Red Fisher with Boom Boom Geoffrion from the Montreal Canadiens.
Photo Credit : Dennis Kane
Red Fisher interviewing Toe Blake, often considered the best coach in NHL history.
Photo Credit : Montreal Gazette photo files
Red Fisher watches the third period of the Montreal Canadiens and the Toronto Maple Leafs at the Bell Centre in Montreal, September 24, 2005.
Photo Credit : Montreal Gazette
1926 - 2018
Red Fisher
Red Fisher was a Montreal sports reporter famous for his coverage and thorough knowledge of the Montreal Canadiens.
Born in Montreal, Fisher was nicknamed “Red” because of his hair colour. He began writing about hockey for the Montreal Star in 1954 and remained there until the paper’s closure in 1979, when he moved over to the Montreal Gazette. He quickly became known for his “tell it like it is” writing, and won the Canadian National Newspaper Award three times before officially retired in 2012. He was the longest-serving beat writer on record for an NHL team, having reported on the Canadians for 57 years (through 17 Stanley Cups!).
Fisher had a significant influence over the entire NHL community – Don Cherry claims that Fisher is responsible for getting him fired as Head Coach of the Boston Bruins. Upon his retirement as dean of the Montreal Canadiens reporters, Fisher’s integrity, engagement and fairness were celebrated by Gary Bettman, NHL Commissioner, Geoff Molson, George Gillett Jr., Jacques Demers, Jean Beliveau, Henri Richard, Yvan Cournoyer, Guy Carbonneau and the legendary Dickie Moore, Fisher’s close friend.
