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Pierre Pilote

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Pierre Pilote
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1975
Pilote with the Chicago Black Hawks in the 1960s
Born (1931-12-11)December 11, 1931
Kénogami, Quebec, Canada
Died September 9, 2017(2017-09-09) (aged 85)
Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 10 in (178 cm)
Weight 178 lb (81 kg; 12 st 10 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Chicago Black Hawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1955–1969

Joseph Albert Pierre Paul Pilote (December 11, 1931 – September 9, 2017) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and perennial All-Star, most notably for the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), for which he served as team captain for seven seasons. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy three times for best defenceman in the NHL.

Early life

Born in Kenogami, Quebec, Pilote's family moved to Fort Erie, Ontario, when he was 14 years old. Because the local rink collapsed in a storm, Pilote did not play his first organized hockey game until he was 17.[1] He tried out with a Niagara Falls junior B team as a centre, but was turned down because the club needed a defenceman instead. Pilote practiced as a defenceman and joined the team the following season.

Rudy Pilous recruited Pilote to the St. Catharines Teepees of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA); he made the team out of training camp in 1950.[2] Pilote played four full seasons for the minor professional club the Buffalo Bisons of the American Hockey League (AHL). During his fifth season, he was signed by the Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey League (NHL), starting his professional career.[1]

NHL defenceman

Pilote became a preeminent star for the Black Hawks, winning the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most outstanding defenceman three straight seasons in 1963, 1964 and 1965 — a feat matched or surpassed only by Doug Harvey, Bobby Orr and Nicklas Lidström in NHL history — as well as runner-up in 1962, 1966 and 1967. He was on the First or second All-Star team every year from 1960 to 1967.[2] Pilote had an iron man streak of playing 376 consecutive games over more than five seasons.[1] He was often paired with Elmer "Moose" Vasko on the Chicago blue line.[3]

In 1961, the Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup. During the off-season, team captain Ed Litzenberger was traded and Pilote was named the new captain.[3] He held this role with the team until traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1968 for forward Jim Pappin; his seven-season tenure as captain was, until surpassed by current team captain Jonathan Toews in the 2016–17 NHL season, the longest in franchise history.

Pilote was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on May 23, 1968 for Jim Pappin and played one season with the team before retiring. He played his last game on April 6, 1969, finishing his career with 80 goals and 418 assists in 890 games.[2]

Post-NHL career

At the time of his retirement, Pilote was the second leading defence scorer in NHL history (behind Harvey), as well as the sixth leading career scorer for the Black Hawks and second in all-time assists behind Stan Mikita. He remains eighth in all-time assists for the Hawks.

Pilote was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.[1] In 1997, he was ranked number 59 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 greatest hockey players.[4]

On July 18, 2008, the Blackhawks announced that the #3 jersey worn by Pilote and Keith Magnuson would be retired in a joint ceremony, the sixth number so honoured by the club.[5] The ceremony was held on November 12, 2008, before the Blackhawks' game against the Boston Bruins at the United Center.[6] In January 2012, Pilote was honoured with a bronze statue in front of the Jonquière Sports Palace.[7] In the fall of 2013, ECW Press published his biography Heart of the Blackhawks: The Pierre Pilote Story, co-written with L. "Waxy" Gregoire and David M. Dupuis. Pilote died of cancer on September 9, 2017.[3][8]

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1950–51 St. Catharines Teepees OHA-Jr. 54 13 13 26 230 9 2 2 4 23
1951–52 St. Catharines Teepees OHA-Jr. 52 21 32 53 139 14 3 12 15 50
1951–52 Buffalo Bisons AHL 2 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
1952–53 Buffalo Bisons AHL 61 2 14 16 85 — — — — —
1953–54 Buffalo Bisons AHL 67 2 28 30 108 3 0 0 0 6
1954–55 Buffalo Bisons AHL 63 10 28 38 120 10 0 4 4 18
1955–56 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 20 3 5 8 34 — — — — —
1955–56 Buffalo Bisons AHL 43 0 11 11 118 5 0 2 2 4
1956–57 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 3 14 17 117 — — — — —
1957–58 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 6 24 30 91 — — — — —
1958–59 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 7 30 37 79 6 0 2 2 10
1959–60 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 7 38 45 100 4 0 1 1 8
1960–61* Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 6 29 35 165 12 3 12 15 8
1961–62 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 59 7 35 42 97 12 0 7 7 8
1962–63 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 59 8 18 26 57 6 0 8 8 8
1963–64 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 7 46 53 84 7 2 6 8 6
1964–65 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 68 14 45 59 162 12 0 7 7 22
1965–66 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 51 2 34 36 60 6 0 2 2 10
1966–67 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 70 6 46 52 90 6 2 4 6 6
1967–68 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 74 1 36 37 69 11 1 3 4 12
1968–69 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 3 18 21 46 4 0 1 1 4
NHL totals 890 80 418 498 1,251 86 8 53 61 102

* Stanley Cup Champion.

Sources:[2][9]

Awards and honours

Award Year
NHL
Stanley Cup Champion 1961
James Norris Memorial Trophy 1963, 1964, 1965
8x NHL All-Star 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968
5x First All-Star team 1963, 1964, 1965, 1966, 1967
3x Second All-Star team 1960, 1961, 1962

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Legends of Hockey:Pierre Pilote". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  2. ^ a b c d "Spotlight: One on One with Pierre Pilote". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c Hine, Chris (September 11, 2017). "Blackhawks great Pierre Pilote dies at 85". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  4. ^ Kay, Jason (April 2, 2015). "The Top 100 NHL Players of All-Time, Throwback Style". The Hockey News. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  5. ^ "Blackhawks To Retire #3 In Honor of Magnuson and Pilote". Chicago Blackhawks. July 18, 2008. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  6. ^ Kuc, Chris (November 12, 2008). "3 Keith Magnuson, Pierre Pilote". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
  7. ^ Gregoire, L. Waxy; Dupuis, David M.; Pilote, Pierre (2013). Heart of the Blackhawks: The Pierre Pilote Story. ECW Press. p. 2. ISBN 9781770411364.
  8. ^ Hawthorn, Tom (September 30, 2017). "Defenceman threw bone-rattling checks". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved October 11, 2017.
  9. ^ "Pierre Pilote's profile". hockeyDB.com. Retrieved September 11, 2017.
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pierre Pilote.
Preceded by Chicago Black Hawks captain
1961–68 		Succeeded by
Preceded by Winner of the Norris Trophy
1963, 1964, 1965 		Succeeded by
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