Since his childhood, Paul Houde was a big, big fan of the Blackhawks, whose love for the Chicago team was well known to the general public. “Our biggest fan in Quebec,” says none other than one of the club’s legends, Denis Savard, with whom the radio host had become friends.
“I still remember the support he gave me throughout my career,” said the former forward with 1,338 points in the NHL. Every time I met him at a game in Chicago, he proudly wore the Blackhawks jersey.
“He talked about the great legends of the Hawks and he always ended our conversations by proclaiming in his vigorous voice: “Defender Elmer Mooooose Vasko”,” he added, in reference to the defender of the 1960s, of whom Paul Houde was fond. repeat the name… and above all, the nickname!
A sweater that would change everything
This unwavering support was born in the 1960s, at the heart of the glorious era of Stan Mikita and Bobby Hull.
“I was always the last one picked when we played hockey, and they told me all the time: you’re going to be goalie. I said, “Yeah, if that’s the case I’ll get noticed,” he explained, in 2010, to our sports director, Denis Poissant, who met him during the Stanley Cup final. So I asked one of my aunts to knit me a Blackhawks sweater, a white sweater with an Indian head on it.
“And she did.”
The Canadian’s mockery of legends
His love for the Blackhawks has earned him, over the years, some mockery from Canadian players, including Réjean Houle.
“We liked to remind him that we had won the cup twice against Chicago in the early 1970s,” he recalled.
But Paul Houde did not hate the Canadian. In fact, he dreamed of a new final between Montreal and Chicago, during which “his heart would still have been with the Blackhawks.”
– With the collaboration of Rodger Brulotte