“Have you heard the anecdote of Bryan Trottier? “, asked François Legault to the journalists, all smiles, at the end of the funeral of Mike Bossy. They took place on Thursday afternoon, in Sainte-Thérèse.
Posted at 5:42 p.m.
Journalists were not allowed inside the 300-seat room at the Résidences funéraires Goyer. We therefore answer in the negative.
“Well, first he sang,” says the Prime Minister. He sang On the road again. But he did it in French, because Mike had shown it to him. It was extraordinary. »
We will come back to it.
PHOTO PHILIPPE BOIVIN, THE PRESS
“But he told an anecdote that I had never heard, continues Legault. In the last moments, I think it was a game against Minnesota. Mike Bossy had a very bad back. They were in the same room. Mike couldn’t even put on his socks and shoes. It was Bryan Trottier who put on his stockings and shoes. He arrived at the arena. Mike was unable to put on his skates. It was Bryan Trottier who put them on and tied them. And that day, Mike Bossy scored three goals. It’s still wow! Very friendly, Bryan Trottier. »
And how.
The ceremony lasted nearly two hours. Trottier, who arrived in Sainte-Thérèse without a mustache – but with his guitar – was the last to address the guests who had come to greet the legend of the New York Islanders for the last time.
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Bryan Trottier and his wife
It is perhaps thanks to his songs and his anecdotes that the cozy atmosphere preceding the event had given way to smiles and laughter in the entrance hall.
“Mike was my roommate,” recalls Trottier, Bossy’s greatest accomplice on and off the ice. When we were on the road, I was singing On the road again by Willie Nelson. »
Trottier hums the melody, naming the song.
“He was always like, ‘Ah, you and your Willie Nelson!’ So I told myself that if I did it in French, he wouldn’t mind hearing it so often. We were on the road so often. »
Bryan Trottier then recounts the process.
“I asked him: ‘How do you say on the road again ?” He would reply, “On the road again.” »
By rolling his r.
” How do you say : I just can’t wait to get on the road again ? He answered : I want to get back on the road again. OK fine. How do you say : the life I love is playing hockey with my friends ? The life I love is playing hockey with my boys.
“He sang it with me when we were roommates. In French. That’s why I sang it for him, here, one last time. To share this memory with everyone. »
Bryan Trottier now lives in Pittsburgh. But there was no doubt that he was going to pay tribute to his former teammate today.
“We honor our friends,” says Trottier. Mike was probably the best of my friends. Clark Gillies, Denis Potvin, Billy Smith and he were the heart and soul of this Islanders team. »
The conversation is interrupted by a lady who has come to thank him for his songs.
“I have a limited talent as a guitarist, he had pointed out to us a little earlier. […] Music can be therapeutic, it can help morale. I think that being able to sing a few songs for Mike and his family, it did them good. »
“A fundamentally good guy”, according to Legault
“It was important for me to come and pay tribute to Mike Bossy,” said François Legault when he arrived at the funeral home earlier in the day. […] He was probably the leading scorer in NHL history, and most importantly, he was a nice human being. Kind. »
PHOTO HUGO-SÉBASTIEN AUBERT, THE PRESS
Prime Minister François Legault and his wife attended the funeral.
He says he met him a few times. The two had exchanged phone numbers “and texted from time to time”.
“We chatted about all sorts of things,” recalls the Prime Minister. We were talking about education, how we help the elderly. He was a really good guy. A good guy, as they say. »
The Legault government wants to rename Highway 50 in honor of Guy Lafleur. Could the name of Mike Bossy also be immortalized in this way?
“It’s something we look at, reveals Legault. Will it be in Laval? Before burning the NHL record book, he had done the same thing in the QMJHL in Laval. We are currently watching this. »
“Pay tribute to the team”
There is perhaps a major pitfall in the face of such a project: Mike Bossy’s refusal to receive individual honors.
Talk to Islanders co-owner Jon Ledecki, who is in attendance Thursday.
“Many people ask us what we can do to honor Mike permanently,” explains the sympathetic Ledecki. People would like us to erect a statue of him. But with all the discussions I’ve had with Mike over the years, I know he would never approve of such a thing! »
“He said, if you want to do something at the new arena, you should do it honoring the whole team. Don’t pay tribute to me, pay tribute to the team. Build a sculpture of us winning the Cup together. »
For Jon Ledecki, “that’s Mike Bossy”.
“He didn’t want the attention to be drawn to him. He always wanted to bring her back to his colleagues, his family, and his team. »
His humility noticed by Calvillo
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, LA PRESSE ARCHIVES
Anthony Calvillo
Norman Brathwaithe. Vincent Damphouse. His colleagues from TVA Sports. Many of them came to pay their last respects to Mike Bossy on Thursday.
But the presence of Anthony Calvillo was particularly surprising.
“I met him a few times,” recalls the legendary Alouettes quarterback.
They had seen each other while Bossy was working at Humpty Dumpty, in the mid-2000s.
“He brought me in to sign some footballs for his employees. I had had a nice hour-long conversation with him. We ran into each other a few times after that. »
What marked him from these encounters?
“He was approachable, without arrogance. Sometimes people with such a reputation come before you with an air of superiority. But him, not at all. He was very humble. »