Michel Picard played for 16 teams in 15 cities during a 20-year professional career between the NHL, IHL, AHL, Europe and Quebec, and no place compares to Grand Rapids.
“The people in Grand Rapids were so great,” Picard said. “I’m talking outside of hockey, when we were doing skating events for people, visiting schools, hospitals, everybody is great over there.
“One of the first weekends there, we lost 8-2 on a Friday night; Saturday morning I go to the grocery store and some guy recognized me and said, ‘Great game last night!’ I said, ‘I don’t want to be rude, sir, but we lost 8-2.’ He said, ‘No, it was a great game, I had a great time, you guys are great, you’ll be better tonight.’ To me that says, ‘Wow, those guys are into it, and we got to play better for them. Grand Rapids by far the best place I played.”
Picard was one of the best to ever play for the Griffins. On Saturday, he will have his No. 7 jersey retired and raised to the rafters at Van Andel Arena prior to the game against Rockford.
He will join Travis Richards as the only players whose numbers the Griffins have retired. Jeff Hoggan will have his No. 10 jersey retired on April 2.
“My first thought was, ‘Wow, pretty cool.’ I’m going back to Grand Rapids to see all my friends, to see everybody in the organization, so that will be great,” Picard said. “After a while thinking about it, I said to myself, ‘As a hockey player, I did a lot for the city, they appreciate what I did as a player, but not only that, they appreciate who I am as a person. So that kind of hit me a little bit. I’m honored to have my jersey up beside my good friend Travis Richards. It will be a great moment.”
Picard, 52, is the Griffins’ all-time leader in goals (158), assists (222), points (380), power-play goals (40) and game-winning goals (26). He led the team in scoring in each of his first five full seasons, something no Griffin has done more than twice. He is the only Griffin to ever reach 100 points in a season, picking up 101 (46 goals, 55 assists) in 1996-97.
Picard appeared in 364 games over six seasons with Grand Rapids (1996-2000; 2002-2004), far and away more than any team for whom he has played.
That includes the franchise’s inaugural game on Oct. 5, 1996, when Picard scored the lone goal in a 1-0 victory over Indianapolis.
“In Grand Rapids, we’re all in the family,” Picard said. “For me, it was the fans, the people in the office, coaching staff, the owners, they were all part of the team and every time, win or lose, it was a fun time just to go to the rink because we knew we were playing for good people.”
He added, “Ever since they told me about the retirement, I’ve been thinking about my family and Grand Rapids, just can’t wait to get there. We want to go back where we stayed, show our kids where they went to school, spend the whole day on Saturday just to show our kids where we lived and all that stuff. It will be great.”
Picard was a prolific scorer with Three Rivers of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, racking up 140 points in 1988-89 before being selected in the ninth round (178th overall) by the Hartford Whalers.
He appeared in 166 NHL games over parts of nine seasons with Hartford, San Jose, Ottawa, St. Louis, Edmonton and Philadelphia.
“A lot of people in my own city didn’t think I was going to make it to the NHL or even be a hockey player professionally, and for me, I just wanted to prove them wrong, and I did,” Picard said. “I had a very good career. I won two Calder Cups (1991 with Springfield and 1994 with Portland), won a Stanley Cup as a scout with the Blues and now my jersey will be retired. No regrets at all.”
Picard currently is an amateur scout for the Blues, focusing on the Quebec League.
“I never thought my jersey would be retired in any city I played in,” Picard said. “To have my jersey beside Travis Richards’ is an honor. This man is a human being, he was a great captain, great teammate.”
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