Canadian ice hockey legend Jean Beliveau died at his Quebec home on Tuesday at the age of 83 following a long illness, his former club the Montreal Canadiens have announced. The Quebec native from Trois-Rivieres played 20 seasons with the Canadiens between 1950 and 1971, winning 10 Stanley Cups and being nominated to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.
Only his former team-mate Henri Richard has won more Stanley Cups, as a player, in the history of the game with 11. Wayne Gretzky, another legend of the game wrote in his foreword of Beliveau's autobiography: "Having had the good fortune to win four Stanley Cups in my career and to experience the satisfaction and lifelong friendships that are generated by such a difficult and collective effort, it is mindboggling to recall that Jean Beliveau accomplished the feat no fewer than 10 times as a player and seven times more as a senior executive with the same organisation.
"I don't think there can be any other figure in the history of professional team sports who better exemplifies the word 'winner." Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper expressed his "sadness" at Beliveau's passing, saying "he was a great, a true legend", while Montreal mayor Denis Coderre added: "Quebec, Canada and the world of hockey are in mourning."
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