“I fixed it with my Westcott. A wrench and a rag in my garage. A statement by the mayor of Hearst, Roger Sigouin, which seems straight out of the game show The lie detectors. On the occasion of the centennial of the small northern Ontario town, key players are finally telling this untold 20-year-old story.
April 2002: the town of Hearst organizes two days of festivities to honor its five-time Stanley Cup champion, Claude Larose. The Recreation Center is to be renamed in his honor at a ceremony on Friday, April 26.
The former Montreal Canadiens player has just celebrated his 60th birthday, he is still in good shape to bring reinforcements to a local team. While Claude Larose is on the rink, the community is invited to have their picture taken with the holy grail of hockey.
Twenty years later, Claude Larose remembers that more than 1000 pictures were taken by the locals with the Stanley Cup. It didn’t stophe tells us on the phone from his home in Florida.
Whoops!
In the evening, a ceremony is organized to unveil the sign of the new recreation center.
For the occasion, Claude Larose puts on his hockey equipment, his skates and his number 15 Habs jersey. The plan is as follows: he will be introduced and take a tour of the rink with the Stanley Cup at arm’s length.
Guy Losier, one of the main organizers of this evening, is next to Claude Larose backstage. He remembers very well that the Stanley Cup goalkeeper had given him a very clear instruction.
” The guy wanted Claude to get on the ice before, then after, he gave him the cup. Claude said, “No, I’m okay. I’m going on the ice with it.” “
The person in charge of the Stanley Cup probably still remembered the fall of Maurice Richard on the ice of the Forum, which had occurred 9 years earlier, at the 1993 All-Star Game. The cup had come out severely dented.
A detail had undoubtedly escaped the vigilance of Claude Larose: he will jump on the ice by the entrance of the referees, and will be in absolute darkness. A follow spot then follow him.
” There was a stepsand there was no light, I missed the steps and the cup fell on the edge of the band. I took the cup and then lifted it above my head and it looked a little prickly. “
Result: The black ring at the base is distorted. Guy Losier, who has seen the whole thing, notes that it is the recreation center facilities that are probably the cause of the blunder.
the steps where the referees enter is much higher than the entry of the players. Claude had just played a game. He didn’t see this cr*** of steps-the. He planted his nose, it didn’t take long. Being in the dark didn’t help.
Claude Larose receives a standing ovation and continues his lap of honor on the ice rink at the recreation center which will bear his name in a few minutes.
Arriving at the center of the ice to deposit the trophy, Claude Larose observes the damage and turns the dented part towards the dignitaries, so that the crowd present does not see too much damage.
Among them, the municipal councilor – a body repairer by trade – Roger Sigouin, who will become a month later, on May 30, 2002, mayor of the municipality of 5800 inhabitants.
A stressed Stanley Cup goalie
During the ceremony, Roger Sigouin remembers taking a few glances at the Stanley Cup: he was analyzing whether he would volunteer to repair it. Behind the scenes, Guy Losier feels the internal temperature of the Stanley Cup manager rising.
You know who was much more stressed: the Hockey Hall of Fame guys. Roger lowered the temperature because he was a body repairer. It’s the same way it picked up theresays Guy Losier.
” In a small village, we are always there to help everyone. When this incident happened, I asked: can I fix it for you soon enough? I think I should be able. “
After the ceremony, the Stanley Cup goalkeeper backs his vehicle into the Sigouin family garage.
She was in her trunk that you see everywhere on TV. He took it out of there and just put it on my workbench. It took me about 10 minutes tops to fix it.
His tools: a rag and a wrench.
I had seen her, how she worked, at the arena. I was confident that I was able to fix it. You had to be thorough. The rag was precisely so as not to scratch. Then by making these small gestures there to bring it back to normal.
His daughter, Marieve, tries to immortalize the scene. He had forbidden us to take pictures at the time. We simply respected the decision of the people who said no photos please.
Upon his return to the arena, Claude Larose was impressed by the body work: It didn’t even appear.
I think it’s a pride of Hearst to say that we received the Stanley Cup, we took care of it until the last minuteunderlines the mayor in conclusion, with a smirk.
Source: Radio-Canada
