Voices From The Past: 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion

Legendary hockey reporter Stan Fischler writes a weekly scrapbook for NHL.com. Fischler, known as "The Hockey Maven," shares his humor and insights with readers each Wednesday. This week Stan features his "Voices From the Past," His subject is Hockey Hall of Famer Bernie "Boom Boom" Geoffrion.
Geoffrion helped popularize the slap shot and starred for the only team ever to win five consecutive Stanley Cups. Stan ghosted his autobiography, "Boom Boom: The Life and Times of Bernard Geoffrion," and the following includes chats the two enjoyed over a period of two decades.

How much interest did you have in the Canadiens when you were young?

"I was crazy about them. I was living, breathing and eating hockey 24 hours a day. My favorite was
Maurice Richard
, the "Rocket." I was 11 when he was brought up to the Canadiens for the 1942-43 season. On the radio I'd listen for every mention of the Rocket. For me, nobody could be bigger than Maurice Richard, and when he scored, the roar of the crowd was music to my ears. Once I was in high school, I had made up my mind that I wanted to play for the Habs. When I was 14, I made my first real move up the ladder toward the NHL when I began playing for College Mount St. Louis. One Saturday, on The Forum ice where the Canadiens played, I scored five or six goals. A former Canadiens player,
Sylvio Mantha
, saw me and offered me the chance to try out for the Concordia Juniors the following fall. That was a big deal because it was another big step up."

When was the first time you met Richard?

"My father ran a restaurant in the Bordeaux section of Montreal. In those days, the Rocket used to train by riding his bicycle. Every so often, he'd pedal past my dad's place. Sometimes he would drop in, and one day when he came in for a bite, I happened to be there. My father introduced me and I said to him, "Mr. Richard, you are my idol. I listen to you on the radio all the time. I'm going to work hard and I want to be just like you." The Rocket looked at me for a second and then said, "I hope you make it one day, kid." What Maurice didn't know -- and I didn't dare tell him -- was that I was working on a new kind of shot that nobody in the NHL was using, not even Richard himself. It would eventually revolutionize hockey, but at that particular time, I was still experimenting with what became known as the slap shot. It took a long time for me to perfect it, but it was worth the wait."

How did the slap shot develop?

"It started with my first organized team -- Immaculate Conception, my neighborhood parish. Before and after team practice I'd spend hours working on my own. Instead of coming home I'd go right to the rink and shoot the puck over and over again. At the time, like all NHL players, I used only the wrist shot and the backhander, but one day an accident occurred that actually changed hockey history. I skated in on goal, released a wrist shot but missed the net. This really upset me. I blew up and began wildly slapping my stick at the puck as if to give it a good spanking. When I connected, the puck moved so fast it went right through the net and came out the other side. I thought to myself, 'This is something goalies are going to be afraid of for a long, long time.' I could tell then that I had a better and harder shot than anyone else."

What did your coaches think?

"They weren't impressed. Coaches then tended to be conservative. They told me to forget about it, but I was determined to perfect it. I worked and worked on it until I had the backswing down pat -- and by that time, hockey people began taking notice. One of them was a popular Montreal francophone sportswriter, Charlie Boire. When I was alone working on my shot in an empty arena, Charlie happened to show up. I had a dozen pucks lined up along the blue line. One by one, I would smack them at the net. Some went in and some went wide. When I missed the net there would be the crack of the puck hitting the backboards. To Charlie the twin cracks sounded like 'boom' and 'boom.' Charlie said he was going to nickname me 'Boom Boom.' It sounded good to me and now I had a nickname that would last forever."

What was the big break that got you to the NHL?

"I made it up to the Quebec Junior Hockey League, playing for Bob Rochon's team, Montreal Nationale. There were tons of good players in the QJHL and playing against them sharpened my game; I won the scoring championship, even outscoring
Jean Beliveau
by six points. With my new nickname and a scoring title, I was ready to make a bigger name for myself in the 1950-51 season."

When did the Canadiens come calling?

