In a few days, I'll miss my first Montreal Canadiens game in over 13 years. And the reason for my absence couldn't be better. You see, I work alongside an announcer who will be welcomed into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

On Monday, in Toronto, Pierre Houde will officially be honoured with the Foster Hewitt Award, presented annually by the NHL Broadcasters' Association to a single member of an NHL play-by-play team (radio or television) for outstanding contributions to their profession and to the sport during their career. He will become only the fourth francophone to be awarded this honour, after René Lecavalier (1984), Richard Garneau (1999) and Gilles Tremblay (2002).
 

The ultimate professional

Pierre is a workhorse. You see him calling hockey games, Formula 1 races and on RDS' l'Antichambre. He's there for special broadcasts and he's often featured by other networks as well. But that's not the work I'm talking about, I'm talking about the work he's doing right now, less than 30 cm from me, to my right, on board the plane taking us to Newark with the Montreal Canadiens -- his research work, which receives very little attention, where he dilligently compiles and breaks down all the statistics that will allow him to effortlessly welcome you to the RDS broadcast at around 7:08 p.m. on Thursday evening.

He's been doing it systematically, every flight for the past 3,500 games. Sure, there are the home games, but he often prepares them in the middle of the night on the same plane back to Montreal. He's so immersed in his work that he doesn't even suspect that I'm writing this text to highlight and recognize his contribution to our sport and to Quebec society. And make no mistake, whether it's a match between Davos and Vitkovice at the Spengler Cup at 6 a.m. or the Tricolore's season-defining game, the preparation is always up to scratch. He's even called winning goals at the Olympics, the World Championships and the Stanley Cup. And, he even called a game in English!
 

Behind the scenes

He does not shy away from hard work, because Pierre is passionate. About many things. Communication first of all, and TV, of course - it's his job and he loves it. He never hesitated to offer up his knowledge to help me master the “container” when I started at RDS, a station he's just as passionate about. He's passionate about sports, of course: hockey, F1, soccer and “his” Green Bay Packers -- you can't even tell him the score if he can't watch the weekly game live (which he'll catch up on later). What a “cheese head!"

He loves to talk about aviation, weather, Michelle, his daughter, his pride and joy. But all these years together have been respectful, because he knows that we sometimes need our own space to work separately, as we're doing now, or just to decompress with a game of Wordscapes or patience, his favorites.

Pierre has become much more than a colleague over the years, and it's rare that we don't have dinner together on the evening of an away game. And that's when we have our biggest disagreements. Not on politics or religion, nor on health care or education. We're at opposite ends of the spectrum when it comes to choosing which red wine should accompany our meal. Pierre likes full-bodied, opaque reds, and it's quite something to watch him use his hands to explain this to the waiter. I prefer a Burgundy, Barolo, or a finer and almost translucent coloured wine. We often end up finding common ground before trying to convince the other for the next time. A fine duo.

What I like most about my partner is that, while he takes his work and responsibilities very seriously, he doesn't take himself too seriously. Obviously, I didn't discover this side of him from the first day. Initially, I was too preoccupied trying to string words together in a perfect, sometimes even robotic manner, before realizing, with his help, that we're there to accompany you, the viewer, on your cold winter evenings between dinner, homework, kids and friends. I was also overwhelmed, almost intimidated, by the larger-than-life man, “THE” voice of the Canadiens and the nationally-recognized “Et le BUUUUUUT”. But his self-deprecation is easy to unleash; it's just a matter of spotting the right moment, the right tone and it's done. He's a good audience too, he loves to laugh at the most trivial comments, even when I remind him for the umpteenth time that I consider squash to be nothing more than a vile hot and overcooked cucumber.
 

The time has come

There will be many articles about Shea Weber, Pavel Datsyuk, Jeremy Roenick, David Poile and other inductees this coming weekend, and rightly so. But as I'm accompanying the man who, since the very beginnings of RDS in 1989, has been a fixture in your homes several times a week, live, unscripted and often unfiltered, for a 14th season, I thought it only fitting to share with you, but also for him, these cherished moments with a true “hall of fame" partner.

Enjoy it, partner!

-- This column by Marc Denis was first published in French on Nov. 7, 2024 on RDS.ca