30 years of the Stanley Cup | The Demers effect

From the composure of Patrick Roy to the goals of Vincent Damphousse and Paul DiPietro, passing by the giants who fell in the other series, the factors of success of the Canadian in the spring of 1993 have been discussed many times. But what about the coaches, beyond the classic stories of Marty McSorley’s baton and meditation in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré? The Press surveyed actors of the moment.

Jacques Demers may have lost his speech, but not his memory. His brother Michel knows something about it.

“In his room, he has lots of photos from 1993, we show him some. In his eyes, we see that he lights up, that we won the Cup, says the brother. Sometimes I call his former players on FaceTime, I did it with Denis Savard the other time. He is super happy to see their faces. »

“But he made a living with his word, and there he is deprived of it,” he laments.

Deprived of the floor since his stroke in 2016, Demers obviously cannot participate in the numerous interviews made in recent weeks about the 30^e anniversary of the last Canadiens Stanley Cup.

This was also the case on the 25^e anniversary. The Habs had invited the members of the champion edition, and at the time, Demers had felt fit enough to go to the Bell Center, even if he could not speak any more.

“It was hard to see him like that, testifies Stéphan Lebeau. It seemed like he was happy to see us. He was trying to communicate, people were talking to him, he was answering with his head. »

In 1992, at the start of training camp and an 80-point season, his best in the NHL, Lebeau had his first real meeting with Demers.

“I was in his office. He said to me: “Stéphan, I need you, I’m counting on you.” And he kept his promise. We are about nine to have had our best season, and I am one of them. To be successful, having the confidence of your coach is essential. When you feel that you don’t always have your head on the block, it helps to play liberated. »

Lebeau quickly understood: his new coach was the antithesis of predecessor Pat Burns, who was just as successful as Demers, but with a different approach.

Jacques Lemaire also gravitated to the team’s entourage, he who was then assistant to the general manager, Serge Savard. “Even in difficult times, Jacques was positive to death, says Lemaire. I found him exceptional because of that. I thought to myself: how can it be positive? Me, I was enraged!

The arrival of Demers behind the bench has an immediate effect. From October 17 to November 11, the CH played 12 games in a row without suffering defeat. “We were the hottest team in the league,” recalls Lebeau. The Habs ran out of gas in March, however, and ended the season with 11 losses in their last 18 outings. The Nordiques are ahead of the Habs and take the advantage of the ice for the all-Quebec duel of the first round.

In the final days of the season, Demers felt he had to step in.

“We arrive at the Forum, the locker room is locked, remembers Lebeau. The lights are off and we go to the players’ bench. Jacques gives us a speech on the great victorious tradition by showing the Stanley Cup banners and reminds us of the responsibility that comes with this tradition. »

The players then go to the living room – that of the alumni or the director, depending on the speakers – where Demers invites them to hold a meeting between them only “to wash their dirty laundry”, according to Lebeau.

“All the jerseys were hung on a rack, explains Charles Thiffault, assistant to Demers. He had said to the players: “if you are ready to give yourselves for the team, put on the jersey and go to the locker room”. All the players had done it, obviously, but when it comes to team building, that was it. He found situations to unite the team. »

“We didn’t win right away, but we played good hockey. I think he wanted to do a shock treatment to shake up the locker room. It may have reunited the team. At 0-2 against the Nordiques, we did not panic and we supported each other, ”said Lebeau.

Charles Thiffault and Jacques Laperrière were Demers’ assistants. “I was mainly responsible for the special teams, explains Thiffault, still in good shape at 85 years old. Jacques Laperrière and I were also responsible for preparing the video on our next opponents, in turn. »

“Charles was a hockey technician, like a hockey doctor! illustrates Bernard Brisset, then publicist of the Canadian. He was one of those guys who arrived with very studied tactics, in the wake of the rapprochement with the Russians. »

Michel Demers, Jacques’ brother, spawned in this entourage of hockey men. “On Saturday morning, I went to practices at the Forum. The players left and the gang went down, it could talk about an hour and a half of hockey, with coffee. Lemaire, André Boudrias, Serge Savard, Jacques Laperrière… Jacques asked them: what is your feeling for this or that case? »

One of those heated discussions comes during the third round series, against the Islanders. Damaged knee, Lebeau had missed the third and fourth games of this series. “James [Demers] said, “I don’t know, I’m watching him go, I have a feeling he can help us.” And Lemaire had said to him: “Go ahead with your feeling, bring it in!” »

In his role as assistant to the CEO, Lemaire was then very involved in the daily life of the team. ” I said to [Demers] : you, behind the bench, if you are comfortable with your decision to bring Lebeau back, your players will be, relates Lemaire. Your decision, if you have it in you, if you believe in it, it counts. They are feelings. »

Lebeau finally gets an assist in this game, and the Canadian wins 5-2 to reach the final. The Sherbrooke resident says he heard about this situation “later”.

And obviously, Demers had stuck to what he had told Lebeau nine months earlier.

In the final, the coaching staff expands. Denis Savard is in too bad shape to stay in the training, and therefore comes behind the bench from the second game of the final against the Kings.

“Jacques had the genius to not only take Denis out of the rink, but to put him behind the bench, in a role he accepted,” explains Bernard Brisset.

With this addition, Thiffault returns to the catwalk, where he worked from during the season. He and Laperrière wear headphones; it thus communicates with the bench. “Demers asked Laperrière if I agreed to have McSorley’s stick measured. I said to myself: if the players, with their experience, think that the stick is illegal, we can trust them. »

The Canadian won this second game, then the next three, and won the Stanley Cup. The trophy has only been won by American teams since. “He had the right recipe and 30 years later, it still hasn’t been reproduced,” recalls Lebeau.

Demers continued to watch over those with whom he had triumphed. Two years after his dismissal by the Canadiens, he became head coach of the Tampa Bay Lightning. He therefore contacted Thiffault to offer him an assistant position. “But Phil Esposito was the GM, it was he who fired us, Michel Bergeron and me, with the Rangers! said Thiffault laughing. But Jacques does not forget the people who gave him a hand. »

Lebeau remembers a game at the Bell Center about ten years ago, when Demers was in the Senate. “My wife and son Jeffrey arrive at the Alumni Lounge early. And there, the prime minister’s security arrives to inspect the living room. Stephen Harper enters the room, Jacques is with him, he sees Chantal and Jeffrey. And he takes the time to go see the Prime Minister. “Mr. Harper, I have someone very important to introduce to you.” And in his great generosity, he introduced my wife and my boy to the prime minister.

“That’s it, Jacques. Wear his heart on his sleeve. »