Pierre Turgeon was working out at a gym on June 21 when he received two calls on his cell phone from the same number. He didn’t answer because he wanted to continue what he had started.
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Moments later, the bell rang a third time while he was in the training center elevator. Then a fourth time as he walked down the hallway toward the exit.
He didn’t recognize the number, but when he saw the 416 area code, he figured it was probably a call from a Toronto media outlet.
At this time of year it had become a ritual. Every time he wasn’t elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame, the Toronto media would call him to get his opinion.
What he didn’t know yet was that 2023 would be the right year, just like the fifth call he finally answered.
“When I heard Lanny McDonald’s voice, I understood the reason for his call,” he said.
“I turned around!”
Wait 16 years
Next Monday evening will be the big day when the former center player will officially be inducted into the Hall of Fame. It has been more than 16 years since Turgeon’s last National League game against the Colorado Avalanche.
However, his statistics speak for themselves.
Turgeon averaged more than a point per game in 1,294 NHL games, scoring 515 goals and receiving 812 assists for a total of 1,327 points. His playoff record includes 35 goals and 62 assists, for a total of 97 points in 109 games.
But as fate would have it, he played at the same time as other great center players who preceded him to the temple, namely Wayne Gretzky, Mario Lemieux, Mark Messier, Ron Francis, Steve Yzerman and Joe Sakic, all winners of the Stanley Cup and greatest individual awards .
But how could we ignore a player of Turgeon’s caliber?
The man did his job brilliantly.
As was so often the case in his time, he was targeted by opponents who wanted to take him out of the game.
Let’s remember the check from behind that Dale Hunter gave him after he scored a goal during a playoff game between the Islanders and the Capitals in 1993. This gesture earned the team a 21-game suspension. formerly a member of the Nordics.
His agent Pierre Lacroix, who attended a game between the Canadian and the Nordiques at the Forum that evening, was red with anger after the meeting. He wanted to file a lawsuit against Hunter.
Fifth Abitibien in the Pantheon
Turgeon is the fifth Abitibial to be received into the temple, joining Dave Keon, Serge Savard, Jacques Laperrière and Rogatien Vachon.
“It’s your entire career, your childhood, the efforts and sacrifices you made to achieve success that go through your mind,” he explains.
“Yes, your passion motivated you and like any job, this one wasn’t always perfect. When I look at it all, I’m so proud to have played for so many years.
“When I first started in the National League I thought it would be incredible if I played for six, seven, eight or 10 years. I made 19!”
Turgeon was coming off a 154-point, 58-game season with the Granby Bisons when the Buffalo Sabers drafted him first overall in the 1987 NHL draft. He had everything to be successful, but why did he think he wouldn’t play for more than 10 years?
First of all, he appeals because of the competition.
“You should never take anything for granted,” he says.
“The National League is the best league in the world, bringing together the best players in the world. A career used to last an average of 10 years. I told myself that I would be lucky if I was older than 10 years old.
“You also have to stay healthy and hope that your body keeps up. You have to train well and eat well.”
But he had another advantage that some don’t have.
He lost his joy in playing ice hockey. He always felt like he was on an icy surface in his natural habitat.
“I still have the passion, I play twice a week. I enjoy it as much as I did when I was a kid or when I was 27,” he adds.
Various decor
The difference is that it takes place in the shade of the palm trees of West Palm Beach, Florida, where he has lived with his wife Elisabeth for four years. Her two daughters, Alexandra and Valérie, live in Denver, where their father ended his career in 2007.
Alexandra, whose twin sister Elizabeth tragically lost her life 13 years ago, is the mother of two daughters.
The Turgeon couple’s son, Dominic, a third-round pick of the Detroit Red Wings, now 27, is continuing his career in Scandinavia. He played in Finland last year and is playing in Sweden this season.
“We’ll visit him after the holidays,” Turgeon said.
“It’s cool to be grandparents, it’s maybe the best thing in a couple’s life!” he adds with a laugh.
In other words, grandparents can rest between visits!
“If our girls want to enjoy the heat, they come to us in Florida. We also visit them in Denver,” he says.
It’s a happy man who speaks.
Despite the great misfortune that befell his family, Turgeon remains grateful for life and makes the most of every moment of happiness.