Hall of Fame and Montreal Canadiens hockey legend, Bernard 'Boom Boom' Geoffrion, has died at the age of 75. He died in an Atlanta hospital of stomach cancer.

Geoffrion has been credited with having invented the slap shot. It was sportswriter, Charlie Boire, of the Montreal Star, gave Geoffrion his nickname, 'Boom Boom,' in the late 1940s, while he was playing junior hockey for the Laval Nationale. He would hit the puck with such a force that it would shake the arena rafters when it hit the boards.

Geoffrion arrived in the NHL in 1950, joining the Montreal Canadiens full-time the following season. He scored 30 goals for the Canadiens and claimed the Calder Trophy as the top rookie in the league that season. In 1955, he won the Art Ross Trophy as the NHL scoring leader, and again, in 1961, when he became the second player to ever score 50 goals in one season, after Maurice Richard. He was named league MVP that season. He helped lead the Montreal Canadiens to six Stanley Cups in the 1950s and early '60s.

Geoffrion's legendary speed, shooting ability and competitive spirit made him one of the top players of his time, as well as one of the toughest. His nose was broken nine times and he received 400 stitches during his career. His first major injury came in 1958, after a minor collision during practice resulted in an operation to have his spleen removed. But despite his injuries, he managed to rack up 371 goals in 14 seasons while he was playing for the Montreal Canadiens and an additional 22 during his two year stint with the New York Rangers. He had 329 assists in 883 regular-season games and an additional 58 goals and 60 assists in 132 playoff games. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972.

In a tribute to his outstanding career, the Montreal Canadiens retired Geoffrion's sweater, number 5 the same day that he died. The ceremony had been planned for sometime and it was hoped that Geoffrion would be able to attend. Unfortunately that was not to be. The Canadiens decided to ahead with the ceremony before Saturday night's game against the New York Rangers. His grieving family, Geoffrion's wife, Marlene, his three children and his grandchildren, were all present to see his sweater raised to the Bell Centre rafters, in a 40-minute ceremony, before the Canadiens played against the New York Rangers. It went up beside the number 7 sweater of another great Canadiens player, Howie Morenz, who was Geoffrion's father-in-law. "This is the realization of Dad's dream and brings closure to his career," Geoffrion's son, Dan, said to told the sold out crowd. "I know Dad wanted to celebrate it all with you."