{"id":184641,"date":"2025-09-08T09:46:12","date_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:46:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/184641\/"},"modified":"2025-09-08T09:46:12","modified_gmt":"2025-09-08T09:46:12","slug":"political-world-pays-tribute-to-hockey-great-ken-drydens-public-service","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/184641\/","title":{"rendered":"Political world pays tribute to hockey great Ken Dryden\u2019s public service"},"content":{"rendered":"

Open this photo in gallery:<\/a><\/p>\n

Prime Minister Paul Martin gestures to Quebec Premier Jean Charest as social development Minister Ken Dryden and Carole Theberge sign a child care deal in Montreal in October, 2005.IAN BARRETT\/The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

The death of Montreal Canadiens legend Ken Dryden resonated in political circles on Saturday where the former NHL great left his mark as a long-standing member of Parliament and former Liberal cabinet minister.<\/p>\n

The Montreal Canadiens organization announced Dryden\u2019s death shortly after 12:30 a.m. Saturday. He died Friday at age 78<\/a> following a battle with cancer.<\/p>\n

Dryden left the Toronto Maple Leafs organization to run federally in 2004 for the Liberal Party of Canada, elected in the Toronto riding of York Centre.<\/p>\n

He was named minister of social development in former prime minister Paul Martin\u2019s cabinet. His former chief of staff tells The Canadian Press that his curiosity and his ease with others helped him navigate the political world.<\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of people would have commented that he seemed to be a fish out of water (as an MP), but I\u2019m starting to think it was perhaps the water that was different and not the fish so much,\u201d said Mark Watton.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was genuinely interested in everyone he met including his colleagues around the cabinet table, his staff, his colleagues in Parliament and the advocates or constituents or others who he would come across.\u201d<\/p>\n

Opinion: Ken Dryden was a national hero. Now that he\u2019s gone, he has no replacement<\/a><\/p>\n

It was that insatiable curiosity exhibited by Dryden that made him stand out, Watton said. <\/p>\n

\u201cEven though he was most passionate about the social policy matters that we\u2019re in front of him as the minister of social development, he was genuinely curious about everything else around the cabinet table,\u201d Watton said.<\/p>\n

Dryden held onto his seat in Toronto\u2019s York Centre riding in 2006 when the Liberals were ousted and made a bid for the open Liberal leadership with Martin\u2019s departure, ultimately losing.<\/p>\n

Lise Jolicoeur, a former press secretary in Ottawa who would later go on to work on Dryden\u2019s leadership bid, recalled two instances where his humanity and decency stood out during his interactions with her.<\/p>\n

At one time during the Martin government, a colleague mentioned Dryden wanted to speak to her after question period. She had been undergoing colon cancer treatments at the time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd I was like, what in God\u2019s name does Ken Dryden want to talk to me about personally? Right? Like this was odd for a cabinet minister to ask a press secretary for a chat,\u201d Jolicoeur recalled.<\/p>\n

He came to ask her specifically about her cancer fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe fact that he took the time was just, it just tells you that kind of person that he is, he\u2019s a busy man, he was in politics, he was trying to get the child care deal done, there\u2019s a lot of things going on,\u201d Jolicoeur said. <\/p>\n

\u201cBut he took the time and noticed me and took the time to talk to me about it, which I found very telling of the man.\u201d<\/p>\n

Fans of the Montreal Canadiens reflected on the career of Hall of Fame goaltender Ken Dryden after he died Friday at the age of 78 following a battle with cancer.<\/p>\n

The Canadian Press<\/p>\n

Jolicoeur would go on to serve as press secretary for Dryden\u2019s leadership bid, where she ended up fighting ovarian cancer during the campaign. As he criss-crossed the country during his bid, he made sure to make time to visit her in the hospital during an Ottawa stop. It was just Dryden as he was.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn every conversation you had with the man, it was always about you. You\u2019re talking to this hero, Canadian legend … but he never made you feel that way. He always wanted to know about you,\u201d Jolicoeur said.<\/p>\n

Dryden won his federal seat again in 2008, but lost in 2011 to the Conservatives.<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Mark Carney<\/a> paid tribute to Dryden: \u201ca Canadian hockey legend and hall of famer, public servant and inspiration.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHis return to university at the height of his playing career taught the importance of balance in life. His post-hockey career demonstrated the value of public service,\u201d Carney said. <\/p>\n

