Émile Bouchard facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Émile Bouchard CM CQ
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1966
Bouchard in 1945
Born	(1919-09-04)4 September 1919 Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died	14 April 2012(2012-04-14) (aged 92) Longueuil, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position	Defence
Shot	Right
Played for	Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1941–1956

Joseph Émile Alcide Bouchard (September 4, 1919 – April 14, 2012) was a famous Canadian ice hockey player. He played as a defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1941 to 1956. He is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Bouchard won four Stanley Cups with the Canadiens. He was also the team's captain for eight years. He was chosen for the NHL All-Star team four times. Even though he was known for being a strong player and a great body-checker, he played fairly. He was excellent at defence and had amazing passing skills. People also knew him for his strong leadership and for helping younger players. In his early years, Bouchard helped make the Canadiens team strong again.

Émile Bouchard was born in Montreal, Quebec. He lived in Saint-Lambert, Quebec when he passed away. After retiring from hockey, he was involved in many businesses and helped his community. In 2008, he received the National Order of Quebec. On December 4, 2009, the Canadiens retired his jersey number 3. This means no other player on the team can wear that number. On December 30, 2009, he was also made a Member of the Order of Canada.

Early Life and Learning Hockey

Émile Bouchard was born on September 4, 1919, in Montreal. His parents were Regina Lachapelle and Calixte Bouchard. He grew up during the Great Depression, a time when many people were poor. Bouchard didn't start skating until he was 16 years old. He had to learn using rented skates. Later, he borrowed $35 from his brother to buy his own hockey gear.

Bouchard chose a career in hockey over working at a bank. He was offered $75 a week to play senior hockey, while the bank only paid $7. In the minor leagues, he played for teams like the Verdun Maple Leafs, Montreal Junior Canadiens, and Providence Reds. It was his teammate, Bob Fillion, who gave him the nickname "Butch." This nickname came from his last name, Bouchard, which sounded a bit like "butcher."

Bouchard was very determined and strong. He worked hard to improve his skills. He impressed coach Dick Irvin at the Canadiens' training camp in 1940–41. He was then signed as a free agent. Bouchard arrived at training camp in excellent shape. This was unusual for National Hockey League (NHL) players back then. To get to his first training camp, he rode his bike 50 miles (80 km). This allowed him to keep the travel money the Canadiens had given him.

Bouchard was also smart about business, even when he was young. While still in high school, he bought a bee farm. He borrowed $500 from his brother to do this. He grew the farm to 200 beehives and earned enough money to buy his parents a house. Because he was so good at business, he found out how much other Canadiens players were earning. He then negotiated a bigger contract for himself, earning $3,750.

NHL Career Highlights

Joining the Canadiens Team

Bouchard was not only a hard worker and smart, but he was also very strong. He was 6 feet 3 inches (191 cm) tall and weighed 207 pounds (94 kg). This made him seem like a giant compared to other NHL players in the 1940s. Most players were about 5 feet 11 inches (180 cm) tall and weighed 165 pounds (75 kg). He also lifted weights, which was not common for hockey players at the time. This made him a very strong defensive player. His teammate, Dickie Moore, once said Bouchard "appeared to have been chiseled out of stone."

When Bouchard joined the Montreal Canadiens, the team had not won a championship in 10 years. Not many fans came to watch games at the Montreal Forum, sometimes less than 3,000 people. There was even talk of closing down the team. A few years earlier, in 1935, the team owners thought about selling the team to move it to Cleveland. The Canadiens had finished last or near the bottom of the league for several years. Fans and players had started to accept losing.

In his first training camp, Bouchard showed how physical he was. He body-checked players, even the experienced ones, with great force. When the season started, other teams quickly learned that they couldn't push the Canadiens players around anymore with Bouchard on the ice. Bouchard's presence made the Canadiens team strong again. Many people believe he played a big part in keeping the team from leaving Montreal.

Bouchard was more than just a strong player. He learned to play in the right positions and became very good at passing the puck. He also had a special talent for understanding the game. He knew when to join the attack and when to go back to defend. Even though he was a stay-at-home defenceman, he was great at making long passes. This helped the Canadiens play their fast, attacking style of hockey.

Team photo of the 1942 Montreal Canadiens. This team helped bring the struggling franchise back from the edge of moving. Bouchard is in the back row, far right.

