Mike Bossy was treated to a simple, but touching ceremony on Thursday, in front of several hundred people gathered in a chapel of a funeral home on the North Shore of Montreal.
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Friends and family members gave speeches that aptly described the former glory of the New York Islanders. One of the highlights was the performance of two songs by his former linemate, Bryan Trottier.
Several personalities from the sports world were present for the occasion. Among them was one of the Islanders’ co-owners, Jon Ledecky, who wanted to be there to honor one of the greatest players in the history of his franchise.
“I was really touched by the speech of Bryan (Trottier) and his two songs, mentioned Mr. Ledecky as he left the chapel. Mike was a big influence on me since I became a team owner.
“I felt I might learn a lot from him. Mike was frank and honest in his comments. He was advising us on the steps to winning a Stanley Cup. He wanted the Islanders so badly to become a championship team once more. It was very important to him.”
Mr. Ledecky wanted to share an anecdote that illustrates Bossy’s personality well.
“For the past few years, we had the idea of erecting a statue of him in front of our arena, but we knew he would never have approved the project, told the owner of the Islanders. If we wanted to honor him, we had to do so by honoring editions that won the Stanley Cup and not just Mike.
“He wanted a statue of him and his teammates celebrating winning the Stanley Cup. It was always regarding the team and not regarding him.
In the space of a few months, the Islanders suffered three major blows with the deaths of Bossy, Clark Gillies and Jean Potvin.
Earlier in the day, Alumni President Réjean Houle and Sports and Entertainment President France-Margaret Bélanger met with Bossy’s family to offer their condolences.
Normand Dupont and Lucien Deblois did the same.
“We were the same age and we faced each other in the junior while I was playing for the Montreal Juniors, said Dupont. We were rivals on the ice, but friends off it. It was the same with the pros.
“Mike was a player we always had to watch. He was a goal scorer and that was his trademark. In our game plan, his name was often mentioned. It was a constant threat.”
Deblois had also known Bossy for several decades.
“I had known Mike since I was 15. We have played our entire career once morest each other. Another big part of Quebec is going back. Mike was kind of Guy Lafleur’s heir apparent. He was quite a hockey player.
“If you dropped him for a split second and gave him the chance to throw, it was over. It was poison around the net.”
In the first minutes of the opening of the showroom, comedian André-Philippe Gagnon came to offer his sympathy to the family. We remember that Gagnon imitated Bossy to perfection in the 80s. The two men became friends followingwards.