Pierre Émile Bouchard (born February 20, 1948) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) 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 ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player who played in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

and

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

. He was selected by the Canadiens in the first round (fifth overall) of the

1965 NHL Amateur Draft The 1965 NHL Amateur Draft was the third NHL Entry Draft. It was a draft to assign unaffiliated amateur junior-age players to NHL teams. It was held on April 27, 1965, at the Queen Elizabeth Hotel in Montreal, Quebec. For the first time the eli ...

. Bouchard played an important role, along with

Bill Nyrop William Donald Nyrop (July 23, 1952 – December 31, 1995) was a professional ice hockey player who won three Stanley Cups with the Montreal Canadiens in 1976, 1977, and 1978. Early life Born in Washington, D.C., his father, Donald Nyrop, served ...

, as steady defensive-defensemen 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 1960s ...

, 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 in the Eastern Conference. The team has been in existence since 1924, making t ...

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

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 ...

-winning Canadiens teams in eight seasons. 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" after ...

, 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 French Quebecers Hershey Bears players Montreal Canadiens announcers Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Montreal Junior Canadiens players Montreal Voyageurs players National Hockey League broadcasters National Hockey League first-round draft picks Ice hockey people from Longueuil Quebec Nordiques announcers Stanley Cup champions Washington Capitals players