"Before expansion and the draft, an NHL team could latch on to a player by having him sign what they called a C-form. If the Canadiens saw a kid with promise they'd talk him into signing one. I did that and became property of the Habs, hoping they'd give me a shot. My chances were decent because Frank Selke, who ran the team, was in the process of shaking up the roster. He said he'd trade anybody but Richard, so that meant there might be an opening. Finally, it happened. (On Dec. 16, 1950), the Canadiens were playing the New York Rangers at the Forum. The timing was perfect; a few days earlier, the Rangers had
beaten Montreal 3-2
in New York and Selke was furious. It was his club's fifth straight loss, and there was a real panic in Montreal. Selke promoted me, Jean Beliveau and Dick Gamble to get the team on track."

How did it go for you?

"Coach Dick Irvin put me on a line with veteran
Billy Reay
at center. I'll admit I had butterflies before the game. I was sitting with legends like the Rocket,
Butch Bouchard
and
Elmer Lach
, but once I took my first turn in the game the nervousness went away. Even though I didn't have a particularly good first period, I was studying the Rangers goalie, Chuck Rayner, who had been terrific so far. But early in the second period, I got a break. Reay took a pass from defenseman
Tom Johnson
and fed the puck to me. At 4:51 of the second period I had my first goal -- in my first NHL game. When I skated to the bench all the guys slapped my back, congratulating me. The game ended in a
1-1 tie
, but at least, I proved I belonged. But Selke didn't think I was ready and sent me and Beliveau back to the Quebec league. A month later (Jan. 27, 1951), me and Big Jean got the call again from Selke. We were at home against the Chicago Black Hawks, and this time coach Irvin had Beliveau centering for me. I set him up for a goal and he set me up for another. Mine was the winner as
we topped Chicago 4-2
. In two games I had two goals and one game-winner. Not bad for a 20-year-old, but not good enough for me to stay. Once again, Selke sent me and Jean back to juniors."

When did you get called up for good?

"St. Valentine's Day was also the trade deadline. About a week before the deadline Selke shook up the team with a trade, then called me into his office and offered me a three-year contract. I was so excited that I didn't care about the money; I was so anxious to be in the NHL that I would have played for nothing. But Mr. Selke said there was a catch to my deal: He'd only let me play 18 games to finish the season. His reason was that if I played (a total of) 20 games, I wouldn't be eligible to win the
Calder Trophy
next season. But if I played only 18 games, I'd have a shot at rookie of the year in 1951-52. I finished my freshman season with 30 goals and wound up sixth on the NHL scoring list and I won the Calder, just like Mr. Selke had planned for me."

What do you remember about the 1953 playoffs?

"Even though we got swept by Detroit in the 1952 Stanley Cup Final, Selke believed that we could come back the following year. Detroit finished first in the regular season, but the Red Wings got knocked out of the opening playoff round by the Boston Bruins. Meanwhile, we had a tough time with Chicago but knocked them off when Irvin replaced
Gerry McNeil
in goal with
Jacques Plante
, who tossed a 3-0 shutout (
in Game 6
) and won
Game 7
. That put us in the Final against Boston, and we won in five games, though it wasn't easy."

How did Jean Beliveau's signing affect the team?

"After we won the Cup without him, Jean knew it was time for him to become a Canadien. But his signing didn't come easy; in fact, it took negotiations through the whole summer of 1953 and he still hadn't signed. Finally in September they worked out a deal, but this was different. It was special because Jean was the first player to come to Selke's office with an 'agent.' (Roland Mercier) It was a show of a player's independence before there ever was a Players' Association. This impressed a lot of players -- me included -- and was a step toward players having their own reps. The other important part of it was that now our team was stronger than ever down the middle, and Beliveau became my center!"

How tough was it for you to beat out Richard for the scoring title in March 1955?

"Maurice was 33 that season (1954-55) and was leading the League in points for the first time in his career with just a week to go. I was close behind him, but all of Montreal rooted for Rocket. Then there was the big brawl in Boston, with Rocket in the middle of it. NHL President Clarence Campbell suspended Maurice for the remainder of the season and the playoffs. That put me in a real tough position because I was only two points behind Rocket, and we had two games left and were still fighting for first place. Before our next game,
Doug Harvey
pulled me aside and said, 'If you have a chance to score and you deliberately miss the net, you and I are going to have a little talk.' I wound up winning the scoring title and should have been on top of the world, but I returned home to face a city full of angry hometown fans. It should have been my finest hour, but I wanted to go into hiding. I heard it in the streets and on the radio and TV. My sons were harassed by schoolmates and there were threatening phone calls. I had to hire a bodyguard to protect my family until the furor calmed down. Fortunately, the playoffs were about to begin and the fans got distracted by the postseason games. We beat the Bruins in five games in the first round and then took Detroit to seven games before losing the last one 3-1. If we had the Rocket in the lineup, we'd have beaten the Wings."

