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 (1.78 m)
Weight	165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Pittsburgh Penguins
NHL Draft	26 overall, 1969 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	1969–1970

Michel Edouard Brière (October 21, 1949 – April 13, 1971) was an NHL player whose life and career were cut short due to an automobile accident in 1970.

Playing career

Brière was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the third round (#26 overall) in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft. During his junior career with the Shawinigan Bruins, Brière scored 129 goals and 191 assists, for 320 points in 100 games.

During his only NHL season, Brière would be a core component to the Penguins as they went to the second round of the playoffs in the 1969–70 season. He scored 12 goals and 32 assists, finishing third in team scoring with 44 points. At this time, many scouts were predicting that the slightly-built but fast and nimble Brière would be a top NHL star for years to come. Brière was even being compared to the likes of Phil Esposito and Bobby Clarke, who were also young phenoms.

On November 1, 1969, Pittsburgh's rookie center scored his first NHL goal by beating Minnesota North Stars' goaltender Ken Broderick at the 15:15 mark of the third period. In the playoffs, Briere led the team in scoring with eight points. Brière netted the first overtime goal in franchise history on April 12, 1970. Brière scored the game-winner – and series clincher – at 8:28 of the first overtime period against the Oakland Seals in front of 3,028 fans at the Oakland Coliseum. The sweep of the Seals was the first playoff series victory for the Penguins.

The Penguins finished two victories short of the Stanley Cup final, losing to St. Louis in the semifinals.

Brière finished the playoffs with five goals, including three game-winning goals, and was named the Penguins' rookie of the year.

Death

Brière returned to Quebec to marry his childhood sweetheart Michele Beaudoin. Brière and Beaudoin, who had a year-old son, Martin, were to be married on June 6, 1970.

On May 15, 1970, Brière was involved in a single-car crash with two friends. Brière was ejected from his orange 1970 Mercury Cougar along Highway 117 in Val-d'Or, 70 miles from his hometown of Malartic. Briere suffered major head trauma, and was flown 300 miles by government plane to Notre Dame Hospital in Montreal, where Dr. Claude Bertrand, a leading Canadian neurosurgeon, performed the first of four brain surgeries. Bertrand delivered his prognosis that Brière had a 50-50 chance of living. 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 the 1970–71 season.

Ten months later, 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 – a 1-1 tie with St. Louis – and 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 Jack Riley, Carson and coach Red Kelly, attended the funeral outside Montreal. A memorial service was held in St. Paul Cathedral in Pittsburgh, which most of the team officials and some players attended.

Legacy

Brière's number 21 was not retired immediately by the team, but no one ever wore it again. A framed jersey hung in the Igloo Club (inside the Pittsburgh Civic Arena) with his photo. That was the only visible sign the number was retired.

Brière and Mario Lemieux are the only two players in Penguins' history to have their numbers retired. Brière's number was officially retired on January 5, 2001; just nine days after Lemieux returned to once again wear his number 66.^[1]

The QMJHL 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

• List of ice hockey players who died during their playing career
• Pittsburgh Penguins All-Time Draft Picks

References

External links

• Michel Brière's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Michel Brière's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Michel Brière @ Hockey-Reference

Authority control VIAF: 29697804 ISNI: 0000 0000 4608 6488 SUDOC: 05252857X

Persondata
Name	Briere, Michel
Alternative names
Short description	Canadian ice hockey player
Date of birth	October 21, 1949
Place of birth	Malartic, QC, CAN
Date of death	April 13, 1971
Place of death	Montreal, QC, CAN