\u201cFew Canadians have given more, or stood taller, for our country. <\/p>\n

\u201cKen Dryden was Big Canada. And he was Best Canada,\u201d Carney added.<\/p>\n

Former prime minister Justin Trudeau said that as a Canadiens fan, he grew up in awe of Dryden and had a chance to get to know him both personally and professionally. <\/p>\n

\u201cHis commitment to social justice, not just in theory but in practice, as exemplified by his early work on childcare, defined for many, including me, what constituted leadership through service,\u201d Trudeau wrote on X.<\/p>\n

Pablo Rodriguez, a former Montreal Liberal MP elected the same year as Dryden, remembered Dryden as an exceptional, deeply human individual.<\/p>\n

\u201cKen was a giant at all levels,\u201d Rodriguez, currently the leader of the Liberal Party of Quebec, in an interview. <\/p>\n

\u201cHe was a giant on the ice, but also giant physically, like he was 6-foot-4, the type of person you don\u2019t want to be behind in a picture … but he was so kind, so kind, he was there to help caucus members and to listen to you.\u201d<\/p>\n

Roman Baber, who has represented York Centre in the House of Commons since 2025, extended his condolences to Dryden\u2019s loved ones, calling him a remarkable Canadian.<\/p>\n

Intergovernmental Affairs Minister Dominic LeBlanc recalled how the legendary netminder and hockey icon became his caucus colleague and cabinet minister 30 years later, championing policies such as early learning and child care. <\/p>\n

\u201cI will also never forget the moments when he rose to speak in the House of Commons \u2014 sitting at the desk in front of me,\u201d LeBlanc said on X. \u201cHis iconic reputation, impressive physical stature, booming voice, thoughtful ideas and kind personality allowed him to dominate that arena as well.\u201d<\/p>\n

In Quebec and Montreal, where Dryden was a local legend, Quebec Premier Fran\u00e7ois Legault also paid tribute.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike millions of Quebecers, I grew up admiring Ken Dryden,\u201d Legault wrote on X. \u201cSix-time Stanley Cup champion with the Habs, what an achievement! Author, MP, minister, he marked our history and an entire generation.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Open this photo in gallery: Prime Minister Paul Martin gestures to Quebec Premier Jean Charest as social development…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":184642,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[377],"tags":[1018,1001,1019,967,991,1020,19,990,1008,1009,1004,992,989,1014,1016,1013,1007,1000,1030,993,994,1006,5,1002,1003,997,1021,998,1025,1026,1028,1023,1027,786,1024,995,1011,1012,333,1010,1022,86,1015,1017,1005,999,996,1029],"class_list":{"0":"post-184641","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-hockey","8":"tag-alberta","9":"tag-arts-news","10":"tag-bc","11":"tag-breaking-news","12":"tag-breaking-news-video","13":"tag-british-columbia","14":"tag-canada","15":"tag-canada-news","16":"tag-canada-sports","17":"tag-canada-sports-news","18":"tag-canada-trafficcanada-weather","19":"tag-canadian-breaking-news","20":"tag-canadian-news","21":"tag-economy","22":"tag-education","23":"tag-environment","24":"tag-federal-government","25":"tag-foreign-news","26":"tag-globe-and-mail","27":"tag-globe-and-mail-breaking-news","28":"tag-globe-and-mail-canada-news","29":"tag-government","30":"tag-hockey","31":"tag-life-news","32":"tag-lifestyle","33":"tag-local-news","34":"tag-manitoba","35":"tag-national-news","36":"tag-new-brunswick","37":"tag-newfoundland-and-labrador","38":"tag-northwest-territories","39":"tag-nova-scotia","40":"tag-nunavut","41":"tag-ontario","42":"tag-pei","43":"tag-photos","44":"tag-political-news","45":"tag-political-opinion","46":"tag-politics","47":"tag-politics-news","48":"tag-quebec","49":"tag-sports-news","50":"tag-technology","51":"tag-travel","52":"tag-trudeau","53":"tag-us-news","54":"tag-world-news","55":"tag-yukon"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":"Validation failed: Text character limit of 500 exceeded"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184641","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=184641"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/184641\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/184642"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=184641"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=184641"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=184641"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}