Jacques Demers

A coach who started in the World Hockey Association, Jacques Demers became an NHL coach when his Quebec Nordiques left the now-defunct league.  After Quebec didn’t renew his contract, Demers coached in the AHL for two seasons before returning to the NHL with the St. Louis Blues. After three seasons with the St. Louis Blues, he went on to coach the Detroit Red Wings for four seasons. In his last year with St. Louis, Demers brought them to the conference finals; he would repeat this feat the next two seasons with Detroit.  Those same two seasons, Demers was awarded the Jack Adams trophy – the only coach to win it in consecutive years.

Following a two-year absence, Demers returned to coaching in 1992 with the Montreal Canadiens.  That year, the Habs won their 23rd Stanley Cup.  After only four games into the 1995 season, the Habs fired Demers. Rebounding, he took over the Tampa Bay Lightning for the next two seasons.

Demers released his biography in 2005 entitled, En toutes lettres (All Spelled Out). Written by sports writer Mario LeClerc, Demers admitted that he was funcionally illiterate.

In 2007, Demers was named the 100th most influential personality in hockey by The Hockey News, and was appointed to the Senate by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in 2009.

A frequent commentator on CBC and TSN, Demers is a regular analyst and columnist for RDS in Quebec.

• 1. Leadership

• 2. Teamwork

• 3. Overcoming Adversity

• 4. Recognizing Talent

• 5. Managing Assets – Knowing & Using the Players You Have

• “Jacques did a fabulous job for us! He was highly skilled at presenting in both French and English which helped to engage the entire audience.  His message and the way he related it back to his life was wonderful.  I was also pleased to see how his points related back to success in both personal and business life.”

  Holstein Canada

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