Jacques Demers (born August 25, 1944) is a former

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

, former broadcaster and former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

head coach A head coach, senior coach or manager is a professional at training and developing athletes. They typically hold a more public profile and are paid more than other coaches. In some sports, the head coach is instead called the "manager", as in assoc ...

. After a lengthy coaching career in the

World Hockey Association The World Hockey Association (french: Association mondiale de hockey) was a professional ice hockey major league that operated in North America from 1972 to 1979. It was the first major league to compete with the National Hockey League (NHL) ...

and in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

, Demers became an analyst for

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

games on RDS. On August 27, 2009, he was nominated by Prime Minister

Stephen Harper Stephen Joseph Harper (born April 30, 1959) is a Canadian politician who served as the 22nd prime minister of Canada from 2006 to 2015. Harper is the first and only prime minister to come from the modern-day Conservative Party of Canada, ...

to fill the

Canadian Senate The Senate of Canada (french: region=CA, Sénat du Canada) is the upper house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the House of Commons, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The Senate is modelled after the B ...

seat vacated by

Yoine Goldstein Yoine J. Goldstein (May 11, 1934 – March 18, 2020) was a Canadian lawyer, academic, and former Senator. Born in Montreal, Quebec, his education includes a Bachelor of Arts from McGill University in 1955, a Bachelor of Civil Law (with honours) ...

. Senator Demers represented the

Conservative Party The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right. Political parties called The Conservative P ...

in the Senate until December 2015 when he resigned from the Conservative caucus in order to sit as an Independent. On his 75th birthday on August 25, 2019 Senator Demers left his position as Senator.

WHA

Two of the franchises Demers coached in the WHA were the

Chicago Cougars The Chicago Cougars were a franchise in the World Hockey Association from 1972 to 1975. The Cougars played their home games in the International Amphitheatre. During the 1974 Avco Cup Finals against Gordie Howe and the Houston Aeros, the team's ...

and the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (french: Nordiques de Québec, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Quebec City Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the W ...

. Additionally, he was the exceedingly popular coach of the

Indianapolis Racers The Indianapolis Racers were a major league hockey team in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1974 to 1978. They competed in four full seasons before folding 25 games into the 1978–79 season. They played at Market Square Arena. They are o ...

, which won the Eastern Division championship under his guidance. Demers had the opportunity to coach

Wayne Gretzky Wayne Douglas Gretzky ( ; born January 26, 1961) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. He played 20 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for four teams from 1979 to 1999. Nicknamed "the Great One ...

in the 1979 WHA All-Star Series. The format of the series was a three-game set that pitted the WHA All-Stars against HC Moscow Dynamo. Demers asked

Gordie Howe Gordon Howe (March 31, 1928 – June 10, 2016) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. From 1946 to 1980, he played 26 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) and six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA); his first 25 seaso ...

if it was okay to put him on a line with Wayne Gretzky and his son

Mark Howe Mark Steven Howe (born 28 May 1955) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman and left winger who played sixteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) following six seasons in the World Hockey Association (WHA). He is curre ...

. In Game One, the line scored seven points as the WHA All-Stars 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 the

St. Louis Blues The St. Louis Blues are a professional ice hockey team based in St. Louis. The Blues compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the ...

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

and

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. They play th ...

. He won two consecutive Jack Adams Awards as NHL Coach of the Year, with Detroit in both

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

and

1988 File:1988 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The oil platform Piper Alpha explodes and collapses in the North Sea, killing 165 workers; The USS Vincennes (CG-49) mistakenly shoots down Iran Air Flight 655; Australia celebrates its Australian ...

. He is the only person to win the award in consecutive years. He was also responsible for naming longtime Red Wing Steve Yzerman as team captain. In 1993, he led Montreal to its most recent

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

. Only two years later, however, the Canadiens missed the playoffs altogether for the first time since 1970. After an 0-5 start to the 1995-96 season, Demers was fired. While in Tampa Bay, he was responsible for guiding

Vincent Lecavalier Vincent "Vinny" Lecavalier (born April 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who is currently a special advisor to hockey operations for the Montreal Canadiens. Lecavalier, played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey ...

through his first two years in the NHL. He displayed a fatherly attitude toward the young star, often pulling him aside during practice to lecture him in their native French. During the 1998-99 season, he also served as the Lightning's general manager. In 2007, he was named the 100th most influential personality in hockey by ''

The Hockey News ''The Hockey News'' (''THN'') is a Canadian-based ice hockey magazine. ''The Hockey News'' was founded in 1947 by Ken McKenzie and Will Cote and has since become the most recognized hockey publication in North America. The magazine has a readers ...

