By Bryn Levy

Saskatoon Habs’ fans pay tribute to Jean Beliveau

Dec 10, 2014 | 4:15 PM

Saskatoon’s Montreal Canadiens fans let Harold Latrace arena fill in for the Montreal Forum as they paid their respects to one of the team’s all-time greats.

The Western Canadian Montreal Canadiens Fan Club set up a shrine to Beliveau in their dressing room, including dozens of signed items and other memorabilia for fans to take a look at. 

The items belong to club president Jim Taman.

“I’m still collecting — I tell my family each Christmas: ‘please no more Montreal stuff, no more Riders stuff,  I have enough,’ but every year they seem to find something they think I don’t have,” he said with a chuckle.

Club member John Opsal said Beliveau will always hold a special spot in his memories as a life-long Canadiens fan. “When we first got TV on the farm and our next door neighbour was a Toronto Maple Leafs fan. And some of those Stanley Cup Playoffs with the Leafs were just marvelous. To see Jean Beliveau score the winning goal,” he said. 

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Matthew Ward said he never got a chance to meet Beliveau, but still found himself choked up at the loss.

“Last night watching the tribute was really the emotional moment.  I didn’t think it would be, but you watch that tribute on TV and you see his wife and his family and how classy he was,” he said.

Ward said Beliveau’s death gave him a chance to reflect on the positive impact the team and the fan club have had on his own life. “For me in Saskatoon it’s given me another family, or it’s made my family part of another family,” he said.

Beliveau died at 83 on Dec. 2. He won 10 Stanley Cups with the Canadiens.

blevy@rawlco.com

On Twitter: @BrynLevy