Pierre Émile Bouchard (born February 20, 1948) 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 ...

former 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 ...

player who played 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) with 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 ...

and

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The Capitals compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NH ...

. He was selected by the Canadiens in the first round (fifth overall) of the 1965 NHL Amateur Draft. Bouchard played an important role, along with Bill Nyrop, as steady defensive-defencemen to the Canadien’s offensive “superstar” trio of

Robinson Robinson may refer to: People and names * Robinson (name) Fictional characters * Robinson Crusoe, the main character, and title of a novel by Daniel Defoe, published in 1719 Geography * Robinson projection, a map projection used since the 19 ...

, Savard and Lapointe who dominated the NHL blueline in the 1970s. Bouchard's NHL career began after the Montreal Canadiens had missed the playoffs in the 1969–70 season, unacceptable for a franchise which had not missed post-season play in 22 years, and among the changes that were made were to bring Bouchard along with Guy Lapointe up from the minors. In his rookie year in 1970–71, Bouchard was part of the Canadiens' team that upset the powerful, record-breaking

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 ...

in the first round and went on to win the Stanley Cup. Bouchard played for five

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 ...

-winning Canadiens teams in eight seasons. In Game 4 of the

1978 Stanley Cup Finals The 1978 Stanley Cup Finals was the championship series of the National Hockey League's (NHL) 1977–78 season, and the culmination of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs. It was contested between the Boston Bruins and the defending champion Montre ...

, Bouchard challenged the Bruins'

Stan Jonathan Stanley Carl "Bulldog" Jonathan (born September 5, 1955) is a Canadian former ice hockey left winger, most notably for the Boston Bruins of the National Hockey League, for whom he played for parts of eight seasons, and featured in two Stanley Cup ...

to a fight. Although Bouchard outweighed Jonathan by thirty pounds and stood six inches taller, Jonathan held his own, breaking Bouchard's nose and cheekbone and knocking him to the ice. Prior to the 1978–79 season, a failed manipulation of the waiver system by the Canadiens led Bouchard's rights to unintentionally move from Montreal to Washington. Montreal had intended to reclaim him, but NHL President John Ziegler rejected the deal citing league bylaws which the Board of Governors refused to change. Bouchard believed the Canadiens never intended to get him back. Initially unhappy with the move, Bouchard played only one game in the 1978–79 season and considered retirement. However, he returned next season to the NHL with Washington where he finished his career playing four seasons. His father was Canadiens' Hall of Fame defenceman of the 1940s and 1950s Émile "Butch" Bouchard. From 1970 to 1975 Pierre was on the same team as

Henri Richard Joseph Henri Richard (February 29, 1936 – March 6, 2020) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played centre with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1955 to 1975. He was nicknamed "Pocket Rocket" afte ...

, creating the unusual occurrence of a player having been teammates with both father and son in the NHL. Richard had played with Butch Bouchard in the 1955–56 season. After retirement Bouchard went into business and broadcasting. He became one of the most popular NHL francophone analysts.

Career statistics

References

External links

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Profile at hockeydraftcentral.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bouchard, Pierre 1948 births Living people Canadian ice hockey defencemen Cleveland Barons (1937–1973) players Hershey Bears players Montreal Canadiens announcers Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Junior Canadiens players Montreal Voyageurs players National Hockey League broadcasters NHL first-round draft picks Ice hockey people from Longueuil Quebec Nordiques announcers Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States 20th-century Canadian sportsmen