal's captain, he scored 19 points in 33 games.
His total career statistics were;
1349 GP
357 G
602 A
959 PTS
1223 PIM

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