Jean Ratelle
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Joseph Gilbert Yvon "Jean" Ratelle (born October 3, 1940 in Lac Saint-Jean, Quebec) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. It has often been said of Jean Ratelle that he was so consistently effective at a high level of play day in and day out that he has been overlooked by some as one of the greatest to have played the game.
[edit] NHL career
Drafted by the New York Rangers, his hockey career almost ended when he suffered a serious back injury at age 23 and had to undergo major spinal cord surgery. He recovered to become a regular with the Rangers from 1963 until 1975 -- his greatest success coming with his linemates Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert in the so-called "GAG" line -- and was the perennial scoring leader for the Rangers between 1968 and 1973 when the team was a powerhouse annually among the league's best.
Ratelle was poised to beat out Boston Bruins' legend Phil Esposito for the scoring title in 1972 before he lost fifteen games due to an injury, but came back for the Stanley Cup finals against Boston to lead his team. Only Esposito, Bobby Orr and John Bucyk had before then had scored as many points in league history as Ratelle had managed in his shortened season. His 109 points that season remained a Rangers' scoring record until 2006, when Jaromir Jagr broke the mark.
In November of 1975, Ratelle was traded with teammate Brad Park in a blockbuster deal to the Boston Bruins (ironically, for Esposito). Ratelle finished strongly that year for his second 100-point campaign. He starred for several more seasons for Boston, gaining admiration for his slick passing, skill at faceoffs and all-around excellent play, retiring a Bruin after the 1981 season.
Remembered as a gentlemanly player (perennially in the running for the Lady Byng sportsmanship award), Ratelle played center ice in the NHL for twenty-one seasons, accumulating 1267 points on 491 goals and 776 assists. At the time of his retirement, he was the league's sixth all-time leading scorer. While he never played on a team that won the Stanley Cup, Ratelle was a member of the 1972 Team Canada squad that defeated the Soviet Union in the first-ever Summit Series.
In 1985, Jean Ratelle was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.
[edit] Career statistics
Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
1958-59 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 54 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 11 | 10 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 2 | ||
1959-60 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 48 | 39 | 47 | 86 | 15 | 5 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 | ||
1960-61 | Guelph Royals | OHA | 47 | 40 | 61 | 101 | 10 | 14 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 6 | ||
1960-61 | New York Rangers | NHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | |||||||
1961-62 | New York Rangers | NHL | 31 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 | |||||||
1962-63 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 8 | |||||||
1962-63 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 20 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1963-64 | New York Rangers | NHL | 15 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | |||||||
1963-64 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 57 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 2 | |||||||
1964-65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 54 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 14 | |||||||
1964-65 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 8 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 6 | |||||||
1965-66 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 10 | |||||||
1966-67 | New York Rangers | NHL | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
1967-68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 2 | ||
1968-69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
1969-70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 32 | 42 | 74 | 28 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
1970-71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 26 | 46 | 72 | 14 | 13 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 8 | ||
1971-72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 63 | 46 | 63 | 109 | 4 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
1972-73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 12 | 10 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 0 | ||
1973-74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 68 | 28 | 39 | 67 | 16 | 13 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 0 | ||
1974-75 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 36 | 55 | 91 | 26 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 5 | ||
1975-76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 13 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 | |||||||
1975-76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 31 | 59 | 90 | 16 | 12 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 | ||
1976-77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 33 | 61 | 94 | 22 | 14 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 4 | ||
1977-78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 80 | 25 | 59 | 84 | 10 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 0 | ||
1978-79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 80 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 12 | 11 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | ||
1979-80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 28 | 45 | 73 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
1980-81 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
NHL Totals | 1281 | 491 | 776 | 1267 | 276 | 123 | 32 | 66 | 98 | 24 |
[edit] See also
- List of retired NHL players
- List of NHL statistical leaders
- List of NHL seasons
- List of NHL players with 1000 points
Preceded by Pit Martin |
Winner of the Bill Masterton Trophy 1971 |
Succeeded by Bobby Clarke |
Preceded by John Bucyk |
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1972 |
Succeeded by Gilbert Perreault |
Preceded by Marcel Dionne |
Winner of the Lady Byng Trophy 1976 |
Succeeded by Marcel Dionne |
Categories: 1940 births | Bill Masterton Trophy winners | Boston Bruins players | Canada's Sports Hall of Fame | Canadian ice hockey players | Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters alumni | Guelph Royals alumni | Hockey Hall of Fame | Ice hockey personnel from Quebec | Lady Byng winners | Lester Pearson Award winners | Living people | National Hockey League 100-point seasons | New York Rangers players