Joseph Jacques Hughes Laperrière (born November 22, 1941) is a

Canadian Canadians () are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their being ''C ...

professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

coach and former player. Laperrière played for the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens (), officially ' ( Canadian Hockey Club) and colloquially known as the Habs, are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal. The Canadiens compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic D ...

in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

(NHL) from 1962 until 1974, winning six

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup () is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, and the International Ic ...

s on his way to induction in the

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

. As a coach, he was a member of two Stanley Cup-winning staffs. He is the father of NHL hockey player Daniel Laperrière and of AHL coach Martin Laperrière.

Playing career

Born in

Béarn Béarn (; ; or ''Biarn''; or ''Biarno''; or ''Bearnia'') is one of the traditional provinces of France, located in the Pyrenees mountains and in the plain at their feet, in Southwestern France. Along with the three Northern Basque Country, ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

, Laperrière grew up idolizing the

. Doug Harvey was Laperriere's favourite player as they both played defence. Laperrière spent his junior career with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, the Montreal Junior Canadiens and the Brockville Jr. Canadiens. In 1962–63 he made his debut in the

with the Montreal Canadiens, playing six games in the regular season and five more in the playoffs against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. The Maple Leafs compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the A ...

. The next season saw Laperrière earn a full-time spot on the Canadiens' roster. In his rookie season, he recorded 30 points, served 102 minutes in penalties and made few defensive errors. He won the

Calder Memorial Trophy The Calder Memorial Trophy is an annual award given "to the player selected as the most proficient in his first year of competition in the National Hockey League (NHL)." It is named after Frank Calder, the first president of the NHL. Serving ...

as the top rookie in the NHL, beating out teammate John Ferguson. He also was selected to play in the 1964 NHL All-Star Game and named to the NHL second All-Star team as a defenceman. This was the first time a rookie had earned a spot on the NHL All-Star team since

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. In 1964–65, Laperrière had another stellar season as he was named to the NHL's first All-Star team, and he won the

as the Canadiens defeated the

Chicago Black Hawks Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in seven games. The following season Laperrière missed 13 games and the entire playoffs due to injuries, but was still awarded the James Norris Memorial Trophy for best defenceman in the league, and he was selected to the NHL first All-Star team for the second year in a row. The Canadiens won the Stanley Cup that year, defeating the

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

. Laperrière played eight more seasons with the Canadiens, winning four more Stanley Cups. In 1972–73, he led the league in P

Plus–minus Plus–minus, ±, +/−, or variants may refer to: * Plus–minus sign (±), a mathematical symbol which can mean either plus (+) or minus (−), or can indicate the uncertainty of a measurement or statistic * Plus–minus (sports), a sport ...

being the only player other than

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest players of all time. Orr used his skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the ...

to lead the league in that statistic between 1969 and

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

. He retired halfway through the 1973–74 season due to a career-ending knee injury. He was inducted into the

Hockey Hall of Fame The Hockey Hall of Fame () is a museum and hall of fame located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Dedicated to the history of ice hockey, it holds exhibits about players, teams, National Hockey League (NHL) records, memorabilia and National Hockey Le ...

in 1987.

Coaching career

After his playing career, Laperrière became the coach of the

Montreal Juniors The Montreal Juniors were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1975 to 1982. They played at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. History The Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge were renamed in 1975, becoming t ...

in 1975–76. He resigned the following year due to his distaste of the pressure and violence at the amateur level. In 1980–81, he rejoined the Canadiens as an assistant coach, a position he held for 16 years, serving under six different head coaches, and winning two Stanley Cups in 1985–86 and in 1992–93. In 1997–98, Laperrière joined the

Boston Bruins The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston. The Bruins compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The t ...

, serving as an assistant coach for four seasons. In 2001–02 he joined the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

, with whom he spent two seasons. He then joined the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern Conference. The club w ...

in 2003–04, first as an assistant coach, then, in 2006–07, as a special assignment coach.

Awards and achievements

—

1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 – In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patria ...

* NHL second All-Star team — 1964,

1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 1970 Tonghai earthquake, Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity scale, Mercalli ...

* NHL All-Star Games —

1965 Events January–February * January 14 – The First Minister of Northern Ireland and the Taoiseach of the Republic of Ireland meet for the first time in 43 years. * January 20 ** Lyndon B. Johnson is Second inauguration of Lynd ...

1967 Events January * January 1 – Canada begins a year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation, Confederation, featuring the Expo 67 World's Fair. * January 6 – Vietnam War: United States Marine Corps and Army of ...

1968 Events January–February * January 1968, January – The I'm Backing Britain, I'm Backing Britain campaign starts spontaneously. * January 5 – Prague Spring: Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Cze ...

champion —

1966 Events January * January 1 – In a coup, Colonel Jean-Bédel Bokassa takes over as military ruler of the Central African Republic, ousting President David Dacko. * January 3 – 1966 Upper Voltan coup d'état: President Maurice Yaméogo i ...

, 1969,

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

(as a player) (

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

) * NHL first All-Star team —

* James Norris Memorial Trophy — 1966 *

NHL The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

Plus/Minus leader —

* Stanley Cup champion — 1986,

1993 The United Nations General Assembly, General Assembly of the United Nations designated 1993 as: * International Year for the World's Indigenous People The year 1993 in the Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands had only 364 days, since its ...

(as an assistant coach) (Montreal) * Inducted into

in 1987

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Laperriere, Jacques 1941 births Boston Bruins coaches Calder Trophy winners Canadian ice hockey coaches Canadian ice hockey defencemen Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Hull-Ottawa Canadiens players Ice hockey people from Rouyn-Noranda James Norris Memorial Trophy winners Living people Montreal Canadiens coaches Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Junior Canadiens players Montreal Juniors coaches New Jersey Devils coaches New York Islanders coaches Stanley Cup champions 20th-century Canadian sportsmen