Michel Raymond "Bunny" Larocque (April 6, 1952 – July 29, 1992) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, Philadelphia Flyers and St. Louis Blues in the National Hockey League.

Playing career

Larocque played junior hockey with the Ottawa 67's of the

Ontario Hockey Association The Ontario Hockey Association (OHA) is the governing body for the majority of junior and senior level ice hockey teams in the Province of Ontario. The OHA is sanctioned by the Ontario Hockey Federation along with the Northern Ontario Hockey As ...

(OHA) from

1968 The year was highlighted by protests and other unrests that occurred worldwide. Events January–February * January 5 – "Prague Spring": Alexander Dubček is chosen as leader of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia. * Januar ...

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

, and led the league in shutouts for the last three of those years. He was also one of the most penalized goalies, and was regularly involved in fights. In 1972, he was selected sixth overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the

1972 NHL Amateur Draft The 1972 NHL Amateur Draft was the 10th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Richard Brodeur, who played his last NHL game in the 1987–88 s ...

. In

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

he played with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs of the American Hockey League (AHL), his first taste of professional hockey. For his outstanding play, Larocque was awarded the Hap Holmes Memorial Award with teammate Michel Deguise, and was selected to the Second All-Star Team. Larocque started his National Hockey League (NHL) career in

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

with the Canadiens. That was the season that Ken Dryden, one of the top goalies in that era, sat out to complete his law degree. Larocque shared playing time during the season with

Michel Plasse Michel Pierre Plasse (June 1, 1948 – December 30, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. Playing career Born in Montreal, Quebec, Plasse played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 to 1982 after being the first over ...

and Wayne Thomas, but was the starting goalie in the playoffs. Dryden returned in

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. ...

, and Larocque settled down as his back-up, sharing four Vezina Trophy wins, in an era when the award was given to the principal goalies on the team allowing the fewest goals in the regular season. The first three were largely because of Dryden's all-star play. In

1977 Events January * January 8 – Three bombs explode in Moscow within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. * January 10 – Mount Nyiragongo erupts in eastern Zaire (now the Democratic R ...

, Larocque led the NHL with a 2.09 goals against average, but with Dryden ahead of him in the Canadiens net, he only managed to play 26 games. The Canadiens won four

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) 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, an ...

s during that stretch, but Larocque's only action in the playoff was for one period in the 1979 playoffs; Dryden was in front of the nets the rest of the time. The Stanley Cup wins were in

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

and

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

. In

, Dryden retired. Larocque saw more action as a result, and won his fourth and final Vezina Trophy, sharing duties with

Richard Sévigny Joseph Francis Richard Sévigny (born April 11, 1957) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens and Quebec Nordiques in the National Hockey League. He then moved to France to be coach of Chamonix ...

and newly-acquired Denis Herron in

1981 Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensiv ...

. Near the trade deadline during that season, he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for defenceman

Robert Picard Robert Rene Joseph Picard (born May 25, 1957) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. Career Robert Picard established himself as a highly regarded defensive prospect with the Montreal Juniors and Montreal Bleu Blanc Rouge from 19 ...

. Larocque played 50 games the following season with a struggling Leafs team. Larocque was in net when the Buffalo Sabres scored a NHL record of 9 goals in one period in a 14-4 game. He was again traded, this time to the Philadelphia Flyers in

1983 The year 1983 saw both the official beginning of the Internet and the first mobile cellular telephone call. Events January * January 1 – The migration of the ARPANET to Internet protocol suite, TCP/IP is officially completed (this is consid ...

, in return for goaltender

Rick St. Croix Richard St. Croix (born January 3, 1955) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He is formerly one of the assistant coaches of the NHL Toronto Maple Leafs. He has previously been a goaltending coach for the Dallas Stars, and an ...

, and finished his NHL career with the St. Louis Blues in

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

after being sold by the Flyers, who had settled on Pelle Lindbergh in goal. Larocque retired from hockey in 1985 after playing 13 games with the Peoria Rivermen in the International Hockey League (IHL).

Nickname

Larocque reputedly acquired the nickname "Bunny" as in infant. It was his mother's pet name for him which stuck for the rest of his life.

Retirement and death

After his playing career ended, he served as general manager of the Victoriaville Tigres of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) during the 1989–90 season and won QMJHL executive of the year for 1989–90. He was vice president of the QMJHL during the 1991–92 season and still held the position at time of his death. He died of brain cancer at age 40 in his hometown of

Hull, Quebec Hull is the central business district and oldest neighbourhood of the city of Gatineau, Quebec, Canada. It is located on the west bank of the Gatineau River and the north shore of the Ottawa River, directly opposite Ottawa. As part of the Canadia ...

Awards and achievements

* Selected to the OHA-Jr. Second All-Star Team in

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

. * Selected to the OHA-Jr. First All-Star Team in

. * Hap Holmes Memorial Award winner in

(shared with Michel Deguise). * Selected to the AHL Second All-Star Team in

. * Vezina Trophy winner in

and

(all shared with Ken Dryden);

(shared with Denis Herron and

Richard Sevigny Richard is a male given name. It originates, via Old French, from Old Frankish and is a compound of the words descending from Proto-Germanic ''*rīk-'' 'ruler, leader, king' and ''*hardu-'' 'strong, brave, hardy', and it therefore means 'strong ...

). *

championship in

. *

John Horman Trophy The John Horman Trophy is awarded annually to the Executive of the Year in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' ...

winner in

1990 File:1990 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1990 FIFA World Cup is played in Italy; The Human Genome Project is launched; Voyager I takes the famous Pale Blue Dot image- speaking on the fragility of Humankind, humanity on Earth, Astroph ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

External links

*
Official Canadiens History Site

Society for International Hockey Research
{{DEFAULTSORT:Larocque, Michel 1952 births 1992 deaths Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Deaths from brain tumor Deaths from cancer in Quebec Ice hockey people from Gatineau Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players National Hockey League first-round draft picks Nova Scotia Voyageurs players Ottawa 67's players Peoria Rivermen (IHL) players Philadelphia Flyers players St. Louis Blues players Springfield Indians players Stanley Cup champions Toronto Maple Leafs players Vezina Trophy winners