Bernard Geoffrion, 75; Hockey Great Had Powerful Shot

Bernard “Boom Boom” Geoffrion, who earned his nickname from the thunderous slap shots he launched at terrified National Hockey League goaltenders, died of stomach cancer Saturday in Atlanta, hours before his jersey was retired by the Montreal Canadiens. He was 75.

A six-time Stanley Cup champion with the Canadiens, Geoffrion was elected to hockey’s Hall of Fame in 1972. He was a dynamic, garrulous player who popularized the slap shot and inspired affection from fans rather than the awe they felt for the regal Jean Beliveau or the iconic Maurice Richard, whom Geoffrion idolized.

Geoffrion was booed when he passed suspended teammate Richard to win the NHL scoring title in 1955, but he regained the fans’ support when he won the scoring title in 1961. That season, Geoffrion became the second NHL player to score 50 goals, 16 years after Richard had reached that mark.

“I said a little prayer every time he came down the wing, no doubt about it,” Hall of Fame goaltender Johnny Bower said in a message played during Saturday’s ceremonies in Montreal.

In later years, Geoffrion felt slighted by the Canadiens for never having been elected the team’s captain and for not being hired to replace the legendary Toe Blake as coach in 1966. When he got a chance to coach the Canadiens, in 1979, he lasted only 30 games before resigning over what he said was interference from management.

The Canadiens had retired the jerseys of many players before they announced in October that they would honor Geoffrion at Bell Centre. Geoffrion was represented Saturday by his wife, Marlene, the daughter of Canadiens’ Hall of Famer Howie Morenz; their adult children, Bob, Danny and Linda; and eight grandchildren.

Danny Geoffrion, who briefly played for his father in Montreal, said his father had told his mother on their first date that his jersey would someday be displayed alongside Morenz’s. “Dad, your dreams have come true and your No. 5 will live in the hearts of Canadien fans forever,” Danny Geoffrion said.

Bernard Andre Joseph Geoffrion was born in Montreal and played junior hockey in nearby Laval. It was there that a Montreal sportswriter devised his nickname: the first “Boom” was supposedly for the noise his stick made after he wound up and blasted the puck, and the second “Boom” was for the noise the puck made when it caromed off the boards, wide of the net.

But Geoffrion found the net often enough. He scored 393 goals in 16 seasons -- 14 with the Canadiens and the last two with the New York Rangers. He coached the Rangers for part of the 1968-69 season despite chronic ulcers, and was the first coach of the expansion Atlanta Flames, whom he guided to the playoffs in 1973-74.

Health problems led him to resign as coach the following season, but he settled in Atlanta and became a broadcaster, charming fans in the city’s small but enthusiastic hockey community with his still-thick French Canadian accent.

The Flames left Atlanta in 1980, but when the NHL returned to Atlanta in 1999 with the expansion Thrashers, Geoffrion became a friend and advisor to Coach Bob Hartley.

“Today is a very sad day across the hockey world and here in Atlanta,” Hartley said in a statement released by the Thrashers.

“Boom Boom was an incredible man who meant a great deal to me, and I’m fortunate to have called him a friend and mentor.... We lost a very special person today, and on behalf of the Thrashers’ organization, our deepest sympathy goes out to the entire Geoffrion family.”

Tim Ecclestone, who played for Geoffrion in Atlanta and lived there, told the Canadian Press that Geoffrion was “an icon around here. Boomer brought credibility. He had the charisma and everything else.... He was our man. He was our leader.”