I’ve reminded Darche on occasion that it must be because the Canadiens have so many numbers retired that they can’t afford to hang his No. 52 from Bell Centre rafters, no matter the outrageous oversight, telling him to take heart that No. 5 is retired for Bernie Geoffrion and Guy Lapointe, No. 2 retired for Doug Harvey.
Outside the arena, on the south face of a hulking four-sided monument in a plaza celebrating the Canadiens Centennial, Darche’s name is among the 761 skaters and goalies who played a total of 100,497 regular-season games for the franchise during its first century. You’ll find him alphabetically between Craig Darby and Lorne Davis.
A visit to the Canadiens’ Bell Centre store on Friday found no Darche merchandise on hangers or shelves, so the staff played along for what should be my final zing of a friend who’s taken a large step up the management ladder.
A clerk at Tricolore Sports made up a nameplated and numbered Darche jersey for a photo, dropping a $5 price tag on it for effect. We placed a conveniently found Jan. 25, 2024, warmup puck beneath the numbers to mark Darche’s hometown Canadiens past and his Islanders present.
This, and much more, surely will be discussed one day soon over a promised steak that now is well past medium-rare, having been on the fire for nearly 13 years.
Top photo: Colby Armstrong (l.) and Mathieu Darche in the photo that launched a fundraising dinner, and Darche with the Stanley Cup at Edmonton’s Rogers Place on Sept. 28, 2020, following the Tampa Bay Lightning’s Game 6 championship-clinching win against the Dallas Stars.
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