Red Fisher, longtime Canadiens writer, dies at 91

Red Fisher, who covered the NHL and the Montreal Canadiens for 58 years and received the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award from the Hockey Hall of Fame, died Friday, the Montreal Gazette reported. He was 91.

"He was the best of his time," Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden wrote in an email to the Gazette, "and his time lasted a very long time."
Fisher, who was born in Montreal on Aug. 22, 1926, began his hockey coverage with the Montreal Star in 1954 and was a writer and sports editor until the newspaper closed in 1979. He joined the Montreal Gazette and covered the Canadiens and the NHL until retiring in 2012, though his occasional columns continued to run for several years afterward.

"For over 50 years, in his beloved Montreal, Red Fisher was unrivaled in hockey journalism, the authoritative English voice of news about the Canadiens and the National Hockey League," NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman said. "Red had a remarkable passion for the sport and a remarkable compassion for the men who played it. Red's words were important because nobody knew the game or the players or the executives better. In addition to being a master storyteller, on a personal level, he was a friend and counsellor. He was a monumental presence in our world and the NHL family grieves his passing. We send condolences to his family, friends and all who were touched by him."
In 1985, Fisher was one of six writers who received the Elmer Ferguson Award, given "in recognition of distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honor to journalism and to hockey."
Fisher was appointed to the Order of Canada, one of the country's highest civilian honors, on Dec. 29, 2017, "for his contributions to sports journalism, notably for his iconic coverage of the Montreal Canadiens hockey franchise." The award recognizes outstanding achievement, dedication to the community and service to the nation.

"For me, it was just when he talked you could see he knew the game of hockey," Canadiens coach Claude Julien said. "Not only that, he was a pretty smart man. Even a long, long time ago, when probably it wasn't as easy, he knew what was going on in the dressing room and with the team. He was a pretty smart individual. We had some good chats and, honestly, he said some things to me that were pretty impressive."
Dryden said Fisher took nothing for granted during his career.
"Red had every right to have been a 'been-there-done-that' person, but he wasn't," Dryden said. "He watched every game with open eyes, because he knew that what he was doing wasn't about him. He knew that if a game was being played, it mattered. If players were playing it, they mattered. If fans were watching it, they mattered. If readers were reading his story, they mattered. And if he was writing it, he mattered. Red took the game, the Canadiens, his readers and himself very seriously."