The crowd was all for Carey Price. At the start of the warm-up, at his first shots during the warm-up, during the presentation of the players.
Posted at 8:31 p.m.
But before we got to Price, there was another great to celebrate, a great who never played for the Canadiens but has four Stanley Cup rings and a plaque in Toronto.
The Habs paid a tasteful tribute to Mike Bossy before the game on Friday. A video montage, a text read by the always solemn Michel Lacroix, and a moment of silence observed by a crowd that had just applauded Price to the breaking point.
The Habs wanted to pay a heartfelt, but sober tribute, so as not to “steal the show” from the Islanders, who will have the chance to present their own tribute next Tuesday, when they return home.
The ceremony was indeed modest, like the person Bossy was. His modesty is felt through the various testimonies delivered by his former teammates since the announcement of his death on Friday morning.
We perceived this same modesty in the slice of life told by Martin St-Louis at the morning training of the CH, Friday.
“I grew up in Laval. I was born in 1975, I still have an idea of the impact he had, told the interim head coach of the Canadian. Mike wasn’t just amazing on the ice. When I was young, he came to give the trophies at the Hockey Laval banquet. I have pictures with Mike when I was young. He gave his time and came to encourage the young people. »
Anthony Beauvillier was born in the spring of 1997, exactly 10 years after Mike Bossy’s last game. Nevertheless, the Islanders striker was marked by the modesty of the latter, in his own way.
In his case, it is through his father, Sylvain, who was delighted to see Anthony drafted by the Islanders in 2015.
“My father was an Islanders fan growing up because of Mike Bossy, said Beauvillier, Friday afternoon, a few hours before the duel against the Canadian. It made me an Isles fan too, want it, don’t want it. As soon as I put the jersey on, he was like, “Like my idol, Mike.” It’s just fate that arranged things well. »
For obvious reasons, Beauvillier wasn’t going to dwell on Bossy’s qualities as a player. Like anyone under 40, he basically knows the stats and has seen highlights here and there.
On the other hand, as a member of the Islanders, he was called upon to meet the late number 22 a few times, which allowed him to know the man behind the records and the trophies. During one of these meetings, Beauvillier had also asked Bossy to take a photo with him, in order to make his father “jealous”.
“When I asked him for the photo, we laughed. I told him that he had always been my father’s idol. He said, “No, no, that’s not true.” These are beautiful moments that I will remember. »
Bad times for former Islanders
Anders Lee is Beauvillier’s senior by seven years. Except that being born in 1990, he hasn’t seen Bossy play either!
But Lee is also captain of the Islanders and this organization “is good for involving the elders”, he explained in a press briefing. Lee knows something about it; he himself has forged a very strong bond with John Tonelli, since the latter allowed him to continue to wear his number, 27, retired two years ago.
“Every time I met Mike, he was graceful, he was kind, and he was a phenomenal player, enumerated the colossus winger. It looked easy to score goals when you watched him play. His presence with the Islanders meant a lot to us youngsters. We learned from him through small talk. It’s a sad day. »
Lee could have spoken of a sad year, in fact. Bossy is the third former Islanders to die in 2022, after Clark Gillies and Jean Potvin, brother of Denis.
“We lost a few legends this year,” said Barry Trotz, the team’s head coach. It’s a bit ironic, because it happens when we closed the Nassau Coliseum permanently, to go to the UBS Arena. And suddenly legends of that era die. »