Domenico Perrazino, the 85-year-old Montreal barber known as “Ménick,” has cut the hair of hockey legends and witnessed every Canadiens Stanley Cup since the 1950s. But he says the current playoff fever is unprecedented.
“I may have never felt it like this,” Ménick said from his Masson Street shop, where the floor is painted like a rink and photos of Quebec celebrities line the walls.
The Canadiens, winners of a record 24 titles, haven’t won since 1993. The current young core - Nick Suzuki, Cole Caufield, Juraj Slafkovsky, Ivan Demidov, and Lane Hutson - has electrified the city.
The energy is visible everywhere: a near-100% season-ticket renewal rate, free watch parties at the Rialto Theatre, and local businesses changing menus and signs. St-Viateur Bagel is making bagels shaped like the Habs logo. Bar Double’s renamed itself “Dobes’s” after rookie goalie Jakub Dobes.
“This year, with Suzuki, Caufield, Slafkovsky, Demidov, Hutson… and with the way Martin St. Louis is loved, I say we have a team for the next 10 years,” Ménick said.