After the last game of the season, as Montreal Canadiens players were gifting the jerseys they were wearing to lucky fans who had won the “Jerseys Off Our Back” traditional contest, Brendan Gallagher gave his to a special fan. After the alternate captain lost his mother in early March, Lucie Lachance had offered to give him the Hockey Fights Cancer jersey he had worn to honour his mother’s fight with cancer a few years ago.
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As they swapped jerseys on the red carpet, Lachance gave him baby gifts for his newborn daughter, while Gallagher also gifted her with a game-used stick. The next morning, Canadiens V.P. of Communications Chantal Machabee contacted Lachance to tell her the player wanted to give her tickets to a playoff game.
She received a pair of tickets for game four and went to Montreal from her hometown of Gatineau. On her way to the Bell Centre using the metro, she was recognized by a dozen of fans who had seen the video of the jersey swap, and they thanked her for the incredible gesture. She was even hugged by a man who told her he too had lost his mother to cancer and was touched by her good deed.
She realized she was sitting in the players’ friends and family section when she got to the arena. Then, the Canadiens showed the video of the jersey swap on the jumbotron, and Lachance was cheered by the whole arena.
During the game, a few mothers recognized her, including Alex Newhook’s mother, who was particularly moved, and Samuel Montembeau’s mom, who also came over to thank her for what she had done.
She also met one of the most active mothers on social media, Simona Xhekaj, who took a picture with her. While the Canadiens couldn’t pull off the win against the Washington Capitals on the night, Lachance had a day she won’t forget anytime soon.
Got lucky enough to meet @SimonaXhekaj who was 4 seats away from me. Thank you for the big hug and pic You’re the 🐐❤️❤️❤️ Monthy’s family was right the row below me. Got to see the wags goat from Daryanne up close and talked t her and Sam’s mom. They are the sweetest 🫶🫶 pic.twitter.com/8FhjlHl6iF
— x-Lucie Lachance (@LucieLou08) April 28, 2025
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