Bernie Geoffrion Joseph André Bernard Geoffrion ( February 16 , 1931 – March 11 , 2006 ) , nicknamed " Boom Boom " , was a Canadian professional player and coach . Generally considered as one of the innovators of the slapshot , he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972 following a 16 - year career with the Montreal Canadiens and New York Rangers of the National Hockey League . Playing career . Geoffrion was born in Montreal , Quebec , and began playing in the NHL in 1951 . He earned the nickname " Boom Boom " for his thundering slapshot ( which Geoffrion claimed to have ' invented ' as a youngster in the late 1940s while playing junior hockey for the Montreal Nationale . He was the second player in NHL history to score 50 goals in one season , the first being teammate Maurice Richard . Half the time , he played left - wing on Montreal ' s front line with fellow superstars Richard and Jean Béliveau , helping the Canadiens to six Stanley Cup championships , and at other times was right wing on the No . 2 line . But Boom Boom had a hard time convincing the NHL of his considerable talents ; Maurice Richard , Andy Bathgate ( New York Rangers ) and Gordie Howe ( Detroit Red Wings ) were so good that they overshadowed him . Even after Geoffrion won the Art Ross Trophy as league scoring champion in 1955 , NHL First All - Star honours went to Richard , while Geoffrion only hooked up on the Second . However , Geoffrion ' s resulting anger was nothing compared to the Montreal Forum fans when Geoffrion scored one goal while crowd - favourite Richard was suspended , and at the time had led the NHL scoring race . The Wings beat the Canadiens in the final round in seven games that year , the exact same result of the previous season . " I couldn ' t deliberately " not " score , that isn ' t the point of hockey , Montreal , " complained Geoffrion , but fans regardless kept catcalling and jeering him . " I was so feeling the urge to vomit ; I felt terrible , " Geoffrion emotionally , admitted . " Even thinking about hockey made me feel bad , man did I want to leave . If it had not been for Jean ( Béliveau ) and Maurice ( Richard ) visiting , I would have . Usually , it ' s not too much to expect to be on the First ( All - Star ) Team when you have more points than anyone else . " In a testament to the rough - and - tumble style of play of that era , Geoffrion broke his nose six times , and received over 400 stitches . In 1958 , a training accident severely injured him and his life was saved by emergency surgery . Despite advice from his doctors to stop playing for a season , Geoffrion was on the ice six weeks later to take part in the Stanley Cup Finals . Geoffrion first retired in 1964 , but returned two seasons later to play for the New York Rangers . Likely the reason for his first retirement was Béliveau ( who was not one of three alternate captains ) , getting appointed team captain in 1961 . This was following the Rocket ' s retirement in 1960 and Doug Harvey ' s trade to the Rangers in 1961 ( he only lasted a year with the C ) . Geoffrion , who " had " had an A , was devastated by the decision to go with Béliveau . " If I didn ' t keep suffering all those terrible injuries and yet keep coming back , if I weren ' t fit to lead , would I have gotten the C and kept playing ? " asked Geoffrion , who had , in the 1961 semifinals , had a hurt leg and insisted , even so , that Harvey cut a cast off it so he could play . " Yes , I think I would . There were times when everybody kept telling me to quit . My doctor even told me I should stop playing , but I came back . " In 1968 he finally retired as a player and became coach of the Rangers , a position he kept for less than a season due to stomach problems . In 1972 he became the first coach of the Atlanta Flames , and held the position for two and a half seasons , leading them to their first playoff appearance in 1974 . He realized a longtime dream of coaching his beloved Canadiens in 1979 , but his recurring stomach ailment forced him to step down mid - season . Family . Geoffrion was the son of Jean - Baptiste Geoffrion , a restaurant owner , and his wife , Florina Poitras . He grew up in Drolet , a suburb east of Montreal . Geoffrion was a direct descendant of Pierre Joffrion and his wife Marie Priault , early French settlers in the colony of Montreal . Geoffrion ' s widow Marlene is the daughter of fellow Hockey Hall of Fame r Howie Morenz and the granddaughter of the sister of Billy Coutu ' s wife , the first player kicked out the NHL for life . Marlene and Boom Boom Geoffrion ' s son , Dan Geoffrion , ( born January 24 , 1958 ) played three seasons of professional hockey , for the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association in 1978 – 79 , Canadiens in 1979 – 80 ( with his father as coach ) , and Winnipeg Jets in 1980 – 81 . His grandson Blake Geoffrion ( born February 3 , 1988 ) plays hockey at the University of Wisconsin - Madison , and will wear the captain ' s " C " as a junior for the 2008 – 09 season . He appears poised to be the third generation of Geoffrions , and fourth generation of the Morenz - Geoffrion family , in the NHL . Blake was drafted 56th overall by the Nashville Predators in the 2006 NHL Draft . Another Geoffrion , Sebastian , was recently traded from the Lincoln Stars to the Indiana Ice , both of the USHL . Before heading to Nebraska , Sebastian was a star player at Culver Academy in northern Indiana and was a former teammate of current Ice Assistant Captain Will MacDonald . Retired number . The Canadiens announced on October 15 , 2005 , that Geoffrion ' s uniform number 5 would be retired on March 11 , 2006 . On March 8 , Geoffrion was diagnosed with stomach cancer after a surgical procedure uncovered it . Doctors attempted to remove the tumour , but found that the cancer had spread too far . Geoffrion died at the age of 75 in Atlanta , on March 11 , the day his jersey number was to be retired . He died exactly 69 years after his father - in - law Howie Morenz ' s funeral at the Montreal Forum , and exactly 10 years after the Forum closed its doors in 1996 , making the date among the saddest for Canadiens fans . During his remarks at the pre - game retirement ceremony , Geoffrion ' s son Bob recounted how his parents had once gone to a boxing match at the Montreal Forum and that Geoffrion had told his wife Marlene that his own number would someday hang from the rafters beside that of her father ' s . Fulfilling that prophecy , and in further recognition of the special link between the Morenz and Geoffrion families , the two numbers were raised side by side ( Morenz ' s banner was lowered halfway and was raised back up to the rafters with Geoffrion ' s banner ) . To add to the many coincidences of that day , the two numbers of the banner of Morenz and Geoffrion form together the number 75 , which is the age he died that day .