The great qualities of Pierre Turgeon are his simplicity and modesty. His induction into the Hockey Hall of Fame doesn’t go over his head, as he always considered himself privileged in life.
• Also read: Lanny McDonald had to call Pierre Turgeon five times before telling him he was going to the Hall of Fame
““Of course I would have liked to win the Stanley Cup,” he admits straight away, “but my dream was to play hockey.”
“I was lucky enough to make a living doing what I loved above all else. And I did it for 19 years! There aren’t many people who can say that.
“It was never a job for me. I’ve always loved being at a rink and I still love it today. My body has changed, but when I spend an hour and a half on the ice, I don’t think about anything else.”
Two missed opportunities
Turgeon isn’t the only player to have a long career without winning a championship ring.
Let’s think of Gilbert Perreault, Marcel Dionne, Jean Ratelle and Brad Park. Mike Gartner, Peter Stastny, Dale Hawerchuk. The list is long.
“Only one of 32 teams wins the cup,” Turgeon remembers.
“You have to be in the right place at the right time.”
You’d think you were hearing Henri Richard, the champion of champions, who engraved his name on the legendary trophy 11 times in 20 years with the Canadian.
Turgeon took part in two association finals. First with the New York Islanders in 1993, then with the Saint Louis Blues in 2001. Each time his team lost in five games.
And in both cases the top scorers, the Canadians and the Avalanche, continued their path to the Cup.
“We could have gone further, but it didn’t work,” he said simply.
Great teammates
Turgeon also considers himself fortunate to have played with great players throughout his career.
“I played with some really good teams,” he says.
“In Saint Louis I played with Al MacInnis, Chris Pronger, Brett Hull, Keith Tkachuk, Pavol Demitra and Scott Young. In Buffalo it was Dave Andreychuk and Alexander Mogilny. On Long Island [Islanders]Steve Thomas was my linemate for a long time.
“In Montreal I played with Vincent Damphousse [qui jouait alors à l’aile gauche] and Mark Recchi. In Dallas I met Mike Modano and Joe Nieuwendyk.
Seven of Turgeon’s 13 names preceded him into the Hall of Fame, namely MacInnis, Pronger, Hull, Andreychuk, Recchi, Modano and Nieuwendyk.
In addition to all these names, there is Patrick Roy’s with the Canadians and Joe Sakic’s with the Colorado Avalanche, the last of the six teams for which Turgeon played in the NHL.
Enough to form a champion team!