Bernie Geoffrion Totally Explained

Everything about Bernie Geoffrion totally explained

Bernard Joseph André Geoffrion (February 16 1931 – March 11 2006), nicknamed "Boom Boom", was a Quebec professional ice hockey player and coach. Generally considered as one of the innovators of the slapshot (External Link

), he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 following a 16-year career with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Geoffrion was born in Montreal, Quebec, and began playing in the NHL in 1951. He earned the nickname "Boom Boom" for his thundering slapshot (which Geoffrion claimed to have 'invented' as a youngster (External Link

)) from sportswriter Charlie Boire of the Montreal Star in the late 1940s while playing junior hockey for the Laval Nationale. He was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, the first being teammate Maurice Richard. Half the time, he played left-wing on Montreal's front line with fellow superstars Richard and Jean Béliveau, helping the Canadiens to six Stanley Cup championships, and at other times was right wing on the No. 2 line. But Boom Boom had a hard time convincing the NHL of his considerable talents; Maurice Richard, Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers) and Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) were so good that they overshadowed him. Even after Geoffrion won the Art Ross Trophy as league scoring champion in 1955, NHL First All-Star honours went to Richard, while Geoffrion only hooked up on the Second. However, Geoffrion's resulting anger was nothing compared to the Montreal Forum fans when Geoffrion scored one goal while crowd favourite Richard was suspended, and at the time had led the NHL scoring race. The Wings beat the Canadiens in the final round in seven games that year, the exact same result of the previous season.
   "I couldn't deliberately not score, that isn't the point of hockey, Montreal," complained Geoffrion, but fans regardless kept catcalling and jeering him. "I was so feeling the urge to vomit; I felt terrible," Geoffrion emotionally, admitted. "Even thinking about hockey made me feel bad, man did I want to leave. If it hadn't been for Jean (Béliveau) and Maurice (Richard) visiting, I'd have. Usually, it's not too much to expect to be on the First (All-Star) Team when you've more points than anyone else."
   In a testament to the rough-and-tumble style of play of that era, Geoffrion broke his nose six times, and received over 400 stitches. In 1958, a training accident severely injured him and his life was saved by emergency surgery. Despite advice from his doctors to stop playing for a season, Geoffrion was on the ice six weeks later to take part in the Stanley Cup Finals.
   Geoffrion first retired in 1964, but returned two seasons later to play for the New York Rangers. Likely the reason for his first retirement was Béliveau (who wasn't one of three alternate captains), getting appointed team captain in 1961. This was following the Rocket's retirement in 1960 and Doug Harvey's trade to the Rangers in 1961 (he only lasted a year with the C). Geoffrion, who had had an A, was devastated by the decision to go with Béliveau.
   "If I didn't keep suffering all those terrible injuries and yet keep coming back, if I weren't fit to lead, would I've gotten the C and kept playing?" asked Geoffrion, who had, in the 1961 semifinals, had a hurt leg and insisted, even so, that Harvey cut a cast off it so he could play. "Yes, I think I would. There were times when everybody kept telling me to quit. My doctor even told me I should stop playing, but I came back."
   In 1968 he finally retired as a player and became coach of the Rangers, a position he kept for less than a season due to stomach problems. In 1972 he became the first coach of the Atlanta Flames, and held the position for two and a half seasons, leading them to their first playoff appearance in 1974. He realized a longtime dream of coaching his beloved Canadiens in 1979, but his recurring stomach ailment forced him to step down mid-season.
   In the 1970s and into the 1980s, Geoffrion appeared in several television commercials for Miller Lite beer, part of their stable of retired athletes-turned-spokesmen which also included Billy Martin and Bob Uecker.

Family

His widow Marlene is the daughter of fellow Hockey Hall of Famer Howie Morenz and the granddaughter of the sister of Billy Coutu's wife, the first player kicked out the NHL for life. Marlene and Boom Boom Geoffrion's son, Dan Geoffrion, (born January 24 1958) played three seasons of professional hockey, for the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association in 1978–79, Canadiens in 1979–80 (with his father as coach), and Winnipeg Jets in 1980–81. His grandson Blake Geoffrion (born February 3 1988) plays hockey at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and will wear the captain's "C" as a junior for the 2008–09 season. He appears poised to be the third generation of Geoffrions, and fourth generation of the Morenz-Geoffrion family, in the NHL. Blake was drafted 56th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2006 NHL Draft.

Retired number

The Canadiens announced on October 15, 2005 that Geoffrion's uniform number 5 would be retired on March 11, 2006. On March 8, Geoffrion was diagnosed with stomach cancer after a surgical procedure uncovered it. Doctors attempted to remove the tumour, but found that the cancer had spread too far. Geoffrion died at the age of 75 in Atlanta, Georgia, on March 11, the day his jersey number was to be retired. He died exactly 69 years after his father-in-law Howie Morenz's funeral at the Montreal Forum, and exactly 10 years after the Forum closed its doors in 1996, making the date among the saddest for Canadiens fans. In further recognition of the special link between the Morenz and Geoffrion families, the two numbers were raised side by side (Morenz's banner was lowered halfway and was raised back up to the rafters with Geoffrion's banner). To add to the many coincidences of that day, the two numbers of the banner of Morenz and Geoffrion form together the number 75, which is the age he died that day.

Awards

Calder Memorial Trophy - 1952
Art Ross Trophy - 1955, 1961
Hart Memorial Trophy - 1961
His number 5 was retired by the Montreal Canadiens on March 11, 2006
In 1998, he was ranked number 42 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Records

Second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in a season.

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1950–51	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	18	8	6	14	9	11	1	1	2	6
1951–52	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	67	30	24	54	66	11	3	1	4	6
1952–53	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	65	22	17	39	37	12	6	4	10	12
1953–54	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	54	29	25	54	87	11	6	5	11	18
1954–55	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	70	38	37	75	57	12	8	5	13	8
1955–56	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	59	29	33	62	66	10	5	9	14	6
1956–57	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	41	19	21	40	18	10	11	7	18	2
1957–58	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	42	27	23	50	51	10	6	5	11	2
1958–59	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	59	22	44	66	30	11	5	8	13	10
1959–60	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	59	30	41	71	36	8	2	10	12	4
1960–61	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	64	50	45	95	29	4	2	1	3	0
1961–62	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	62	23	36	59	36	5	0	1	1	6
1962–63	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	51	23	18	41	73	5	0	1	1	4
1963–64	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	55	21	18	39	41	7	1	1	2	4
1966–67	New York Rangers	NHL	58	17	25	42	42	4	2	0	2	0
1967–68	New York Rangers	NHL	59	5	16	21	11	1	0	1	1	0
NHL totals			883	393	429	822	689	132	58	60	118	88

Further Information

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