Jean Béliveau, the powerful, elegant skater and goal-scorer who was an idol in French-speaking Quebec from the time he was a teenager and, shortly thereafter, in the rest of Canada for his leadership of hockey’s greatest dynasty, the
Montreal Canadiens, died on Tuesday. He was 83.
The Canadiens confirmed his death. Since 2000, when a cancerous tumor was removed from his neck, Béliveau had survived a number of threats to his health, including strokes in 2010 and 2012.
With a naturally long stride and deceptive speed, the stick-handling finesse of a wizard and the solidity and strength to fend off checks, Béliveau was on anyone’s short list of the greatest centers to play in the National Hockey League
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