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Bernie Geoffrion
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1972
Geoffrion with theMontreal Canadiens in the 1960s
Born	(1931-02-16)February 16, 1931 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	March 11, 2006(2006-03-11) (aged 75) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.
Height	5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight	166 lb (75 kg; 11 st 12 lb)
Position	Right wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Montreal Canadiens New York Rangers
Playing career	1950–1964, 1966–1968

Joseph Bernard André Geoffrion (French pronunciation:[ʒɔfʁjɔ̃]; February 16, 1931 – March 11, 2006), nicknamed "Boom Boom", was aCanadian professionalice hockey player and coach. Generally considered one of the innovators of theslapshot,^[1] he was inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame in 1972 following a 16-year career with theMontreal Canadiens andNew York Rangers of theNational Hockey League. In 2017 Geoffrion was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[2]

Geoffrion was born inMontreal,Quebec, and began playing in the NHL in 1951. He earned the nickname "Boom Boom" for his thunderingslapshot (which Geoffrion claimed to have 'invented' as a youngster[1]) fromsportswriterCharlie Boire of theMontreal Star in the late 1940s while playingjunior hockey for theLaval Nationale. He was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, the first being teammateMaurice Richard. Half the time, he playedleft-wing on Montreal's front line with fellow superstars Richard andJean Béliveau, helping the Canadiens to sixStanley Cup championships, and at other times was right wing on the No. 2 line. But Geoffrion had a hard time convincing the NHL of his considerable talents;Maurice Richard,Jean Beliveau,Bobby Hull (Chicago Black Hawks) andGordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) were so good that they overshadowed him. Even after Geoffrion won theArt Ross Trophy as league scoring champion in1955, NHL First All-Star honours went to Richard, while Geoffrion only was selected to the second.^{[citation needed]}

However, Geoffrion's resulting anger was nothing compared to theMontreal 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, exactly the same result of the previous season. "I couldn't deliberatelynot 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 had not been for Jean (Béliveau) and Maurice (Richard) visiting, I would have. Usually, it's not too much to expect to be on the First (All-Star) Team when you have more points than anyone else."^{[citation needed]}

Early in his playing career, he had a reputation for letting his temper get the best of him.^[3] One such example occurred late in the second period of a Canadiens' 3–1 loss to the Rangers atMadison Square Garden on December 20, 1953. With a two-handed swing, Geoffrion's stick made contact with the left side ofRon Murphy's face, resulting in a brokenjaw andconcussion. The injuries ended Murphy's season. Geoffrion was suspended for the remaining matches between the two teams in that campaign.^[4]

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 emergencysurgery. Despite advice from his doctors to stop playing for a season, Geoffrion was on the ice six weeks later to take part in the1958 Stanley Cup Finals.^{[citation needed]}

Geoffrion first retired in 1964 and became head coach ofles As de Québec of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL), but returned two seasons later to play for theNew York Rangers. Likely the reason for his first retirement was Béliveau (who was not one of three alternate captains), getting appointed team captain in 1961. This was following the Rocket's retirement in 1960 andDoug Harvey's trade to the Rangers in 1961 (he only lasted a year with the C). Geoffrion, whohad had an A, was devastated by the decision to go with Béliveau.^{[citation needed]}

"If I didn't keep suffering all those terrible injuries and yet keep coming back, if I weren't fit to lead, would I have gotten the C and kept playing?" asked Geoffrion, who had, in the1961 semifinals, hurt a 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."^{[citation needed]}

In 1968 he finally retired as a player and became coach of the Rangers, but resigned after only 43 games due toulcers in his stomach. In 1972 he became the first coach of theAtlanta Flames, and held the position for two and a half seasons, leading them to their first playoff appearance in 1974. However, 52 games into his third season, he had to resign due to health problems yet again. Geoffrion moved to the Flames' broadcast booth, where he became the colour commentator alongside veteran play-by-play man Jiggs McDonald. He realized a longtime dream of coaching his beloved Canadiens in 1979, but his recurring stomach ailment forced him to step down mid-season.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1970s and into the 1980s, Geoffrion appeared in severaltelevision commercials forMiller Litebeer, part of their stable of retired athletes-turned-spokesmen which also includedBilly Martin andBob Uecker.^{[citation needed]}

