Quebec natives Vinny Lecavalier, Martin St. Louis and Eric Perrin return to a heated atmosphere.
By DAMIAN CRISTODERO
Published April 27, 2004
MONTREAL - Normand St. Louis can list without hesitation the years the Canadiens won Stanley Cup championships.
"I saw them win a lot of Cups," he said, proudly. "I can tell you all the years: 1960, '65, '66, and '68, '69, '71, '73, and all that. I went on Ste. Catherine Street to the parade. Montreal. It is our team."
But Martin St. Louis is Normand's son. And when Normand and wife France are at the Bell Centre tonight for Game 3 of the East semifinals between the Lightning and Canadiens, they will go hoarse rooting for Tampa Bay.
"It would be a lot harder if Marty lost," Normand said from his home in the Montreal suburb of Laval. "I hope the Lightning will win the Stanley Cup."
It is the same for Vinny Lecavalier's parents in the suburb of Ile Bizard; Eric Perrin's parents, also in Laval; and Brad Richards' parents, who will make the trip from Murray Harbour on Prince Edward Island to watch their son who gained so much publicity in the province of Quebec when he played junior hockey for Rimouski.
Make no mistake, this is a huge deal. Much bigger than when the boys visit for regular-season games.
Canadiens fans paraded through downtown when Montreal advanced from the quarterfinals by beating the Bruins in Game 7 after trailing three games to one. Lecavalier, St. Louis and Perrin grew up dreaming of playing for the Canadiens or playing against them in the playoffs.
Richards to a lesser extent, though his regard for a franchise with a record 24 Cup titles grew exponentially while in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.
"After living in the province of Quebec for three years, it's going to be pretty special," Richards said. "Just to play a game there is great, but to play in the playoffs is going to be unbelievable. It's Hockey Night in Canada. It's Montreal. It's going to be so much fun."
"I can't really describe it," Lecavalier said. "I'm going to be kind of nervous, anxious. I want to play right now."
Can you blame him? After a pair of two-goal games and two Lightning victories, Lecavalier, who became an obsession in this city at 17 when he was named Canada's No. 1 junior prospect, is the hottest thing going.
Lecavalier's picture wasn't just on the sports pages of Montreal's French and English newspapers the day after the Lightning's 3-1 victory in Game 2, it was on the front page.
"That's what makes it so special playing against the Montreal Canadiens, being born in Montreal," the top pick of the 1998 draft said. "When you're a kid, they were always your team. When I step on the ice it's just a different feeling. Maybe it's because I'm going back home. And when you're on the bench looking at the banners and see the names (like) Jean Beliveau, it's something special."
"The biggest part is because there is such a frenzy in Montreal because they beat Boston," said Lecavalier's older brother, Phil. "I don't remember in my lifetime so many people so excited about the playoffs in Montreal."
Richards' father, Glen, said some of Murray Harbour's hard-core Canadiens fans are having a difficult time figuring out for whom to root.
"Around here, everybody is going crazy," he said. "In the playoffs, playing Montreal, it's that much bigger. So many of the island people around here are Montreal fans but are caught in between because of Brad."
There is a little of that in Montreal as well.
"Some people," said Pat Hickey, who covers the Canadiens for the Montreal Gazette, "will be there specifically to see Vinny and St. Louis."
The families have been caught up in the hype as well.
Normand St. Louis said the past week has been "crazy" around the house as reporters from across Canada called. Phil Lecavalier said it almost is as if he will be playing.
"I played a little bit myself," said Phil, who played defense for Clarkson University in upstate New York. "I get a chance to live this excitement through my brother."
Martin St. Louis acknowledged the excitement, but preferred to view the experience as a business trip.
That is why he said he only briefly will see his parents and not even go home for dinner. Better, he said, to limit distractions.
"I'm excited to go to Montreal because we'll be able to experience the playoffs there," he said. "But you've got to take it as if you're trying to beat another team, not a team you used to watch. It's not like I'm in awe anymore. I'm not 14 any more, you know what I mean? You mature as a person."
But you always are a fan. Just ask St. Louis' dad.
"I was 9 years old when Maurice Richard decided to retire," Normand said. "I cried. Here hockey is a religion. It is our sport."
