It was an emotional night at the 26th annual Induction Gala for the Quebec Sports Hall of Fame.
Jacques Demers, the last head coach to win a Stanley Cup in Montreal and overall nice guy, made his first public appearance since suffering a stroke in April.
The Senator now uses a wheelchair to get around and last night entered the Gala with the help of his captain Guy Carbonneau.
Surrounded by his family, Demers was inducted for his coaching contributions to the hockey world.
Demers is the only person to win the Jack Adams Award as NHL Coach of the Year in consecutive years (1987 and 1988 with Detroit), and is the last head coach of the Montreal Canadiens to lift Lord Stanley's Cup.
His brother Michel spoke at the Gala on his behalf.
While on the road to recovery, the former Habs bench boss has lost much of his ability to speak, only managing a few words at a time.
Joining Demers and his family were several former Canadiens including, Yvon Lambert, Yvan Cournoyer, Mario Tremblay, Rejean Houle, Benoit Brunet and Patrice Brisebois.
Other inductees last night were former NFLer Jean-Philippe Darche, diver Emilie Heymans, goaltender Kim St-Pierre, Dave Keon, André Beaudoin in para-athletics and Maurice Tanguay in the builder category.