On today’s date in 1972, former Montréal Canadiens legend Maurice Richard was hired to coach the Québec Nordiques for the first season of the newly formed World Hockey Association (WHA).
Marius Fortier, one of the Nordiques’ six founders, offered Richard a job as the team’s head coach—a dream position for Richard, who quickly accepted the position; however, after losing his first game 2-0 on the road against the Cleveland Crusaders, Richard handed in his resignation.
“It’s that simple,” he told Fortier. “I’ll die behind the bench, and I love life too much to do that.”
Fortier convinced him to stay for another game while he found a replacement, but Richard was unable to follow the tempo during his team’s second game, this at home against the Alberta Oilers. Defenceman Jean-Claude Tremblay managed the line changes and team strategy.
On Oct. 14, 1972, La Presse reported that during the game against Alberta, which was losing to the Nordiques after a “brilliant performance,” Richard was “nervous, shaking occasionally like a leaf.”
Richard quit that day and was replaced by Maurice Filion.
2005 FOUR-COIN SET
In 2005, the Royal Canadian Mint issued a four-coin set featuring Richard alongside his fellow former Canadiens teammates Jean Beliveau, Guy Lafleur and Jacques Plante.
Mint engravers used photographs supplied by the Hockey Hall of Fame to capture the players in iconic poses. Each of the 50-cent coins, which were part of the Mint’s “Hockey Legends” issue, had a mintage of 25,000. These sterling silver coins contain 92.5 per cent silver and 7.5 per cent copper and have a diameter of 27.13 millimetres as well as a weight of 9.3 grams.
The coins’ obverses feature the effigy of Queen Elizabeth II by Susanna Blunt.