Bryan Trottier sings to honor Mike Bossy

Thursday in Sainte-Thérèse, a few hundred relatives, former teammates or former collaborators came to attend a ceremony of just under two hours in tribute to the prolific striker.

Bossy’s former linemate and roommate with the Islanders, Bryan Trottier, arrived guitar in hand.

At the request of his friend’s daughters, he came to perform a French version of On the road again by Willie Nelson, a song he kept singing on the road when he was playing in the NHL. Bossy had helped him translate it back then.

He even agreed to sing an extract in front of the microphones of journalists outside. It was my way of paying homage to him, because it’s not easy to say goodbye to a friend, said Trottier, emotional. It is important to honor his memory.

On his last visit to Mike’s, Trottier had sung to lighten the mood. Music, according to him, can soothe in painful moments. I sang with all my heart because my heart had smiled when I last met Mike. My heart smiled again todayadded Bryan Trottier.

Trottier also shared memories with the audience during the ceremony. Like the time when Mike Bossy had such a bad back that Trottier had to help him put on his socks, his shoes and even his skates.

And, of course, Bossy still scored three goals that night. It was Prime Minister François Legault who told the anecdote when he left the funeral complex.

François Legault pays tribute to a friend

The Prime Minister believes that the popular reaction to the deaths of Mike Bossy and Guy Lafleur shows how hockey is a unifying element of the Quebec people.

Come to pay a last tribute to Mike Bossy, Thursday, in Sainte-Thérèse, Mr. Legault made these remarks before entering the funeral complex where the ceremony was taking place.

” We don’t just see it in Quebec. We see it everywhere. People are torn, have been torn. Should we wear a mask or not? But hockey, everyone agrees and it’s nice to see Quebecers united behind Bossy, behind Lafleur. I hope it will inspire us for the future. »

Mr. Legault briefly met with reporters to talk about Mike Bossy, with whom he had developed a friendship over the years.

Above all, a friendly, kind human being. I had the opportunity to meet him on a few occasions. We had exchanged our phone numbers. We text each other from time to time.

The guy, he wanted to fight, he continued. When he found out he was sick, we talked and he said: “I’m going to fight and I’m going to come back”. He was a fighter.

The Premier added that their common interests go beyond hockey.

I remember seeing him with Isabelle, my wife, and we chatted about all sorts of things. We were talking about education, we were talking about how to help the elderly. He’s a really good guy. A good guy.

Obviously, a great hockey fan himself, the Prime Minister could not help recalling the exploits of No. 22 of the New York Islanders, with whom he won four Stanley Cups.

What scorer! At home, we said that for putter a goal was hard to beat.

Besides, he still has the best goals-per-game average in history. Nine 50-goal seasons. Probably the top scorer in National League historyhe continued.

Then, beyond the player, he also spoke of the commentator.

There was nothing that relaxed me more than listening to Mike Bossy comment on the game hockey, giving away his medals, which I believe he called “Mike Bossy certified”, his tic-tac-toes.

Even my wife, who more or less likes hockey, she listened to it with me and we found itfun!

For François Legault, there is no doubt that Quebec has lost much more than a former glory of the ice.

Such a funny guy, so friendly, so simple. An exceptional human being. Dying at 65 doesn’t make sense. I think it’s important that all Quebecers say thank you to him for what he gave us.

As he had done when Guy Lafleur died, the Prime Minister expressed his desire to perpetuate the memory of the deceased.

It is something that we look at, indeed. Will it be in Laval? Because before he burned the National League record books, he did the same thing in the Major Junior League in Lavalhe pointed out.

An arena already bears his name in Laval, where he made his junior career with the local team at the time, the National, during which time he had four consecutive seasons of 118 points and more, with a high of 149 points, including 84 goals, in 1974-1975.

Mike Bossy died of cancer on April 15.