Orval Tessier

Who is Orval Tessier?

Orval Roy Tessier is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey centre and coach who played three seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens and Boston Bruins. Tessier played only 59 regular season games in the NHL. However, he was a solid offensive player in minor professional leagues winning two scoring titles with the EPHL's Kingston Frontenacs, voted the league's most valuable player and most sportsmanlike player in the 1961–62 season.

After playing, Tessier had a successful coaching career. In junior ice hockey, Tessier coached the Cornwall Royals to Memorial Cup victory in 1972. Tessier coached the 1981 Memorial Cup finalists, the Kitchener Rangers. The next season, Tessier was hired to coach the New Brunswick Hawks in the American Hockey League. He led the Hawks to a Calder Cup victory in 1982. Tessier was promoted, and named head coach of the Chicago Black Hawks, which lasted for three seasons.

Tessier may be best remembered for a quote during the 1983 Campbell Conference finals. After the Black Hawks gave up 16 goals in falling behind 2–0 to the Edmonton Oilers, Tessier fumed that Chicago players needed "heart transplants". The quip failed to inspire the Hawks, who dropped the final two games of the series at Chicago Stadium, marking the second consecutive year Chicago lost in the Campbell Conference final.