Geoffrion was the son of Jean-Baptiste Geoffrion, a restaurant owner, and his wife, Florina Poitras. He grew up in Drolet, a suburb east of Montreal. Geoffrion was a direct descendant of Pierre Joffrion and his wife Marie Priault, early French settlers in the colony of Montreal.^[5] Marie Priault was aKing's Daughter.^{[citation needed]}

Geoffrion's widow Marlene is the daughter of fellowHockey Hall of FamerHowie Morenz and the granddaughter of the sister of the wife ofBilly Coutu, the only player banned from the NHL for life.^[6] Geoffrion's sonDan (born January 24, 1958) played five seasons of professional hockey, which included stops with theQuebec Nordiques of theWorld Hockey Association in 1978–79, Canadiens in 1979–80 (with his father as coach), andWinnipeg Jets in 1980–81.^{[citation needed]} His grandsonBlake Geoffrion (born February 3, 1988) played for theNashville Predators andMontreal Canadiens in the NHL. Dan's younger sons, Sebastian and Brice, played for theUniversity of Alabama in HuntsvilleChargers.^[7][8] Geoffrion's son-in-law,Hartland Monahan, played in the NHL for several teams in the 1970s, and his grandsonShane Monahan playedMajor League Baseball for theSeattle Mariners in the late 1990s.^[9] He, like several former Atlanta Flames players, remained in Atlanta after their careers ended. He lived in Marietta, GA, until his death.

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. Geoffrion died inAtlanta, Georgia, on March 11, the day his jersey number was to be retired.^[10]During his remarks at the pre-game retirement ceremony, Geoffrion's son Bob recounted how his parents had once gone to aboxing match at theMontreal Forum and that Geoffrion had told his wife Marlene that his own number would someday hang from the rafters beside that of her father, Howie Morenz.^[11] Fulfilling that prophecy, and 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). Traded to the Montreal Canadiens by the Nashville Predators on February 17, 2012,Blake Geoffrion decided to honor both his grandfather Geoffrion, as well as his great-grandfather Morenz, by wearing #57.^{[citation needed]}

• Calder Memorial Trophy - 1952
• NHL All-Star Game - 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955, 1956, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963
• NHL Second All-Star Team - 1955, 1960
• Art Ross Trophy - 1955, 1961
• Stanley Cup champion - 1953, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960
• Hart Memorial Trophy - 1961
• NHL First All-Star Team - 1961
• His number5 was retired by theMontreal Canadiens on March 11, 2006
• In 1998, he was ranked number 42 onThe Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.
• In 2017, Geoffrion was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.^[12]

• List of National Hockey League retired numbers
• List of players with five or more goals in an NHL game
• List of family relations in the NHL

• Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Sports E-Cyclopedia's Memoriam to "Boom Boom"
• Miller Lite ad

• 1931 births
• 2006 deaths
• Art Ross Trophy winners
• Atlanta Flames announcers
• Atlanta Flames coaches
• Calder Trophy winners
• Calgary Flames coaches
• Canadian ice hockey coaches
• Canadian ice hockey right wingers
• Deaths from cancer in Georgia (U.S. state)
• Deaths from stomach cancer in the United States
• Hart Memorial Trophy winners
• Hockey Hall of Fame inductees
• Ice hockey people from Montreal
• Montreal Canadiens coaches
• Montreal Canadiens players
• National Hockey League players with retired numbers
• New York Rangers coaches
• New York Rangers players
• Stanley Cup champions
• Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
• 20th-century Canadian sportsmen

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