‘Never felt it like this’: Famous Montreal barber sees new level of Habs fever - BERITAJA

Domenico Perrazino, the celebrated Montreal barber better known arsenic “Ménick,” still remembers erstwhile Maurice Richard won 5 consecutive Stanley Cups pinch the Canadiens successful the precocious 1950s.

Years later, erstwhile Guy Lafleur led a dynasty successful the 1970s, Ménick trim the free-flowing hairsbreadth of “Le Démon Blond,” and the 2 became lifelong friends.

“I’ve seen almost each of them, the Stanley Cups,” said the 85-year-old Ménick. “I was there.”

But what’s happening this spring, he said, feels different. Montreal has ever lived and breathed the Canadiens, but the frenzy is someway reaching different level these playoffs — moreover pinch the squad only successful the 2nd round.

“I whitethorn person ne'er felt it for illustration this,” Ménick said from his Masson Street shop connected the separator of the Plateau neighbourhood, wherever the level is painted for illustration a skating rink and photos of Quebec’s preeminent celebrities statement the walls.

“Right now, it’s truthful special. We person truthful galore young stars,” he added. “The Canadiens ever had winning teams, truthful it was ever 1 aft another. But it’s been 30 years since we’ve won anything. That didn’t hap before, truthful now we’re hungrier.”

The Canadiens, winners of a grounds 24 Stanley Cup titles, haven’t lifted the trophy since 1993, but the existent version is young, electrifying and giving Habs religious logic to judge the drought could yet extremity successful the coming years.

A rowdy crowd filled the 21,000-seat Bell Centre past Sunday moreover though the Canadiens were playing Game 7 connected the roadworthy successful Tampa, Fla. On crippled days, thousands of fans battalion the streets surrounding the arena arsenic downtown morphs into a full-on party.

That fervour has dispersed crossed the city, wherever lineups for sports bars now commonly spill onto the sidewalks outside.

The enthusiasm carries connected astatine the container office. Beyond the playoff games — wherever the get-in value for Sunday’s Game 3 approached $500 — the squad told season-ticket holders this week it had group a caller Bell Centre grounds pinch a renewal complaint “just hardly nether the 100 per cent mark.”

Not astonishing that buildings and businesses successful Montreal are buying in.

The Rialto Theatre, a National Historic Site connected Park Avenue, opened its doors for free watch parties. Hydro-Québec changed its logo astatine headquarters, illuminating everything isolated from the lightning bolt during the Canadiens’ first-round matchup against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Several restaurants followed suit successful the 2nd round, changing the names of “Buffalo” wings paper items arsenic the Canadiens look the Sabres.

St-Viateur Bagel, 1 of the city’s iconic shops successful Mile End, has been making bagels shaped for illustration the Canadiens logo (though they’re not for sale). Just a fewer blocks away, celebrated doughnut shop Bernie Beigne has red, achromatic and bluish doughnuts flying disconnected the shelves.

“We’re trading astatine slightest 300 to 500 Habs doughnuts unsocial (on a crippled day),” said Bernie Beigne worker Gabriel Ioannoni.

Hip basement dive barroom Double’s temporarily changed its motion to “Dobes’s” aft the first information successful honour of Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes. The owners past took it a measurement further by placing a mattress complete the excavation array for patrons to airs for photos, a motion to a viral Instagram station from the rookie goalie.

“We were truthful excited about beating Tampa Bay because we dislike them truthful much, and the imaginative juices were retired of control,” said co-owner Victor-Alex Petrenko. “Every thought was a bully idea.

“All the restaurants, each the bars are filled pinch people. The vibes are precocious … It’s conscionable bully for the city.”

Ménick, who’s besides been dubbed “le barbier des sportifs” — the athletes’ barber — has been moving his shop for 67 years, since opening it astatine property 18. He said he thought he’d seen it all, but this is different.

“Even before, the passion wasn’t the same, because coming it’s much commercialized, the media attraction is bigger than it utilized to be,” he said. “It’s everywhere.”

Menick began moving successful sports to build a clientele, serving successful media relations for the Montreal Junior Canadiens and Laval National, wherever he sewage to cognize players for illustration Guy Lapointe and Mike Bossy.

“That’s really I managed to make myself known,” he said.

Current Canadiens players don’t sojourn Chez Ménick for haircuts: “I’m 85 years old, I can’t bent retired pinch Cole Caufield,” he said.

But he, for illustration legions of Canadiens fans, is loving this group from afar.

“This year, pinch (Nick) Suzuki, Caufield, (Juraj) Slafkovsky, (Ivan) Demidov, (Lane) Hutson … And pinch the measurement Martin St. Louis is loved and the guys play for him,” he said, pointing to a photograph of himself and the Canadiens coach connected the wall. “I opportunity we person a squad for the adjacent 10 years.”

This study by BERITAJA was first published May 8, 2026.