Gagnon's perseverance, passion carried journalist to Hall of Fame

TORONTO -- The self-proclaimed “greatest moment” of Francois Gagnon’s life involved ice.

And the hockey world.

Only not in the way you might think.

Yes, Gagnon will be honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame on Monday as the 2025 recipient of the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, which recognizes distinguished members of the hockey-writing profession whose words have brought honor to journalism and to hockey.

But if there was a Hero Hall of Fame, he’d have been inducted into it almost four decades ago.

Just like anyone should who has helped save a life.

Like Gagnon did on one particular frosty morning in January of 1988.

At that time, Monique Boudrias, sister of then-Montreal Canadiens assistant general manager Andre Boudrias, was driving over an icy bridge connecting the Quebec communities of Gatineau and the one then known as Hull.

During the overnight hours, a vehicle had slid off that same bridge and into the ice-covered river, where the male passenger subsequently had been rescued from the frigid water by firefighters. Frankie, the name his friends and colleagues call him to this day, was a young reporter covering traffic for the morning show on Ottawa radio station CKCL at the time and was on the scene reporting on the remnants of that first accident when he suddenly — and shockingly — witnessed Monique Boudrias’ Jeep do the exact same thing.

“I was live on radio, and I saw her vehicle go off the bridge and down,” Gagnon recalled. “And so I called the Fire and Emergency and said, 'This is not a joke. It happened again. It's right in front of my eyes.' So I did my report.

“Then I saw the woman come out of the water in the middle of where the ice had been broken by her truck. And I just hung up and said, 'I'm going on the ice. I'm going to try to get her.'"

Fortunately, someone in the area had heard Gagnon’s report on the radio and came running onto the ice to join him carrying a big rope. The ice was thick enough that Gagnon could get close enough to the hole where the woman was churning in the icy waters after escaping her vehicle.

“My hands were frozen, her hands were frozen,” he said. “I passed the rope into her arms, and I said to her, 'We're probably going to break both of your arms, but we're going to get you out of there.'

“And we did.”

When Andre Boudrias heard about how Gagnon helped save his sister’s life, he offered the fledgling journalist his tickets for a Canadiens game at the fabled Montreal Forum.

Little did Monique and Andre Boudrias know that young Frankie years later would go on to become one of the most respected voices in the sport of hockey, let alone cover that same Canadiens franchise.

Monique stayed in touch with Gagnon over the ensuing decades. About 10 years ago she invited him to a ceremony where she was to receive an honorary university doctorate. During her speech, she said that without Frankie’s intervention that day, she would not have been around to accept that honor, let alone be around, period.

As much as he is overwhelmed and humbled at receiving the Elmer Ferguson Award, his most significant moment on earth, he says, was helping save Monique’s life.

“I mean, nothing will ever match that,” he said. “When you think about it, you need to be first. You need to be lucky. You need to be there. And everything that could have happened, happened. The ice was thick enough that we could get close to her. She was lucky that the driver's window broke and it was facing the surface so she could get out. Because she was getting ready to die …”

He paused, his voice cracking with emotion.

Yes, this is a testimonial about Frankie Gagnon, 2025 Elmer Ferguson recipient. And what better way to describe his life than to document how he saved one.

Because those that know him understand this about him: standing on the ice that frigid day, he was going to do everything in his power to help Monique, no matter what the odds. It was yet another example of his dogged determination, the same trait that pushed him to pursue his dream as a kid of one day being a hockey journalist.

“Everything hockey related, right?” he says now. “I mean, Monique being the sister of the Canadiens assistant GM — you can’t make that stuff up.”

Nor could you make up the type of perseverance he’s had in his journey to be one of the best in his field, one that started as a youngster in the Quebec City area.

As a boy there he read every hockey book he could get his hands on. He religiously watched "Hockey Night in Canada" on French CBC every Saturday during the hockey season. At that time, Guy Lemieux, the father of one of his best friends, was doing sports at Le Journal de Quebec.

“I told him I wanted to be a hockey writer,” Gagnon said. “He corrected me. He told me that you had to be a journalist first. Don’t confine yourself to writing. Be competent at TV and radio too, whatever it takes. Cover whatever it takes. And if you keep at it, it will lead you to hockey.”

It certainly did. Indeed, his run has included covering the Canadiens for the past three decades, a path that featured stops at respected French-Canadian publications like LeDroit, Le Soleil and La Presse. In 2013 he was hired full time by prestigious broadcaster RDS, where he’s written columns and done on-air analysis ever since.

One of his on-air co-workers there happens to be former Canadiens player and coach Guy Carbonneau, a member of the Hall of Fame Class of 2019. Carbonneau has been on both sides of Gagnon’s questions, both as a subject and a colleague, and says Gagnon has earned the respect of those in the hockey world with his accuracy and honesty, even when some might not agree with him when he tells it like it is.

“He’s fair. He’s always been that,” Carbonneau said. “Everyone in hockey pretty well knows him, especially in the province of Quebec. And he’s such a hard worker. His enthusiasm and effort for the game he loves is evident pretty much every day.

“The only game he might love as much is golf. We are members at the same club and he has a similar passion for it as he does for hockey.”

That passion is also on display when it comes to his family: Wife Marie-Claude Pilon; sons Etienne and Arnaud; and daughter Mathilde. And not to be forgotten: his recently born grandson, wee Laurent.

On his path to the Hall, Gagnon has rubbed shoulders and interviewed some of the greats of the game, from Guy Lafleur to Wayne Gretzky to Sidney Crosby. He once played in a game officiated by the legendary Maurice Richard. But when asked for the biggest highlight, the most memorable moment, the most moving interview of his career as a hockey journalist, he points to an emotional sit-down he had with the great Jean Beliveau, one of the most revered figures in Quebec history, hockey or otherwise.

“Mr. Beliveau and I spoke for about 45 minutes at what is now the Bell Centre,” Gagnon said. “His assistant tried to end the interview a couple of times and he said 'No, we are still talking.' He was calling me 'The Little Boy From Quebec City,' where he started his career.

“He was battling cancer at the time, and I was doing a story on his fight. And I remember saying to him: 'Mr. Beliveau, if there ever comes a day where you don’t feel strong enough that you can beat that, just turn around and look behind you. Because we are all behind you, pushing your back.'

“That was probably one of the most touching moments I had in my career.”

Beliveau’s response? He smiled. And whenever he saw Gagnon after that, he would come over and say a few words, classy man that he was.

Now, come Monday, Frankie’s plaque will reside in the same Great Hall in the Hockey Hall of Fame as that of Beliveau, Richard and Lafleur.

“It’s surreal,” he said. “I mean, I’ve never been one to beat my own chest. I’ve always been a team player. But there will come a time where I will say: 'I’ve earned this. I’m proud of myself.'"

Like any other hero in life, he should be.