“I have been forcing myself to be impeccable in everything for 35 years. The Canadiens logo, for me, is huge. I want the locker room to be impeccable, the jerseys to be impeccable. »
Posted at 7:00 a.m.
These words are those of Pierre Gervais, Habs equipment manager since 1988.
Think of the major events that have marked the last 35 seasons of the Bleu-blanc-rouge. The last Stanley Cup victory probably comes to mind. Patrick Roy’s last game in Montreal. Closure of the Forum. Saku Koivu’s big comeback after he beat cancer.
Pierre Gervais was there. To each of them.
Thousands of sharp blades and broken sticks later, the hour of retirement has come. This season is his last. The 60-year-old met The Press at the Bell Complex in Brossard, on February 15.
And he told himself.
The first chance
This love story of Pierre Gervais with hockey, it goes a long way. “Me, my school books were hockey paddles with different curves,” he says.
When the bell announced the end of classes, the young Pierre headed for the Coliseum of Trois-Rivières, located five minutes from his school, to attend the training of the deceased Draveurs.
“One day, Michel Bergeron moved next to my parents, he says. He was an instructor in Trois-Rivières at the time. I was too embarrassed to talk to him, but at some point I saw his wife outside and said to her: “If Michel ever needs anything, a helping hand, I would be ready to do anything.” »
Sometimes it’s enough to ask. Bergeron spoke with his parents to invite him to the team’s training camp, which was being held in Montreal.
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Pierre Gervais in the Canadian’s locker room
I will always remember the feeling of being on the bus with the players. I didn’t know it would go this far. Naturally, I was asked for a foot and I gave two. I really made a good impression.
Pierre Gervais
Gervais worked for the Draveurs from 1978 to 1980, before joining the Castors de Sherbrooke in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (LHJMQ), then the Jets de Sherbrooke, and the Canadiens de Sherbrooke in the American League.
At his first training camp with the Habs, in 1984, he was 22 years old. He was impressed, even “intimidated”. When asked if a player has marked his arrival, his answer is immediate: “Guy Lafleur. »
“I remember, he was so charismatic. He shook my hand picking me up a bit and saying, “Hey, kid!” That was cool. »
“Chris Nilan invited me to dinner at his place,” he continues. That’s quite a gesture. He was a veteran, that was something. My wife used to say to me, “Come on, you don’t know him.” I said, “Well, I’m going to know him!” I went to L’Île-des-Sœurs. It was like a welcome. These are things you never forget. »
patrick roy
Anecdotes, Pierre Gervais has tons. Those he tells us all have, or almost, one thing in common: Patrick Roy.
It is the name he mentions first when asked what has marked him the most over the years. “The superstitions of Patrick Roy”, he replies.
“He had a puck from the Canadiens on which he had written a W for Win [victoire]. Between periods, at such a time on the clock, he played with his puck and placed it in such a place in such a way. You shouldn’t touch it! »
Today, goalkeepers can go to the bench when their equipment breaks. This was not the case at the time. Mr. Gervais vividly remembers one game in particular where Roy needed his help.
“You get on the ice, there are 17,000 people around, you are live on television. Your screw and the screw hole, I can tell you they are small! Patrick, to put some, said to me: “Quick, Gerv, you have to hurry, everyone is watching you!” I was so looking forward to finishing it,” he laughs.
We quickly understand that Pierre Gervais was very close to Roy. The two men first met in the American League, when the goalkeeper played for the Sherbrooke Canadiens in 1984-1985, when the Trifluvien was there.
“He came from the junior, spoke zero English, remembers Gervais. When he started out, it was I who helped him with foreign journalists to do the translation. He didn’t have a penny in those days. He was going out with a girl from Quebec and didn’t have enough money to put gas in his car. We had the day off, I gave him $20 and told him to go see his girlfriend. He still owes me, by the way! »
In 1995, when Roy was traded to Colorado, Gervais got a few calls from the Avalanche equipment manager…
“He said to me: ‘Coudonc, what are you doing to his skates?’ I said, “Look, it’s got to be sharp.” He said to me: “That’s what I do!” Patrick at one point wanted to send me some blades to sharpen and return to him, but that never happened. At one point I spoke to Patrick and told him the guy was good. »
A last
In 2002, the legendary Wayne Gretzky called Pierre Gervais to invite him to be Team Canada’s equipment manager for the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City.
PHOTO CATHERINE LEFEBVRE, SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Pierre Gervais in front of a photo of winning the Stanley Cup in 1993
He [Wayne Gretzky] ended [la conversation] saying: “We’ll go for the gold” [nous visons l’or] ! I said, “put it on”. I’m not a nervous guy normally, but I had a little sweat and I didn’t know how to react. It was very cool.
Pierre Gervais, about the Salt Lake City Olympics
Finally, he will have taken part in four presentations of the Games and won three gold medals with Canada. These moments, and all those experienced with the Canadian over the years, will remain forever etched in his memory.
“Honestly, I’m privileged and I know it,” he suggests.
At the time of our interview with the equipment manager, nothing was going well for the Bleu-blanc-rouge, which was in last place in the general classification.
“I spent 44 years in hockey in total, and this is my worst year, confided Gervais. That’s for sure. For everything that happened.
“Sometimes I tell guys as a joke: I’m almost afraid to fly! »
It will, in a way, make retirement a little easier. While his wife has recently become a clinical nurse, he will be the one to care for their two sons aged 10 and 11 at home.
And then, as the Canadian wrote in a press release at the start of the season, Gervais will remain in the team’s entourage one way or another. He will lend a hand where the team needs him. He will always be part of the family.
“Want, don’t want, I have that in my guts. »
We don’t doubt it for a second.
The player with whom he remained friends: Joé Juneau
“He comes from Portneuf, we had a lot of affinities. He’s a guy who really likes nature, the forest, wood, like me. Even today, we are friends. We go fishing together in the summer, he comes to our house, we see each other a lot. »
His favorite editions of the Canadiens: 1992-1993 and 2020-2021
“It was similar. It was essentially the same club, but with different players. It was a good gang of guys, who decided to pull together and give it their all. »
Player in the current edition who uses the most equipment: Jake Allen
“The guy from St. Louis warned me. The gloves, the blocks, I’m always ordering some from him. He sweats a lot, you have to give him that, but he likes new equipment, unlike most goalkeepers. »
The player of the current edition who uses the most sticks: Jeff Petry
“He’s not afraid of that, he, a hockey stick! »
An anecdote of the 1993 conquest
“Patrick Roy used the same stick during all the series! In the end, the first thing he did was give me his stick. I was going to hide it somewhere, no one knew where. When we won the Cup, I put it in the bag to make sure it was coming with us. »