When the legendary Frank J. Selke announced his retirement as Montreal Canadiens general manager in 1964, the team had a very large void to fill. After all, replacing someone who had won six Stanley Cups, including a record five straight, and had been to the finals on five other occasions during an 18-year tenure would be no easy task.

Unless of course, your team happened to have someone the caliber of Sam Pollock in the organization.

A native of Montreal, Pollock joined the club in 1947 as director of player personnel, and was directly responsible for the teams in the Canadiens development system, several of which won championships at the junior and minor-professional level and provided great feeds to the big club.

Pollock was a shrewd judge of talent, and an even better 'horse-trader,' skills that became abundantly clear once he was elevated into the role of Canadiens general manager on May 15, 1964. Over the next 14 seasons, Pollock masterminded many one-sided deals that brought Montreal such stars as Frank and Peter Mahovlich, Pierre Larouche and Dick Duff through trades, and Guy Lafleur, Ken Dryden, Bob Gainey and Serge Savard through drafts.

Pollock-led teams won nine Stanley Cups before he retired in 1978, the year he was elected to Hockey's Hall of Fame. The immediate induction was a tribute to one of the greatest general managerial careers in the history of the game, a career that began during the week of May 15-21.

May 15

Phil Esposito blossomed in Boston.(Provided to SportsLine)

After being quickly eliminated in the 1967 playoffs, the Chicago Blackhawks decided a shakeup was in order, so on this date that year, they traded Esposito, Ken Hodge and Fred Stanfield to Boston for Pit Martin, Gilles Marotte and Jack Norris. It was one of the worst deals in hockey history. Esposito rewrote the scoring record books in Boston, and along with his new teammates, helped Boston win two Stanley Cups in the next four season. Martin spent 10 fair seasons in Chicago, but Marotte lasted only three while Norris appeared in only 10 games as a Blackhawk.

May 16

Ken Dryden was hard to beat in clutch situations.(Provided to SportsLine)

The Montreal Canadiens of the late 1970s were among the best teams ever assembled. They were a great team not only because of their talent, but because of their 'killer instinct,' becoming almost unbeatable once they set their sights on a title. They Canadiens, who won four straight Stanley Cups during that period, proved as much on this date in 1978 behind goaltender Ken Dryden when they beat Boston 3-2 in OT to claim their 10th consecutive victory in a Finals series to set a new NHL record.

May 17

Jack Adams made Detroit into a hockey power.(Provided to SportsLine)

When the new NHL franchise in Detroit found itself faltering, league president Frank Calder recommended it hire a recently-retired player named Jack Adams to whip it into shape. On this date in 1927 it did, and Adams began a career in the Motor City that lasted 35 years. Serving as GM and sometimes as coach, Adams won 12 league championships and seven Stanley Cups during his tenure, establishing himself as one of the greatest team architects the game has ever known. An annual award for the league's top coach was created in his honor in 1974.

May 18

Brian Skrudland got things over quickly.(Allsport)

Brian Skrudland only scored nine times during his rookie season with the Canadiens, but he saved his most memorable goal for the playoffs that year. On this date in 1986, Skrudland scored only nine seconds into overtime, giving Montreal a 3-2 victory over the Flames in Calgary in the second game of the Stanley Cup Final. The fastest OT goal in playoff history evened the series for the Canadiens, and sent them on their way to a five-game series win and their 23rd Stanley Cup.

May 19

Bernie Parent won two consecutive playoff MVP awards.(Provided to SportsLine)

They were only six years old at the time, but the Philadelphia Flyers certainly didn't seem like an expansion team on this date in 1974. The Flyers defeated the Boston Bruins 1-0 in Game 6 to win the Stanley Cup Final and become the first champion to emerge from the six new teams that joined the league in 1967. Rick MacLeish scored the game's only goal and goaltender Bernie Parent was named the Conn Smythe Trophy winner.

May 20

Guy Carbonneau has helped two franchises win Cups.(Allsport)

The Montreal Canadiens appeared to be a team of destiny in 1993, winning the Stanley Cup by posting several dramatic victories. One of them came on this date that season when Guy Carbonneau scored at 12:34 of the fourth period to give Montreal its seventh overtime win of that playoff year, eclipsing the previous mark set by the Islanders in 1980. Montreal finished the 1993 playoffs with 10 overtime wins.

May 21

Butch Goring is a part of Islanders history.(Allsport)

Today, Butch Goring is the coach of the New York Islanders, but nearly two decades ago, he was a hero for the team on the ice in his first full season with the team, Goring had a tremendous playoff run in 1981, scoring 10 goals and adding 10 assists in 18 games. He capped things off on this date by scoring two goals to lead New York to a 5-1 Stanley Cup-clinching win over Minnesota, and ended up taking home the Conn Smythe Trophy as the playoff MVP.

Historical photos courtesy of Hockeyonline.com