Even though Bouchard had an immediate impact, he didn't score many points at first. In his first season (1941–42), he had six points in the regular season. He scored his first NHL goal in the Canadiens' first-round playoff loss to the Detroit Red Wings.

Bouchard in 1945

Becoming an NHL Star

The 1942–43 season was a big year for Bouchard. He led all Canadiens defencemen in points. He was key to the team having its first winning record in several years. They finished in fourth place with 19 wins, 19 losses, and 12 ties. Even though they lost in the first round of the playoffs, the team was getting better.

The 1943–44 season was Maurice Richard's first full season with the Canadiens. Richard was exciting to watch and helped bring more fans to games. He also had the scoring skills needed to make the Canadiens an amazing team. The Canadiens dominated the regular season, finishing far ahead of second-place Detroit. In the playoffs, they beat the Toronto Maple Leafs in the first round. Then, in the final, they swept Detroit in four games to win their first Stanley Cup in thirteen years!

The "Punch Line" of Richard, Toe Blake, and Elmer Lach scored many goals. But it was Bouchard and goalie Bill Durnan who stopped goals from going in. During the regular season, Montreal allowed only 109 goals, which was 68 fewer than Detroit. Bouchard, Richard, and Lach were named to the NHL All-Stars' second team. Bill Durnan made the first team and won the Vezina Trophy. Bouchard had become one of the most dependable defencemen in the league. He would be named to the NHL First All-Star team for the next three seasons. He won his second Stanley Cup in 1945–46.

Bouchard was very physical on the ice, but he was also known as a clean player. He rarely got into fights. He was incredibly strong, so most players avoided fighting him. Bouchard would often be the one to break up fights between other players. However, one fight involving Bouchard led to a big change for referees. During the 1946–47 season, Bouchard had a long fight with Boston's Terry Reardon. Because of this fight, Clarence Campbell, the NHL president, added a new duty for referees: for the first time, they were responsible for breaking up fights.

In March 1947, during a game in Boston, a female fan attacked Bouchard with a hat pin as the Canadiens came onto the ice. Bouchard pushed her away. A few moments later, Boston police started to take Bouchard to a police car. According to Bouchard, Pat Egan of the Boston Bruins stepped in and convinced the police not to arrest him.

For the 1947–48 season, defenceman Doug Harvey joined the team. Within a few years, Harvey became the best offensive defenceman in the NHL. He and Bouchard formed a strong defensive pair for a long time. Whenever Harvey went on one of his famous offensive rushes, he knew Bouchard was behind him to cover if he lost the puck.

Leader and Mentor

In 1948, Bouchard became the first Quebec-born captain of the Canadiens. He remained captain for eight years until he retired. When he retired, no other player had been captain of the Canadiens for more years than Bouchard. Jean Béliveau, a Hall of Famer and teammate of Bouchard, said Bouchard was his role model when he became captain in the 1960s.

Bouchard was a respected leader. He helped and guided younger players. He was not afraid to speak up to team management. In 1950, Bouchard told the general manager, Frank Selke, to "give the kid a shot" for Bernie Geoffrion. Geoffrion was given a tryout and joined the Canadiens. Geoffrion won the Calder for rookie of the year and was one of the top scorers for many years. Bouchard liked that his teammates chose him as captain. He said, "I can respond to players, not be a yes-man for the proprietor." He missed a big part of the 1948–49 season because of a serious knee injury. Doctors thought he might not be able to play again. But he trained hard and strengthened his knee enough to return to the Canadiens.

In 1951, Bouchard was part of a unique legal case. A New York Rangers fan sued him. The fan claimed Bouchard hit him with his stick while he was waving to a friend. Bouchard said the fan had actually raised his fist at a Canadiens player who was injured. Bouchard said his stick accidentally hit the fan as he tried to block the fan's hand. For the first time in legal history, someone who saw the event on television gave evidence in court. The fan's friend testified he saw Bouchard hit him. Bouchard won the case. A witness at the game, Otis Guernsey, said he heard "bad language" and saw the fan raise his fist, not wave.

