After a 35-year career with the Montreal Canadiens, equipment manager Pierre Gervais will retire. A journey marked, according to Trifluvien, by the pride of representing Sainte-Flanelle.
All eyes were on Pierre Gervais Friday night at the Bell Center for the Habs final game of the season.
The counter will stop at 3113 season games for the equipment manager.
Because team trips are increasingly tiring and he wants to take care of his family, the rivalry between the Canadiens and Panthers is his last.
At peace with his decision and smiling, as usual, the little man from rue Fortin agreed to look at his career.
One thing is clear, working for the Canadian has been the honor of his life.
” It’s a huge pride to spend 35 years in the national league, but especially with the Montreal Canadiens. Knowing that my name appears on 35 team plaques in the locker room, my whole life, has been fun. Having my name in the Stanley Cup is really one thing. It’s also lifelong. No one can take that away from you. “
It was a long-thought-out retirement for someone who started at the bottom of the stairs fill water bottles for Draveurs de Trois-Rivières players when he was 16 years old.
A career that would take him from the old Colosseum to the Olympic Games in Salt Lake City in 2002. Wayne Gretzky, then general manager of the men’s hockey team, asked him to be the equipment manager. of this team that will win the gold medal.
When Gretzky called me to go to Salt Lake, it was something I never thought of, I never thought of. I was very surprised at his call, and then go there and win a gold medal, but also go back to three more Olympics, that was something really. recalled Pierre Gervais.
Highlights of his career
Among the great moments of joy in his career, Pierre Gervais remembers the conquest in 1993, but also major disappointments, such as the Habs ’defeat in the Stanley Cup final last year.
Losing the Cup was one of my biggest disappointments. When you get to the final, you are about to win. It looks like someone is taking 6/49 and only the last digit is missing. I failed, but at the same time, because I already won, I felt less than those who didn’t win it.he said.
He remembers that Saint-Jean night when the Habs beat Las Vegas to reach the final. Moments that will remain etched in his memory forever.
Oh my fun! Fortunately we were masked because I had a smile on my face the whole time. Seeing veterans like Corey Perry, Weber and Price leading young people like Suzuki and Caufield is a great sight. I really tasted it, because I knew my retirement was near confided the future retiree.
Players, he has spoken to hundreds since 1987, the year he made the jump with the big club as an equipment assistant. He rose to the top thanks to his attention to detail, but also his respect for the players, according to former CH striker Steve Bégin.
He was very, very thorough. All the players liked it. What surprised me was that everyone loved him. Gerv, I have never seen him argue with a player. He asked them “is that what you want? It’s nice, I’ll do that to you and it will be a mark”testimony by Steve Bégin.
This is a total of 44 years spent by the new retiree in professional hockey. Especially with the Jets and the Sherbrooke Canadian in the American Hockey League.
A career that is also included in the anecdotes section
The funniest I’ve ever seen was Pat Burns. He is a former police officer and he has a kind of invisible powder that, once it touches water or moisture, turns blue. It was like ink and he put something on Patrick Roy’s helmet before practice. When Roy returned to the bench to fetch water, there was a disgusting blue on his face. I started laughing! He’s so damned!recalled Pierre Gervais.
The sound of the siren that will announce the end of Friday’s game also signifies the end of a chapter. The father of four children, two of whom are still young, will continue to be a member of the organization, but in another, less tedious role.
In the future, Pierre Gervais wants to give conferences and write a book. Players don’t have to worry, I won’t reveal their secrets. But I wanted to write a book to show behind the scenes of hockey like injuries, preparation, etc.he explained.
And in the coming months, he plans to return to his region more often, especially to Lac-aux-Sables, where his parents were born.
Source: Radio-Canada
