Jacques Demers was born on August 25,1944 and is a former Canadian Senator, former broadcaster and former professional ice hockey head coach.
17 Facts About Jacques Demers
2.
Senator Jacques Demers represented the Conservative Party in the Senate until December 2015 when he resigned from the Conservative caucus in order to sit as an Independent.
3.
Two of the franchises Jacques Demers coached in the WHA were the Chicago Cougars and the Quebec Nordiques.
4.
Jacques Demers had the opportunity to coach Wayne Gretzky in the 1979 WHA All-Star Series.
5.
Jacques Demers asked Gordie Howe if it was okay to put him on a line with Wayne Gretzky and his son Mark Howe.
6.
Jacques Demers won two consecutive Jack Adams Awards as NHL Coach of the Year, with Detroit in both 1987 and 1988.
7.
Jacques Demers is the only person to win the award in consecutive years.
8.
Jacques Demers was responsible for naming longtime Red Wing Steve Yzerman as team captain.
9.
Jacques Demers displayed a fatherly attitude toward the young star, often pulling him aside during practice to lecture him in their native French.
10.
On November 2,2005, Jacques Demers released a biography, written by Mario Leclerc, entitled En toutes lettres, in which he revealed that he is functionally illiterate.
11.
Jacques Demers 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.
12.
When he served as general manager of the Lightning, he brought in Cliff Fletcher and Jay Feaster as his assistants; as it turned out, they did most of the work a general manager would normally do because Jacques Demers knew he could not do it himself.
13.
Jacques Demers served in the Senate until reaching the mandatory retirement age of 75 on August 25,2019.
14.
On July 5,2010, Jacques Demers was reported to be in stable condition after undergoing two emergency surgeries.
15.
Jacques Demers was hospitalized after experiencing a stroke in April 2016.
16.
Jacques Demers remained in stable condition in a Montreal hospital.
17.
In October 2016, Jacques Demers was hospitalized for a serious infection.