What the Puck: ‘Ma parole!’ Pierre Houde and Martin McGuire’s reaction was almost as exciting as Cole Caufield’s 50th goal
Canadiens fans were, with good reason, incredibly thrilled when Cole Caufield scored his 50th goal of the season on Thursday night at the Bell Centre. It had, after all, been 36 years and change since a Hab had hit the 50-goal plateau, the last Canadien prior to Caufield being Stéphane Richer way way back in 1990.
But, honestly, no one sounded more exhilarated than the two best-known French-language play-by-play broadcasters associated with the team. The way Pierre Houde on RDS and Martin McGuire on radio station 98.5 FM called that historic goal was beyond ecstatic. Beyond enthused. Beyond the pale. Many of us worried for their health they were so worked up.
It was also, in both cases, sheer genius, and a reminder, as if we needed it, Houde and McGuire are national treasures.
Let’s start with Houde. The revered broadcaster has been doing the play-by-play for Canadiens games on RDS since 1989 and his catch-phrase “Et le buuuuuuut” might well be the French words most known to us anglos.
But another of his favourite lines is “Ma parole,” which he only pulls out for really dramatic moments, and Habs’ life doesn’t get any more dramatic than what happened at a little over six minutes into the second period in the ultra-intense playoff-like Canadiens-Tampa Bay Lightning game on Thursday when Juraj Slafkovsky made a nifty back-pass to Nick Suzuki. The captain then feathered the puck to Caufield, who sniped it to the right of all-star goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy. Oh, my, it was a dandy, as another great broadcaster, Bob Cole, might’ve said if he’d been there to witness this poetry in motion.
Houde was, let’s say, a wee bit worked up, as he proclaimed: “Et le buuuuuut! Ma parole! C’est fait. De Maurice, à Boom Boom, à Guy, à Steve, à Pierre, à Stéphane, à Cole. Le flambeau est passé. Fifty buts!”
(“From Maurice, to Boom Boom, to Guy, to Steve, to Pierre, to Stéphane, to Cole. The torch has been passed. Fifty goals!”)
Houde, thus, name-checked the six previous 50-goal scorers on the Canadiens — Maurice (Rocket) Richard, Bernard (Boom Boom) Geoffrion, Guy Lafleur, Steve Shutt and Pierre Larouche.
More than anyone else, Houde is the voice of the Canadiens, even for us anglos. We prefer to watch on RDS rather than either TSN or Sportsnet because we feel Houde and his sidekick Marc Denis get the team in a way only us locals can. And he really is much-loved by English fans. Years back, he told me it means a lot to him to know it’s not only francophones watching.
“I feel so humbled when I’m told by anglophones in Montreal and throughout Canada (that they watch the Habs games on RDS),” Houde told me back in 2013. “Even in Edmonton, they say: ‘Hey Pierre … et le buuuuut!’ “
But Houde is downright staid and soft-spoken on air compared to McGuire on 98.5 FM. The Quebec City native has been calling Habs games since the 2003-2004 season, first on talk station CKAC and then when that outlet closed down, over at the Cogeco-owned 98.5.
I’ve always loved the way McGuire does it. He and his colour commentator Dany Dubé are super well-informed and articulate, but the energy McGuire brings to the show is something else. You can be listening in the car to him call a meaningless Tuesday night game in November between Montreal and the Minnesota Wild and you’ll practically veer off the road as he works himself up into a lather describing what’s happening on the ice. A routine passing play becomes Shakespearian drama of the highest order in his hands.
McGuire didn’t really say much when Caufield scored, simply saying “Le 50e de Cole Caufield!!! Il l’a réussi!!!” (The 50th from Cole Caufield. He has succeeded.)
But it’s the way he’s saying it. He is quite literally shouting and all Dubé can reply initially is “wow,” just blown away by his friend’s enthusiasm. Though Dubé does follow with a great recap of the play, noting it starts (as Canadiens plays so often do, I might add) with a nice move by Lane Hutson, then the puck is advanced by Slaf, adding: “La vitesse en zone neutre, la force du Canadiens, la carte de visite de cet équipe.” (The speed in the neutral zone, the strength of the Canadiens, their calling card.)
The Houde and McGuire clips were all over social media within minutes of The Goal and they were still popping up everywhere online Friday afternoon. We love Houde and McGuire because they capture the passion we have for this hockey team, an emotion that goes beyond sports ’round these parts.
Caufield scoring 50 was a moment for the city, for the province, and no one personified that fervour better than these two seasoned broadcasters. This was not the time for calm, cool observation and analysis, and Houde and McGuire totally got that. We needed to hear it told with feeling. That’s how we roll here. Our hockey team leaves it all on the ice and we wear our emotions on our sleeves.
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