Over and over again, former Sports Illustrated writer Michael Farber has infamously said “there’s only two places in Western society that get ceremony; the House of Windsor and the Montreal Canadiens”.
For the third time this season, Habs fans lined up outside the Bell Center for a game that they knew was going to feature an emotional pre-game presentation. The first time was for the retirement of Guy Lapointe‘s #5 on November 8. It was a simple ceremony that left the former team clown in tears as he watched his number raised to the rafters.
The second time was one the Canadiens organization wished they didn’t have to do. A week following the passing of the late great Jean Beliveau, the Bell Center fell silent to honour the legend and pay their respects to his family in attendance. Never again will you hear the multi-purpose arena that quiet again. It was the fans who put on the elegant ceremony with the utter silence following tribute videos for Mr. Beliveau.
The third time around was on Thursday when the visiting Anaheim Ducks saw their seven-month removed teammate standing at center ice with a microphone in hand and a ‘C’ stitched across his heart on his blue-white-and-red Montreal Canadiens jersey. The man the Canadiens were honouring was their captain of 10 years, #11, Saku Koivu.
Koivu began playing with the Canadiens in 1995-1996 and he was standing at the bench on March 11, 1996 when the Canadiens played their final game at the Forum and the great Maurice “Rocket” Richard received a seven-minute standing ovation. Koivu then received a boisterous eight-minute ovation on April 9, 2002 when he returned from non-Hodgkin’s Lymphona- it’s unofficially the longest ovation in Montreal Canadiens history.
Then, after stepping onto the make-shift red carpet with his old jersey that included a stitched ‘C’, which is absent from a Canadiens player’s jersey this season, the selfless Koivu had to listen to never-ending cheering from 21,286 fans (13 more than in 2002) for almost five minutes. If PA announcer Michel Lacroix hadn’t hushed the nostalgic crowd, the standing ovation might have surpassed the former two in length.
This was for a player’s retirement, not a jersey retirement, not a closing of a world-famous arena nor a return from a victorious battle with cancer, this was just to honour the career that Koivu had. He had meant so much to the city that they decided to cheer for five minutes and easily could have continued.
Koivu started his speech unlike other legends that have had ceremonies for them before- the 40-year-old was visibly nervous. Shaking and turning constantly, Koivu immediately thanked the fans. “I honestly believe I should be the one standing here and cheering for you”. The crowd erupted in cheers and Koivu had to pause before he continued- this happened a few times.
After sending his condolences to the Beliveau family saying that Mr. Beliveau “was the ultimate captain”, he acknowledged the captains prior to him. “When I think of Mr. Beliveau and the legends who came before me, I realize that it was an honour to serve as captain for nine years for your Montreal Canadiens.”
The loudest cheer during his speech came when he said that “every player in the NHL should have an opportunity to play for your Montreal Canadiens, play in Montreal, in front of the best fans in the world.”
Then, it became a bit awkward. Koivu thanked the Anaheim Ducks and past Canadiens executives that the fans weren’t too fond of and Koivu’s insecurity in front of the mic brought forth the notion that he might have been to young to do this and the Canadiens should have waited until he is many years into retirement.
His emotional veil lifted mere seconds after when he talked about his cancer. “As we all know,” he started before stopping to collect himself and stop himself from bursting into tears. “As we all know… I had some challenges, the biggest… the fight with cancer”. A stream of tear can be seen going down his face and Koivu was left speechless standing there with the support one more time from the Bell Center faithful. That’s when the ceremony became special. It was different than past speeches from Patrick Roy, Ken Dryden, Guy Lapointe and 15 others that have their name in the rafters- Koivu was showing raw emotion and was no longer looking at his speech on paper.
After his sincere thank you’s to people in the Canadiens organization and to former teammates, the Finn expressed his love and gratefulness to fans in French- a huge step for the European considering he was scrutinized by the media for not speaking French.
After a presentation of a painting with some of Saku’s greatest moments during his time as a Hab and the line of congratulations from both teams, the game was under way and Koivu was able to enjoy it from a luxury box with his wife Hanna, kids Ilona and Aatos and his parents Jukka and Tuire.
Once again, the Canadiens organizers and fans delivered an incredible show for the featured star. There was speculation if Koivu’s #11 would be joining the 111 total Stanley Cups hanging in the rafters from 18 players but president Geoff Molson chose not to, which is a good decision considering #11 is the most worn number in Habs history and Koivu never won a Cup- can’t blame him, he played during the darkest days in Montreal’s history.
A perfect time to honour a hero for many hockey fans and cancer survivors, Koivu will always be remembered in Montreal even without a statue or banner and this beautiful ceremony will be part of his legacy. Last night was just another reason why Farber praises the Canadiens pre-game ceremonies so much.
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