WHERE WERE YOU IN ’72?

That’s a question that still resonates in Canada to this day, at least for those who were alive at the time.

For Henderson, who turns 83 on Jan. 28, the more relevant query is, where are you right now?

His answer: Alive and well and living in Mississauga, Ontario, just outside of Toronto. And for someone who was diagnosed with leukemia 16 years ago, that’s all that matters.

“Embrace every morning,” he said the other day while in the midst of his daily walk. “Feel privileged to do just that. … I feel lucky. And because of that, I can’t wait to watch the Olympics and cheer on our guys.”

First off, you and Mike Eruzione have developed a cool relationship over the decades. As someone who himself scored a historic goal, what do you remember about his in 1980?

“Like everyone else watching it, we went crazy. I mean, we wanted everybody to beat the Soviets for a lot of years. Mike and I have done a couple of talks together over the years on different things. So obviously, just like you mentioned, a couple of dates that we could certainly celebrate related to our goals. Remember, I’d been living in the U.S. around that time playing for Birmingham (World Hockey Association).”

What impact do you think his goal had for U.S. hockey?

“It certainly stoked the pride in that country, and hockey has certainly taken off there since then. And so, I think any time that you win these nations-against-nations competitions just like this one coming up now, it brings countries together. In the NHL, Toronto supports Toronto, Boston supports Boston, and so on. But the national thing, the whole country’s behind it — like Canada was for the 4 Nations Face-Off win last February.”

You were in Montreal during 4 Nations for a Team Canada ’72 celebration, then attended Team USA’s 3-1 win against Canada in an emotional game at Bell Centre that featured three fights in the first nine seconds. What do you remember about that?

“One of my lasting recollections took place away from the rink. I remember sitting talking to Ken Dryden there, one of our goalies in 1972. We talked for 45 minutes just about life, our families. It’s the best talk I ever had in my whole life, because he was sort of a loner guy on the planes, and would sit by himself. We talked about the fact that we both had cancer. I told him that he looked really good. And he did. [But] then he sadly passed later in the year. Cancer can certainly come up on you quickly.”

What do you remember about that first Canada-U.S. game?

“Just how electric that building was. I couldn’t believe it. My wife and I were sitting there before the game even started, and it was so electric even for the national anthems. And so, I said to [my wife] Eleanor, ‘This is like a reminder of being in Moscow in ’72 when those 3,000 Canadian fans just went crazy for us.’ And then the fights happened and the place went goofy.”

Given the emotions of that night, how excited are you for the upcoming Olympics?

“There is nothing better than playing for your country. I always dreamed about putting on the maple leaf. And then, thank goodness, my timing was perfect, because I was 29 years of age and I got to play in it. But there isn’t a person that doesn’t want to play for Canada if you’re a Canadian, that’s for sure.”

What do you think of Canada’s chances?

“I always think Canada’s going to win. We have the three or four best players in the world. I mean, Connor McDavid, he’s a generational player; I think the best that ever played the game.”

That’s a very strong statement, given that you played against legends like Gordie Howe and Bobby Orr, no?

“You can go back to anybody you want to talk about, but he can do things that no one else can do. He’s the fastest guy in the world. And if he’s playing, if I can see a game that he’s in, I will watch the whole game. There’s not many teams that I will do that for, but if he plays, I think he does it for everybody.”

Finally, when Crosby scored his ‘Golden Goal,’ you were addressing a room full of people at a marriage conference in Victoria, British Columbia, and stopped to lead the room in the singing of ‘O Canada.’ If Canada wins gold in Italy, will you do it again?

“(Laughs) Not in public. My wife made me promise never to do that again. Not with my voice.”