- Jacques Demers
Jacques Demers (b.
August 25 ,1944 inMontreal ,Quebec ) is aCanadian formerhead coach for theWorld Hockey Association and theNational Hockey League . He is currently an analyst forMontreal Canadiens games on RDS.WHA
Two of the franchises that Demers coached in the WHA were the
Chicago Cougars and theQuebec Nordiques . Demers had the opportunity to coachWayne Gretzky in the 1979 WHA All-Star Game. The format of the game was a three game series between the WHA All-Stars againstMoscow Dynamo . The WHA All-Stars were coached byJacques Demers and Demers askedGordie Howe if it was okay to put him on a line with Wayne Gretzky and his sonMark Howe . cite book |title= The Rebel League: The Short and Unruly Life of the World Hockey Association|last= Willes|first= Ed|year= 2004|publisher=McClelland & Stewart |location=Toronto |isbn= 0771089473|oclc= 55104983|pages= p. 221] In Game One, the line scored seven points, as the WHA All-Star won by a score of 4–2. In game two, Gretzky and Mark Howe each scored a goal and Gordie Howe picked up an assist as the WHA won 4–2. The line did not score in the final game but the WHA won by a score of 4–3.NHL
While in the NHL, he coached for the
Québec Nordiques , St. Louis Blues,Detroit Red Wings ,Montreal Canadiens andTampa Bay Lightning . He has won two consecutiveJack Adams Award s for NHL Coach of the Year with Detroit in 1987 and 1988, the only person to do this in consecutive years. In 1993, he led Montreal to its most recentStanley Cup . He is currently working as a commentator for the Canadian sports network RDS.On November 2nd 2005, Jacques Demers released a biography, written by Mario Leclerc, titled "En toutes lettres" ("All Spelled Out" in English) where he revealed that he is functionally illiterate. [ [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051102/jacquesdemers_illiteracyadmission_20051102/20051102?hub=TopStories CTV.ca | Former NHL coach Demers admits illiteracy ] ]
In 2007, he was named the 100th most influential personality in hockey by "
The Hockey News " magazine.Coaching record
References
External links
* [http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20051102/jacquesdemers_illiteracyadmission_20051102/20051102?hub=TopStories Former NHL Coach admits illiteracy - CTV news]
*hockeydb|8201
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