Following more than two decades of practice, Dr. Fontaine retired at the age of fifty. The Montreal Canadiens would like to extend their deepest sympathies to Dr. Francis Fontaine’s family and loved ones, especially to his wife Marie-Christine Gougoux and their three children, Alexandre, Éloïse, and Vincent, on the loss of this talented physician.
His sister and her family, Drs. Andree Fontaine and Robert Heinl and their kids, of Barrington, Rhode Island, survive him in addition to his wife and kids.
Dr. Fontaine worked closely with numerous Olympic athletes and spent nearly ten years specializing in the care of elite sportsmen, including Canadiens players. From August 2019, he had also served as the Cirque du Soleil Group’s Medical Director and Consultant in Performance Medicine. Born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island, Dr. Fontaine was the son of the late Herve and Laure (Laramee) Fontaine.
An oral surgeon practicing in Arlington for more than 20 years, Dr. Fontaine was highly esteemed by his patients for his compassion and altruism. He earned a biology degree from Boston College in 1979 and a DMD from Tufts University School of Dental Medicine in 1982.
The American Board of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgery awarded him a Diplomate status. In addition to working at Mt. Auburn Hospital, Lahey Clinic, and Franciscan Children’s Hospital, Dr. Fontaine was a fellow of numerous dental societies.
Dr. Fontaine, who graduated from the University of Montreal in 2003 with a doctorate in medicine, was the first person in Quebec to use the platelet-rich plasma (PRP) technique for treating damage to tendons, joints, or ligaments. In addition, he served as the Medical Director of the Yvon Michel Group from 2008 to 2018 and was a physician for the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022, PyeongChang in 2018, and Vancouver in 2010.
