The Western Canada Montreal Canadiens Fan Club hockey team honoured late Habs legend Henri Richard over the weekend with a tribute to the star player.
The local team’s game on Sunday was special, as players paid tribute to Richard, who died last week at age 84. Pictures and jerseys of Richard’s No. 16 were set up in the middle of the team’s dressing room as a way to reminisce about the player and the person he was.
“With the territory of having the fan club, we wanted the dressing room to be as close to a replica as to the dressing room that was at the Montreal Forum,” said fan club captain and president Jim Taman.
Former teammate and current Saskatoon resident Garry Peters has fond memories of the “Pocket Rocket,” as Richard was known. He said Richard was in a league of his own.
“His legacy and what he accomplished with the 11 Stanley Cups is unheard of.
“It doesn’t matter who you are, even if you are a Toronto fan, you know who he is and you have to give him the respect he deserves,” Peters said.
The tribute to Richard reminds the team to play for the crest on the jersey and not the name on the back. This week, they are playing for and remembering the Montreal Canadiens hockey legend.
Taman says the locker room tribute was done without hesitation and that it gives a special meaning to putting the jersey on this week.
Team goaltender Kevin Gagner says Richard’s influence was enough to draw any hockey fan into becoming a lifelong fan.
“He was a very skilled player, and I grew up watching him. I fell in love with the Montreal Canadiens when I was younger, and here I am,” said Gagner.
The tribute will remain in the dressing room until Richard’s funeral.
In the meantime, the team will play on in his honour.
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