Canadiens Icon’s Sudden Death Casts Shadow Over Playoff Homecoming

The Canadiens’ playoff homecoming was already carrying plenty of emotion, and now the story has taken a far more painful turn. A franchise figure who mattered in Montreal is gone unexpectedly, turning what should have been a feel-good return into something much heavier. In hockey, the room always feels these moments before the public does, and this one hits with the kind of sting that lingers long after the final horn.