Michel Brière

Michel Brière
Born (1949-10-21)October 21, 1949
Malartic, QC, CAN
Died April 13, 1971(1971-04-13) (aged 21)
Montreal, QC, CAN
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Draft 26th overall, 1969
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 1969–1970

Michel Edouard Brière (October 21, 1949 – April 13, 1971) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player for one season in the National Hockey League. Following his rookie season with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Brière was involved in an automobile accident in which he suffered major head trauma. After multiple brain surgeries and 11 months in a coma, he died as a result of his injuries at the age of 21.

Playing career

Brière was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. During his junior career with the Shawinigan Bruins, he scored 129 goals and 191 assists, for 320 points in 100 games. According to the Penguins' general manager, Jack Riley, during the contract negotiations Brière prior to the 1969–70 season "He asked for a bigger bonus and said, 'I'm going to be here for 20 years.."[1]

On November 1, 1969, Brière scored his first NHL goal by beating Minnesota North Stars' goaltender Ken Broderick. He would go on to score 12 goals and 32 assists, to finish third in team scoring with 44 points.

During the first-round of the Stanley Cup playoffs, Brière scored the first overtime goal in Penguins' history on April 12, 1970, by scoring the game-winner, and series clincher, against the Oakland Seals at the Oakland Coliseum. The sweep of the Seals was also the first playoff series victory for the Penguins' franchise.[2]

While Brière helped lead the Penguins to the second round of the NHL playoffs, the team finished two victories short of the Stanley Cup final, by losing to St. Louis in the semifinals. During the playoffs, Briere led the team in scoring with eight points, which included five goals and three assists. Three of his five goals were game-winners.

Brière was named the Penguins' rookie of the year; however, he received no votes for the Calder Memorial Trophy, which was won by Chicago Black Hawks' goaltender Tony Esposito. At this time, many scouts were predicting that Brière would develop into a top NHL player. Brière drew comparisons to Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke, both of whom are now members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Death

Brière's retired #21 hanging above the scoreboard at Mellon Arena, next to Mario Lemieux's retired #66, in December 2009.

After the playoffs, Brière returned to Quebec to marry his childhood sweetheart Michele Beaudoin, the couple had a son, Michel. They were to be married on June 6, 1970. However, on the evening of May 15, 1970, Brière was involved in a single-car crash with two friends. He was ejected from his orange 1970 Mercury Cougar along Highway 117 in Val-d'Or, 70 miles from his hometown of Malartic.[3] Suffering from major head trauma, he was flown 300 miles to Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal, where a leading Canadian neurosurgeon performed the first of four brain surgeries. Brière was given a prognosis that gave him a 50-50 chance of living.

Brière was transferred to Montreal's Marie-Clarac Rehabilitation Hospital on March 27, 1971. The Penguins finished the regular season at home on April 4, 1971 and had missed the playoffs. Nine days later, after 11 months in a coma, Brière died at 4:20 p.m. Six members of the Penguins, including general manager Jack Riley, equipment manager Ken Carson and coach Red Kelly, attended the funeral outside Montreal. A memorial service was held in St. Paul's Cathedral in Pittsburgh, in which most of the team officials and some players attended.[1]

Brière was the first of two prominent Pittsburgh athletes to die within a 19-month period. On December 31, 1972, Pittsburgh Pirates' outfielder Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash. Coincidentally, both athletes wore number 21.[2]

Legacy

Brière's retired #21 hanging above the scoreboard at Consol Energy Center next to Mario Lemieux's retired #66, in December 2010.

While Brière was hospitalized, the Penguins started pre-season conditioning near Brantford, Ontario. Then-trainer Ken Carson added Brière's name to the back of a jersey, which, along with Brière's equipment bag, traveled with the team for their entire 1970-71 season.

Brière's number 21 was not retired immediately by the team, however no one ever wore it again. A framed jersey hung in the Igloo Club, located inside the Pittsburgh Civic Arena, with his photo, as the only visible sign of the number was retired. According to Carson "No one ever asked to wear that number (21). If they had, I would have told them Mike's story." Brière's number was officially retired on January 5, 2001; just nine days after Penguins' co-owner Mario Lemieux came out of retirement to once again wear his number 66. Brière and Mario Lemieux are the only two players in Penguins' history to have their numbers retired.[1]

The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League renamed its MVP award the Michel Brière Memorial Trophy in 1972. The Pittsburgh Penguins also present the Michel Brière Rookie of the Year Award annually to the season's best rookie player

Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1969–70 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 76 12 32 44 20 10 5 3 8 17
NHL totals 76 12 32 44 20 10 5 3 8 17

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Michel Briere 1969-70". Pittsburgh Hockey.net. Retrieved 2008-11-18.
  2. 1 2 Pelletier, Joe (December 19, 2006). "Michel Briere". Greatest Hockey legends.com. Retrieved April 30, 2015.
  3. ↑ Mondoono, Bill (May 15, 1990). "Briere Legacy an Unfulfilled promise". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. D1, D4.
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