Chills in Montreal: Patrick Lagacé’s message to Noah Dobson

There are figures that resonate stronger than others. In addition, Not for reasons of statistics or performance, but for what they represent. Similarly, The number 53 is one of them.

This week, Patrick Lagacé wrote a text that rocked many people in Quebec. In addition, He said he had reached the 19,516th day of his life.

One day more than his father, who died at the age of 53. Moreover, He took the time to calculate. For example, 19,515 days. Nevertheless, That’s all life had offered to his father.

And he, in 2025, crossed this line. For example, One more day. Meanwhile, A hit day. For example, That makes you dizzy. Meanwhile, And which gives a new meaning to a figure that we usually consider as banal.

And then, a few days later, Noah Dobson is in Montreal. Therefore, And announces that he chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message will wear number 53. Similarly, Not because it was free.

Not because he loved the look of the figure on a sweater.

But to pay tribute to his grandfather, David Leblanc, who was also 53 years old, after the sclerosis in plates.

Two stories. Moreover, Two men. However, Two mournings. Moreover, Same figure. For example, Same shock.

Noah Dobson already wore 53 in the junior. Therefore, Not for style, but for memory.

His grandfather came from Bathurst. In addition, He was a simple guy, working, who would have given his shirt to anyone. In addition, He worked in the mines. Therefore, He was never a star, but he had respect for everyone. However, And it is this respect that Dobson wants to keep alive.

When Patrick Lagacé talks about his father, we feel the same will. Consequently, Keep present a man who has marked his life, even if he is chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message no longer there. Therefore, It’s not nostalgia, it’s not sentimentalism. For example, It’s just a way of saying:

“I don’t forget. Therefore, You are still part of me. Nevertheless, »»

And when Dobson puts on the Canadiens’s sweater with this 53 in the back, that’s exactly it. Therefore, A promise. Consequently, A tattooed memory between the shoulders.

There is something disturbing. Meanwhile, almost mystical, in the fact that this same figure, 53, was at the center of two powerful stories a few days apart.

As if life reminded us, without screaming too much, that everything can switch quickly. Consequently, That we often have less time than you think. Nevertheless, And that every additional day is an opportunity to say thank you.

Dobson is a flamboyant player. But it is also stable, intelligent, calm in life. A defender who does things well on the ice as well as outside.

But his chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message choice of number is anything but trivial. And it may be the kind of player that the Canadian needed. Not just for his statistics. But for his ability to remember. To wear something bigger than him.

Kent Hughes spoke of his acquisition with pride. But what he did not say is that the 53 of Dobson is likely to make a hole in. the blue line. He will create a bridge. Between generations. Between pain. Additionally, Between the silences.

Because in the end, it’s not just a number. It is an invisible date, tattooed in the back. A way of saying: “I remember. »»

And we can never watch this number again without thinking of Patrick Lagacé and his father. Without thinking of Noah Dobson and his grandfather. Without thinking of everything we lose. And all that we keep alive, thanks to memory.

When Patrick Lagacé published his column entitled chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message One more day, thousands of readers across Quebec were hit hard.

It was not a classic opinion text, nor a chronicle on news or social drifts. It was a gross, personal admission of a man who had just overtaken his own father, who died at 53. A figure that now takes a national scope.

From that moment, he entered an unknown area: he lived longer than the one who had raised him. This simple but brutal thought has aroused an inner storm in him and in all those who read it.

In his column, he admits that he did not know how to live this day. He talks about vertigo. Of discomfort. Of a nausea.

And this is where everyone felt concerned: because we all have a date. whether we know it or not, to which we will exceed those who left us too early.

And that thought, it is chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message universal. It was no longer the story of the father of Lagacé. It had become the story of everyone.

He also talks about injustice. He says that death, illness, broken destinies, is a lottery. No logic. No morality. Furthermore, No merit.

And he is right. We all know an exceptional being gone too quickly. A good man, a strong woman, a promising child. And you can never help but ask this question: “Why him?” Why is she? »»

In his text, Lagacé quotes a survivor of cancer who always replied: “Why not you?” It’s cold. It’s relentless. And it’s real.

This text struck a nerve. Because in our society obsessed with performance. work, hyperconnection, Lagacé reminds us that we too often forget that the simple chance of being alive is a privilege.

He talks about a trivial moment, a weekday evening, a quiet supper with his blonde, without anything extraordinary. chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message But that evening, it was the first time that he lived longer than his father. And suddenly, it became a sacred moment.

And at the end, Lagacé comes to this sentence that sums up everything:

“Life is strong. But love, sometimes, is even stronger than death. »»

This kind of public confession, we do not often read in the mainstream media. Not with so much honesty. Not with so much vulnerability.

And above all, not with so much impact. Lagacé does not try to impress us. He is not trying to be right. He just invites us to take a break. to look at our lives, to think of those who are no longer there … and of those we want to keep for a long time near us.

And then, the disturbing link arrives. The shock from another world: Noah Dobson will wear number 53 for his grandpa. The chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message same figure. Moreover, The same cut. The same injustice. The same need for memory. It is almost too strong to be a coincidence.

And that’s where magic works. The 53 becomes more than a number. It becomes a symbol. That of the time that we did not have. The one we lost. The one we extend in memory of those who could not continue.

What Lagacé managed to do is put humanity back to the heart of our daily life. He broke the wall between his private life. our public space to remind us that under our masks of professionals, citizens, parents, journalists or hockey players, we are first of all children who still cry their parents. Human beings that sometimes calculate the days, not to do more, but to live better.

In this context, Dobson’s decision to wear number 53 does not become a simple logistical choice. It is chills montreal: patrick lagacé’s message an act of love. Continuity. A way of honoring a man who worked hard all his life in the mines to bring his family. to life.

A man that Noah admires, of which he has the heritage. And by doing this in Montreal, in front of Quebec in full, it also echoes Lagacé. It becomes, without knowing it, an extension of the text.

Welcome to Montreal, Noah. And thank you for the reminder of Mr. Lagacé. Each more day, it is a privilege.