After Canadiens icon Jean Beliveau died in December of 2014, his longtime friend and Habs teammate Yvon Cournoyer wrote an exclusive story for THN celebrating Beliveau.
When Montreal Canadiens icon Jean Beliveau died on Dec. 2, 2014, the entire hockey world mourned his loss. And in this story for THN's Jan. 26, 2015 edition, Beliveau's longtime teammate, Yvon Cournoyer, wrote a touching tribute to his friend:
FAREWELL TO A FATHER
By Yvon Cournoyer (with Ken Campbell)
The last time I saw Jean Beliveau was when I visited him about a month before he died. When you play hockey with a teammate who gets injured, you know at a certain time he’s always coming back, but Jean would not. Jean was not doing well, but had made every effort to visit with me – we had a good 45 minutes together. And before I left, I kissed him and I said, “Salut, mon capitaine.” And I told his wife, Elise, “I have to kiss my captain before I leave.” I knew that could have been the last time I would see him.
Jean Beliveau was my captain with the Canadiens for seven years, but in reality, he has been mon capitaine for 51, even after I became one myself for the Montreal Canadiens. In my first year as a player, I arrived at the Montreal Forum in 1964 as a 20-year-old and had the privilege to sit beside him in the dressing room. And with the opportunity to room a lot with Jean, I was able to develop a personal relationship. Almost like father and son.
In those first years we were winning Stanley Cups, and I thought it would last forever. Jean would always remind me to enjoy the moment because time goes by very fast. Here I was a 20-year-old kid. Only now can I appreciate what he was talking about. Just the other day, I was thinking about how some of the most important people in my life are no longer with me. When I broke in with the Canadiens, Jean was my center and Gilles Tremblay was my left winger. They died within six days of each other. When Gilles retired, they replaced him at left wing with John Ferguson, who died seven years ago.
When I first came up with the Canadiens, I didn’t have a lot of ice time. In fact, I was getting more time on the power play than with a regular shift. I used to joke to Jean for him to let me play for at least a minute so I had a chance to touch the ice before he scored. When we played together, Jean always used to tell me to come up the ice from behind him because he was such a great passer. Some nights after the warmup I would go back in the room and say, “Hey, Jean, I think I’m going to have to have a parachute tonight because I have the wind behind me and I’m feeling really good.” But I always tried to listen to the boss.
Another night we were playing in Chicago and Jean had the puck 1-on-1 against Glenn Hall. He made a deke to the left and went to the right and put the puck behind him. I got up on the bench and I applauded him. That was the only player I ever applauded on the bench after a goal. But he was beautiful to watch. Like my wife always said, “He looks good before the game, he looks good during the game and he looks good after the game.” Some guys can pull two of those off, but it takes a truly special person to do all three.
But Jean Beliveau was not only a beautiful hockey player. He was also a beautiful human being. I remember all of us wanted to be like him. I started signing my autograph so people could read it because that’s what Jean Beliveau did. For 50 years now, the Canadiens have been visiting the kids at Ste-Justine Hospital. You know who started that? Jean Beliveau. There’s a reason why his teammates elected him captain in 1961 over Bernie Geoffrion. We all knew what he could do on the ice, but also knew that whenever we needed anything, he would be there for us at any time, day or night. Even after he retired, I leaned on Jean many times.
With Jean gone, we all feel a void in our hearts. There is only one captain of the Montreal Canadiens, regardless of who wears the ‘C’. That person is, and always will be, Jean Beliveau. Oh Captain…Mon Capitaine!