After the game, Pierre Gervais appeared in the Bell Center press conference room to the applause of the journalists. Then Chantal Machabée gave her a glass of champagne.
Posted yesterday at 11:25 p.m.
When the siren announced the end of the game and the Canadian season on Friday night, it also meant the retirement of equipment manager Pierre Gervais. After 35 years with the team, the 60-year-old hangs up his sharpening machine. It is, in a way, a page of history that turns at the Habs.
“It was an absolutely extraordinary day, he first said into the microphone, smiling. Honestly, it’s the best thing in my life, apart from the birth of my four children. »
The organization of the Canadian has indeed made sure to mark the moment as it should with a tribute worthy of the name before the game. After a montage was shown on the giant screen, Gervais was introduced to the crowd, who took it upon themselves to give him a touching ovation. Bob Gainey and Shea Weber – yes, yes! – were then invited to the ice rink to give him a glass plate in the shape of a skate.
That’s not all. On Friday morning, during pre-match training, the players offered Gervais an unusual retirement gift: a side-by-side all-terrain vehicle.
And then, the icing on the cake: the Canadian probably played one of his best games of the season with a 10-2 victory against the current best team in the Bettman circuit, the Florida Panthers.
“It was pretty stressful! Not too often! he exclaimed, laughing. No need to ride the treadmill to find out if the heart is okay today. Honestly, I’ve been up since 3:00 this morning. I worked from home, went to walk my dog at 5:45 a.m. Had a great day. Full of interviews, full of beautiful messages…”
“Today, tonight, is fantastic. I will miss you all. Honestly, I’m going to miss you, ”he added, a nostalgic smile on his lips as he addressed the imposing group of journalists.
beautiful memories
Gervais worked for the Draveurs from 1978 to 1980, before joining the Castors de Sherbrooke in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, then the Jets de Sherbrooke, and the Canadiens de Sherbrooke in the American League. He arrived with the Canadiens in 1988 and hasn’t left since. Memories, he will keep tons.
The locker room, the camaraderie, of course… We spend almost seven days a week together, for weeks and months. There are all kinds of things going on. Things happen all the time when traveling. I will miss it.
Pierre Gervais
The equipment manager was asked about different players in the current edition. Who has the most equipment requests? “Jeff Petry,” he replied.
“He’s a meticulous guy,” he continued. He’s not bad, just meticulous about his skates, gloves, sticks, everything. He is a very good person. I know that sometimes it wasn’t seen that way, but I can tell you that he’s a guy with a heart as big as the world, a sensitive guy. He went through difficult things with his family. Hat. »
Then there was an anecdote about Shea Weber. Gervais rubbed shoulders with the captain of the Canadiens with Team Canada during the Olympic Games in Vancouver in 2010 and Sochi in 2014. When the former general manager of the Habs Marc Bergevin wanted to exchange PK Subban for Weber in 2016, he dropped a blow wire to his equipment manager.
“It was 6 a.m. there,” he said. In Nashville, you never go to bed very early! My cell phone rings, and I see it’s Marc Bergevin. I’m like, “OK, I’ll answer.” It was an hour later in Montreal, Marc was wide awake. »
Bergevin asked him for his comments on who was then captain of the Predators. “Look, I can’t say anything bad against him. It’s a real thing, ”replied Gervais.
“So Marc says, ‘What do you think about it, against PK Subban?’ I said, “Hey boy, do it quick, send your papers to the league before they change their minds.” I have nothing against PK, it’s not that at all, I want to be clear. He’s a gentleman and he’s super cool, but Shea Weber is a monument. »
What’s next?
Pierre Gervais will not be bored in retirement. While his wife has recently become a clinical nurse, he will be the one to care for their two sons aged 10 and 12 at home.
“It will not be empty, not at all,” he assured.
And then, the new retiree will remain in the entourage of the Canadian. However, its role has not yet been defined.
“I will always be proud to represent the Canadiens, no matter what my task,” he hinted before leaving the same way he entered, to applause.