''.

Coaching record

NHL

WHA

AHL

Literacy struggles

On November 2, 2005, Demers released a biography, written by Mario Leclerc, entitled ''En toutes lettres'' (English translation: ''All Spelled Out''), in which he revealed that he is

functionally illiterate Functional illiteracy consists of reading and writing skills that are inadequate "to manage daily living and employment tasks that require reading skills beyond a basic level". Those who read and write only in a language other than the predominant ...

. According to Demers, he never really learned to read or write because of his abusive childhood in Montreal. He covered for himself by asking secretaries and public relations people to read letters for him, claiming he could not read English well enough to understand them (though he speaks English and French equally well). When he served as general manager of the Lightning, he brought in

Cliff Fletcher George Clifford "Cliff" Fletcher (born August 16, 1935) is a National Hockey League executive and is a former general manager of the Atlanta Flames/Calgary Flames, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Phoenix Coyotes. He is currently a senior advisor to the ...

and

Jay Feaster Jay Harry Feaster (born July 30, 1962) is a National Hockey League (NHL) executive currently serving as the Executive Director of Community Hockey Development for the Tampa Bay Lightning. He is the former general manager of the Calgary Flames, hav ...

as his assistants; as it turned out, they did most of the work a general manager would normally do because Demers knew he could not do it himself.

Political career

On August 28, 2009,

CBC Radio One CBC Radio One is the English-language news and information radio network of the publicly owned Canadian Broadcasting Corporation. It is commercial-free and offers local and national programming. It is available on AM and FM to 98 percent of Ca ...

reported that Demers was chosen to fill the Senate seat of

by Prime Minister Harper. According to the CBC report, he has "raised awareness about literacy issues" by "going public with his own struggles." A series of Montreal residents were interviewed regarding his Senate appointment and they were generally positive about the move. Many noted, however, that it was "important that he learn to read." Demers served in the Senate until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on August 25, 2019.

Health

On July 5, 2010, Demers was reported to be in stable condition after undergoing two emergency surgeries. Demers was hospitalized after experiencing a stroke in April 2016. He remained in stable condition in a Montreal hospital. In October 2016, Demers was hospitalized for a serious infection. Since his 2016 stroke, he has been living with

aphasia Aphasia is an inability to comprehend or formulate language because of damage to specific brain regions. The major causes are stroke and head trauma; prevalence is hard to determine but aphasia due to stroke is estimated to be 0.1–0.4% in t ...

Honours

*In 2010, he was elected as an inaugural inductee into the

World Hockey Association Hall of Fame The World Hockey Association Hall of Fame is an independent organization dedicated to honoring the World Hockey Association (WHA) which operated from 1972 to 1979 as a major professional ice hockey league. Officially partnered with the United Stat ...

in the coaching category. *In 2014, Demers was named the Honorary Lieutenant-Colonel of the

Canadian Grenadier Guards , colors = , march = Quick: "The British Grenadiers""Slow: "Grenadiers Slow March""Slow: "Scipio" , mascot = , identification_symbol = White (left side of bearski ...

, a Montreal-based, Canadian Army Primary Reserve infantry unit.Canadian Armed Forces Honoraries
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References

External links

* *
Former NHL Coach admits illiteracy – CTV news
{{DEFAULTSORT:Demers, Jacques 1944 births 21st-century Canadian politicians Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian senators from Quebec Canadian sportsperson-politicians Cincinnati Stingers Conservative Party of Canada senators Detroit Red Wings coaches French Quebecers Ice hockey people from Montreal Independent Canadian senators Indianapolis Racers Jack Adams Award winners Living people Montreal Canadiens coaches National Hockey League broadcasters Politicians from Montreal Quebec Nordiques announcers Quebec Nordiques coaches St. Louis Blues coaches Stanley Cup champions Stanley Cup championship-winning head coaches Tampa Bay Lightning coaches Tampa Bay Lightning executives