Former hockey player Jean-Guy Talbot, member of the great Montreal Canadiens dynasty in the 1950s alongside Jean Béliveau and brothers Maurice and Henri Richard, died at the age of 91 on Thursday late evening.
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Seven times Stanley Cup winner during his career, he is one of the dozen players who won five consecutive championships, from 1956 to 1960, under the orders of Toe Blake.
Among them, Don Marshall is now the only survivor, he who will be 92 years old next month.
If the Canadian organization expressed its “great sadness” following the death of Mr. Talbot, the Mauricie region strongly mourns the loss of this great “torch bearer”.
Jean-Guy Talbot at the launch of the book “The Canadiens and the Stanley Cup” in November 2016 in Montreal.
“Photo Sébastien St-Jean / QMI Agency / Archives”
It is also under this title that the biography of the hockey player was published in which Serge Savard signed the preface.
“I never had the pleasure of being Jean-Guy’s teammate, except for a few old-timers’ matches. However, I have the impression of having always played with him because I know him so well, wrote Mr. Savard. As a locker room trickster, he was a champion. His best jokes have become legendary.”
“After one of the Canadiens’ many Stanley Cup victories, the team met for a party at the Toe Blake tavern,” says Louis Beaudet, co-author of the biography and close friend of Mr. Talbot. Jean-Guy had arrived before everyone else and had sprinkled the floor with sneezing pepper. It was playfulness at its peak.”
The cruise has fun
The prankster side of Jean-Guy Talbot followed him throughout his life. Among the testimonies collected, we remember this time when, on a cruise ship, he arranged to meet many people the next day at 7 a.m. for a supposed singing lesson. People had shown up in large numbers while Mr. Talbot slept soundly.
“He did everything to amuse,” corroborates Jean-Guy Dubois, former mayor of Bécancour and co-author of Torch bearer. He was a joker and he had this personality so that no one could blame him.”
“He was a unifier,” adds Mr. Dubois. He had a great career himself, but his role in the Canadian locker room was also to cement the team.
With five consecutive Stanley Cup victories, then two others with the CH in 1965 and 1966, it is clear that the native of Cap-de-la-Madeleine was a very good mason.
Flowers and lanterns
In Mauricie, an arena bearing the name of Jean-Guy Talbot was demolished in recent years, but the City of Trois-Rivières has since renamed the old Colisée in honor of the former Canadian defender.
Flowers and lanterns were placed at this location, in front of a photo of the deceased, during the day on Friday. The City of Trois-Rivières also lowered its flag to half-mast.
“Photo provided by the City of Trois-Rivières”
Beyond his qualities as a hockey player and prankster, Mr. Talbot wanted to remain simple, humble and down to earth.
“It is he who, with Guy Lafleur, must share the record for the [plus grand] number of autographed and donated cards, said Jean-Guy Dubois. He never said no and was very generous. He also always took the time to provide a legible signature. He had this human dimension.”
“He refused to play the jet set side that came with being a Canadiens player at the time,” he added, about this husband and father. He also made sure that his children remained simple, even if their father played for the Canadian.
The 12 players who won the Stanley Cup five times in a row with the Montreal Canadiens from 1956 to 1960:
Jean Béliveau (1931-2014)
Bernard Geoffrion (1931-2006)
Doug Harvey (1924-1989)
Tom Johnson (1928-2007)
Don Marshall (1932- )
Dickie Moore (1931-2015)
Jacques Plante (1929-1986)
Claude Provost (1933-1984)
Maurice Richard (1921-2000)
Henri Richard (1936-2020)
Jean-Guy Talbot (1932-2024)
Bob Turner (1934-2005)