Odd to see hanging in the rafters of the Mellon Arena, alongside Mario Lemieux's No. 66, a banner honouring No. 21, Briere. No, it's not for Daniel Briere, the Philadelphia Flyers crafty centre. It belongs to the late Michel Edouard Briere, a young hotshot from Quebec who played a season with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1969-70.
About a month after his rookie season in Pittsburgh, in which he scored 12 goals and 44 points, Briere was back in hometown of Malartic, Que., for a wedding. But occasion was marred when he suffered massive head injuries in a car accident. He was in a coma for a lengthy period and eventually died 11 months after the collision.
In his final season of junior with the Shawinigan Falls Flyers of the QMJHL, Briere scored 75 goals and 86 assists for 161 points. He also was added on to the Sorel Blackhawks roster for the 1969 Memorial Cup. Pittsburgh selected him 26th overall in the 1969 NHL entry draft.
The Penguins rookie-of-the-year trophy is named in honour of Briere, and his No. 21 is one of only two numbers retired by the Penguins.