All About Henri ... the "Pocket Rocket"

Only Player with 11 Stanley Cups

A well-connected friend of mine offered to introduce me to his friend, former Montreal Canadien captain and hockey legend, Henri Richard.

I was invited to join them for a few drinks at a Toronto hotel.

My mind raced.  I had a million questions.  I was so excited to meet "Pocket" Rocket that I arrived almost an hour before the agreed-to time.

I recognized Henri immediately as he exited the hotel elevator and introduced myself. He seemed smaller than his 5' 7" biostat. How did this little guy play 20+ years in the NHL and earn 11 Stanley Cups?  He'd earned 5 consecutively following his rookie year.

How did this little guy score the Stanley Cup-winning goal, twice -- only 4 other players had accomplished that in league history.

I attempted to make small talk as we sunk into the lobby sofa to wait for our mutual friend. Although I was anxious to talk hockey, I didn't want to appear pushy.

We talked about the weather, and the news and about a local robbery.  We waited for an hour. It was clear our friend wasn't going to show so we moved to the lobby bar.

Henri's Favourite

Which hockey question do I ask first?  I thought I'd better start slowly so as not to spook him.  I'll never have another chance like this ever again.

So, I asked, "Which rink in the NHL was your favorite"? He surprised me, "Maple Leaf Gardens".   He said he played there for the first time as a 16-year old junior. On the day of the game, the Toronto newspapers heralded his arrival with a full page devoted to "Rocket" Richard's little brother.

Henri said the pressure he felt "couldn't be measured". When he got on the ice for the pre-game skate, He said, "I couldn't feel my legs".

He scored on his first shift and the usually unfriendly Garden's faithful gave him a standing ovation.

Little did they know that he would return on a regular basis to terrorize the Leaf franchise on his way to being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

My hockey fan perception of Henri was that he was a quiet guy,

always in his brother's shadow.  He proved to be the opposite.  He was talkative and created colorful descriptions of teammates, opponents and special NHL moments. It was very clear, he was very proud of his time as an NHL'er and a Canadien and as Rocket's brother.

He told me that he had "three wishes in life" ... to marry the girl next door -- he and Lise were married for more than 60 years. Secondly, he wanted to play for the Montreal Canadiens -- he played 21 years and was the team's captain for four years.  And, he wanted to own his own bar in downtown Montreal ... he ran it successfully for 26 years. 

I asked him if he needed a protector.  Our conversation could have gone off-the-rails here. He set me straight. "I never needed anyone to look after me and I never backed down from anyone, ever".

Note: Following my meeting with Henri, I asked my beer league buddy, Dave Gardner, who was selected by the Canadiens along with his Marlie teammate, Steve Shutt, if Henri was tough. Dave said that prior to an exhibition game against Detroit, the coach reminded all the rookies to make sure they backed-up other players if anything happened on the ice. Dave was behind the net when he saw Bill Gadsby cross-check Henri in front of the net (Gadsby was the size of a building) ... Before Dave could get to the front of the net, Henri hit him with one punch and broke his cheekbone.

Nuf said about Henri's toughness.

I didn't prompt him for this one ... he just blurted out ... "I loved Bob Gainey". Henri said he went to his bar following a pre-season work-out in 1973.  He asked one of his waiters who the kid was sitting at the back of the room with some of the bars' regulars.  "He's your team-mate" was the reply.

Henri claimed he'd never seen him before. It was common for veterans not to take much notice of rookie players trying to make the team. But after every workout there he was at the back of the bar -- trying to learn French. Gainey was clearly someone who knew he was going to be a Canadien and a leader and eventually make his mark and become the best defensive forward to ever play the game.

Henri saw all of his development first-hand.

After his career, when Gainey became a coach of the North Stars and Dallas, he made full team must-attend visits to Henri's Montreal bar whenever his team was in town.

Respect.

It was just about this time that our bartender said ... "Fellas, it's 1:30, I gotta go home".

There was no discussion on how to split the bill, Henri snatched it away from me and insisted on paying.

As I walked him over to the hotel elevator, I couldn't help myself ... I wanted to be honest with him.

"Ya know ... I hated you when you played".  He said, "I know, everyone from Toronto says that to me".

My visit with Henri was a very, very special moment in time for me.  The hockey stuff aside, he was just a really nice person and it was a special treat for me to get to know him a little.

The "Pocket Rocket"  passed away on Friday, in Montreal, he was 84 years old.