Boom Boom

Bernard Joseph André Geoffrion (February 14, 1931 – March 11, 2006), nicknamed "Boom Boom", Geoffrion was born in Montreal, Quebec, and began playing in the NHL in 1951. He earned the nickname for his thundering slapshot (which Geoffrion claimed to have 'invented' as a youngster [2]) from sportswriter Charlie Boire of the Montreal Star in the late 1940s while playing junior hockey for the Laval Nationale. He was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season, the first being teammate Maurice Richard. Half the time, he played left-wing on Montreal's front line with fellow superstars Richard and Jean Béliveau, helping the Canadiens to six Stanley Cup championships, and at other times was right wing on the No. 2 line. But Boom Boom had a hard time convincing the NHL of his considerable talents; Richard, Andy Bathgate (New York Rangers) and Gordie Howe (Detroit Red Wings) were so good that the league over-highly, Geoffrion thought, watched them. Even after Geoffrion won the Art Ross Trophy as league scoring champion in 1955, NHL First All-Star honours went to Richard, while Geoffrion only hooked up on the Second. However, Geoffrion's resulting anger was nothing compared to the Montreal Forum fans when Geoffrion scored one goal while crowd favourite Richard was suspended, and at the time had led the NHL scoring race. The Wings beat the Canadiens in the final round in seven games that year, the exact same result of the previous season.

"I couldn't deliberately not score, that isn't the point of hockey, Montreal," complained Geoffrion, but fans regardless kept catcalling and jeering him. "I was so feeling the urge to vomit; I felt terrible," Geoffrion emotionally, admitted. "Even thinking about hockey made me feel bad, man did I want to leave. If it had not been for Jean [Béliveau] and Maurice [Richard] visiting, I would have. Usually, it's not too much to expect to be on the First (All-Star) Team when you have more points than anyone else."

In a testament to the rough-and-tumble style of play of that era, Geoffrion broke his nose six times, and received over 400 stitches. In 1958, a training accident severely injured him and his life was saved by emergency surgery. Despite advice from his doctors to stop playing for a season, Geoffrion was on the ice six weeks later to take part in the Stanley Cup Finals.

Boom Boom the cat currently lives at the Kensington Road location in Calgary.