Returning to Montreal for training camp for the 1925–26 season, Vézina was noticeably sick, though he said nothing about it. By the time of the Canadiens first game on November 28 against the Pittsburgh Pirates, he had lost 35 pounds in a span of six weeks, and had a fever of 102 Fahrenheit. Even so, he took to the ice, and completed the first period without allowing a goal. Vézina began vomiting blood in the intermission before returning for the start of the second period. He then collapsed in his goal area, and left the game, with former US Olympic team goaltender Alphonse Lacroix taking his place.