NHL community mourns death of Emile ‘Butch’ Bouchard, a star from the past-NHL News
Almost the entire community of the National Hockey League (NHL) has mourned the death of former Montreal Canadiens’ captain and four-time Stanley Cup winner, Emile "Butch" Bouchard.
Bouchard, who died at the age of 92, on Saturday, April 14, 2012, remained a part of the side during many seasons over his entire career.
The team has paid rich tributes to his contribution towards development of the Canadiens’ organisation and the game of ice hockey, overall.
"He was one of the great captains in the history of the Canadiens," said Rejean Houle, the team's alumni president.
His family members, all of whom are said to be present around his bed at the time he died, are even more mournful over the demise.
The death was confirmed by his son Pierre Bouchard and Ron Fournier, the ice hockey analyst. Fournier was one of the deceased’s best friends and is equally saddened over the demise.
"He was getting old, but he was in good shape," his son, Pierre, who himself remained a part of Canadiens," he said.
Emile, who was born in Montreal on September 4, 1919, had ambitions other than ice hockey. They included his desire to work as a banker in the financial sector or as a beekeeper.
Also, he had played games other than hockey while growing up but into later years of his teenage, he turned to be interested in the game of ice hockey and since then, never looked back.
Other sports he had played as a youngster included baseball and boxing and he was equally impressive in both.
It was not a good start to make for him as an ice hockey player as his brother had to lend him money to buy the equipment. However, he was never rated to be as much poorer as an ice hockey player as far as his performance was concerned.
His hockey career began with Verdun Maple Leafs of Quebec's old Provincial Senior League and ended finally at the retirement from NHL after having represented the Canadiens.
He joined the Canadiens for 1940-41 season and was weighed as one of the leaders of his time. Although his participation was limited to 12 games in the season, he impressed the managers, through versatility of his skills and multiplicity of the roles.
Pierre said:
"He was one of the leaders in the 1940s for a team that wasn't going anywhere, and then later, things went very well, with the arrival of Maurice (Richard) and all the others after that. Those were great years for the Canadiens' organization.”
Some commentators have rated him to be as a trend setter and leader. He was capable of pulling up the entire team together and generating the hype and momentum in the game, which was a key to many wins of the team then.
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