Former NHL coach Jacques Demers facing third operation after brush with death

Jacques Demers facing third operation

MONTREAL — Jacques Demers, the former NHL coach turned Canadian senator, says he will have a third operation after nearly dying during a botched hernia procedure.

The 66-year-old Demers made his first public appearance since the initial operation when he joined Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Wednesday at an outdoor rally.

A piece of Demers’ intestine was cut during surgery June 29 at an Ottawa-area hospital, and he was forced to undergo a second operation.

The longtime NHL coach led the Montreal Canadiens to the 1993 Stanley Cup title.