How surprised were you that Irvin got fired and Toe Blake replaced him?

"We saw it coming. In the middle of the 1954-55 season there were rumors that Chicago had asked Selke for permission to negotiate with Irvin. Dick denied interest but, by that time I knew his days were numbered. On top of that, instead of calming Rocket, Dick would egg him on; that helped bring about the riot in March 1955. Irvin wound up taking the Chicago job and Selke hired Toe to coach us."

What was special about Blake?

"Toe had proven he could coach in Houston, Buffalo and Valleyfield. Also, very important, Toe could rein in the Rocket because Maurice respected Blake from their days as linemates. Richard didn't mellow overnight but, at 35, he still had a lot of goals on his stick. Meanwhile, Toe knew when it was time to get tough and when it was time to have fun. By contrast, Irvin never smiled. After scrimmages, Toe would play 'puck takeaway' with us. We used to tell him, 'Hey, Toe, you're over the hill. What are you trying to do, taking the puck away from us?' Then we'd all laugh. We never could have done that kind of stuff with Dick."

How good was that team?

"The greatest team ever, from goaltender Jacques Plante on out. Doug Harvey and Tom Johnson were two of the best defensemen of all time. Up front, we were so stacked with talent that a guy like
Donnie Marshall
, who would be a first-line center on any other team, could barely make our third line. No team had a better collection of centers. Big Jean was coming into his own and
Henri Richard
was a rookie skating alongside his big brother, the Rocket.
Dickie Moore
-- left wing on that line -- was another Hall of Famer. Add to that,
Bert Olmstead
who could have been nicknamed 'Chairman of the Boards' -- nobody was better at digging the puck out of the corners. As it turned out, Blake was the perfect coach for the perfect team. Toe did exactly what Selke wanted; he mellowed the Rocket but it had no effect on Maurice's scoring ability. I say with no hesitation that there never was a better team -- ever."

Why didn't you win a sixth consecutive Cup?

"Rocket had retired (in September 1960), so we didn't have him to lead us anymore, and even though we finished first in the regular season we were different. Winning so many championships gave us a feeling of complacency. The other problem was that we faced Chicago in the first playoff round and those Blackhawks were tough, physically and mentally. They were scary, especially on defense with big guys like
Moose Vasko
and
Jack Evans
. Up front they had a fine one-two combination in
Bobby Hull
and
Stan Mikita
, plus
Reggie Fleming
who could fight and throw hard body checks. Chicago was tougher than any team we had faced in the past five years, and we couldn't match them in that department. We lacked an aggressive fighter to neutralize them."

How did you wind up playing with the Rangers?

By 1964, I was not up to my scoring best and owner David Molson asked me to try coaching our farm team in Quebec City, which I did for two years. We finished first in our conference twice, and then Molson said he wanted me to coach the Canadiens junior team. I was very angry with what amounted to a demotion. I decided that I wanted to play again. Toronto's Harold Ballard offered me a four-year contract but the Rangers had my drafting rights and Emile "The Cat" Francis drafted and then signed me. I told him, 'Cat, I'm gonna get your team into the playoffs.' I went to training camp and shook off the rust and made the team on merit.

What was your high point with the Rangers?

"It happened in a
home game against Toronto
on Nov. 6, 1966. Late in the second period, I stepped out of the penalty box and had a clean breakaway against goalie
Bruce Gamble
. My legs pumped away like in my Montreal days and I said to myself, 'You gotta make this one look good.' I twisted Gamble into a pretzel with two head feints and a deke before sweeping the puck into the net. What followed was the greatest ovation I ever received. The fans at Madison Square Garden got to their feet and cheered and cheered. It was better than when I scored my 50 goals for Canadiens. I looked around the arena at all the people standing and they still wouldn't stop. It went on and on and on. After five minutes I went back on the ice and took a bow and that made them cheer harder. It's not an exaggeration when I say that was the biggest thrill that I ever had in my whole hockey career!"