On February 28, 1953, the Canadiens held "Bouchard Night at the Forum." Bouchard was honored during a ceremony at a game against the Detroit Red Wings. Montreal Mayor Camillien Houde led the ceremony, which was broadcast live on national TV. Among the gifts Bouchard received was a Buick car, which was driven onto the ice. The plan was for Bouchard to drive away in the car. But when he sat in the car, he found the keys were missing! To the crowd's delight, Ted Lindsay, the Red Wings captain, returned the keys he had playfully stolen. He congratulated Bouchard on behalf of the Red Wings.

In 1952–53, Montreal and Detroit fought for first place, with Detroit winning. In the first round of the playoffs, the favored Detroit Red Wings were upset by the Boston Bruins. Montreal won a close seven-game series against the Chicago Black Hawks. The Canadiens then beat Boston in five games, and Bouchard won his third Stanley Cup.

Eventually, injuries started to affect Bouchard. After the 1954–55 season, he thought about retiring. Toe Blake, who had become the coach, convinced him to play one more season to help the younger players. Bouchard knew Blake was a great coach for players. He used his leadership as captain to help the team accept Blake. Due to physical problems, Bouchard missed the last half of the season and the playoffs. However, in the final game of the Stanley Cup against Detroit, Blake put Bouchard on the ice. In the last seconds, with Montreal winning 3–1, Bouchard was on the ice. He was able to end his career with one more Stanley Cup celebration!

Personal Life

In 1947, Bouchard married Marie-Claire Macbeth, who was a painter. They had five children: Émile Jr., Jean, Michel, Pierre, and Susan.

In the 1970s, his son Pierre Bouchard also played defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens. Émile helped start the Canadiens' dynasty (a period of great success). Thirty years later, his son Pierre helped continue the Canadiens' dynasty into the 1970s. Butch won four Stanley Cups, and Pierre won five. They hold the record for the most Stanley Cups won by any father-son combination in NHL history. Bobby Hull and Brett Hull are the only other father and son to have both won the Cup.

After retiring, Bouchard stayed very active. He received coaching offers, but his business interests kept him in Montreal. Bouchard owned a popular restaurant called Chez Émile Bouchard in Montreal for many years. On March 22, 1953, while Bouchard was traveling for a game, his restaurant caught fire. He was also president of the Montreal Royals Triple-A baseball club. He was elected to the Longueuil city council and served on the board of directors for Ste. Jeanne-d'Arc Hospital. He was also president of the Metropolitan Junior "A" Hockey League, among other activities.

Bouchard was not afraid to speak his mind. A reporter once asked him what he thought of coaching methods in the NHL. He replied, "Hockey should be more like football, with a coach for the defence, one for the offence and maybe one for the goalies." This showed his foresight, as it would be many years before such specialized coaching became common in the NHL.

Émile Bouchard passed away in 2012 at the age of 92.

Honors and Recognition

Bouchard was one of nine players and one builder elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966. On October 15, 2008, the Montreal Canadiens celebrated their 100th season. They unveiled the Ring of Honour at the Bell Centre. This exhibit pays tribute to 44 players and 10 builders who are in the Hockey Hall of Fame. Bouchard and Elmer Lach, the two oldest living members, were there to drop the ceremonial puck.

In 2008, a movement started to ask the Canadiens to retire Bouchard's number 3. During the 2008 Quebec general election, an independent candidate even made it part of his campaign. By March 2009, the idea reached the National Assembly of Quebec. A motion was passed that supported retiring Émile "Butch" Bouchard's jersey.

On December 4, 2009, as part of a ceremony celebrating the Canadiens' 100th anniversary, Bouchard's No. 3 and Elmer Lach's No. 16 were retired. They became the 16th and 17th Canadiens players to have their numbers retired.

On June 18, 2008, Bouchard received the National Order of Quebec. This award was presented to him by the Premier of Quebec, Jean Charest. On December 30, 2009, he was made a Member of the Order of Canada. This was for his contributions to sports, especially hockey, and for his dedication to his community.

Awards and Achievements

• Member of the Order of Canada (2009)
• National Order of Quebec Chevalier (2008)
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1966
• Stanley Cup champion: 1944, 1946, 1953, 1956
• NHL first All-Star team: 1945, 1946, 1947
• NHL second All-Star team: 1944
• The QMJHL's Defenceman of the Year Trophy (Emile Bouchard Trophy) is named in his honor.

Career Statistics

Regular Season and Playoffs

• Stanley Cup Champion.

Career statistics from Total Hockey

See also

• List of NHL players who spent their entire career with one franchise