Canadiens’ Beliveau continues to inspire

As was the case with the death of Maurice Richard in May of 2000, public mourning over the death of Jean Beliveau has a profound resonance to it, a deeply emotional and even spiritual quality. We all know why. Beliveau was the quintessential Montreal Canadien, and the Canadiens are emblematic of Montreal, as well as Quebec and all of Canada.

Former Montreal Canadiens publicist Camille Desroches used to like to characterize Richard, Beliveau and Guy Lafleur as the Holy Trinity of Habs legends, and to describe them in terms of how they compared to the three iconic Italian Renaissance painters.

The Rocket, said Desroches, was Michelangelo — an artist who was known for his exceptional determination and the hot fury in his dark eyes. Beliveau was Leonardo da Vinci — as Desroches put it, “the master of masters.” And Lafleur was Raphael — “the most talented of the three,” said Desroches, “but he liked wine, women and song and died young.” Lafleur is still very much living, of course; but as a player, his best years were behind him by age 30. Richard and Beliveau were able to perform at a higher level for much longer.

The Rocket played with a bent- over, focused fury that was a metaphor for growing political and linguistic discontent in Quebec in the 1950s. Beliveau, by contrast, stood taller and more confident than the Rocket, emblematic of a more modern Quebec. And where the Rocket belonged chiefly to Quebec, Beliveau belonged to all of Canada; to those across the country who saw him on television, he represented not only the hockey club, but Montreal, Quebec and French Canada more broadly.

It’s no secret what people saw in Beliveau — a regal bearing that transcended the sport of ice hockey.