George Boucher

George Boucher
Position	Defenceman
Shot	Left
Height Weight	5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) 169 lb (77 kg)
Teams	Ottawa Senators Montreal Maroons Chicago Black Hawks
Nationality	Canadian
Born	August 19, 1896, Ottawa, ON, CAN
Died	October 17, 1960 (Age 64),
Pro Career	1915 – 1933
Hall of Fame, 1960

George "Buck" Boucher (August 19, 1896 – October 17, 1960) was a Canadian professional defenceman who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, and Chicago Black Hawks in the National Hockey League.

Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Buck was one of five brothers. His brothers Frank, Joe, Bobby and Billy all played in the NHL.

Boucher started his professional athletic career in football as halfback for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. After three years of football he switched to hockey.

Hockey Career

He played as an amateur with the Ottawa Aberdeens, the Ottawa New Edinburgh and Ottawa Royal Canadiens of the Ottawa City Senior League. He started play with the Senators, then of the NHA, in 1915. At the time, he played as a forward.

Boucher would soon switch to play as a defenceman where he would gain fame as an excellent stick handler. He would play with stars such as Eddie Gerard, Horrace Merrill, Sprague Cleghorn, Lionel Hitchman and King Clancy.

Boucher helped lead the Senators to four Stanley Cups between 1920 and 1927. He played in the NHL from 1917 to 1932, scoring 117 goals and 87 recorded assists in 449 games. An extremely tough customer, he also had 838 penalty minutes, including 115 in just 44 games in 1926–27. At his retirement in 1932 he ranked 11th among NHL career points leaders.

He would go on to coach in the NHL in Ottawa, Boston, St. Louis and Chicago. He would coach the Ottawa Senators of the Quebec Senior Hockey League to the Allan Cup in 1949.

He suffered from throat cancer for six years and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, just three weeks before he died.

Career Statistics

			Regular Season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1914–15	Ottawa New Edinburgh	OCSL	15	12	0	12
1914–15	Ottawa Royal Canadiens	OCSL	4	6	0	6
1915–16	Ottawa Senators	NHA	19	9	1	10	62
1916–17	Ottawa Senators	NHL	18	10	5	15	27	2	1	0	1	8
1917–18	Ottawa Senators	NHL	21	9	8	17	46
1918–19	Ottawa Senators	NHL	17	3	2	5	29	5	2	0	2	9
1919–20	Ottawa Senators*	NHL	22	9	8	17	55	5	2	0	2	9
1920–21	Ottawa Senators*	NHL	23	11	8	19	53	7	5	0	5	19
1921–22	Ottawa Senators	NHL	23	13	12	25	12	2	0	0	0	4
1922–23	Ottawa Senators*	NHL	24	14	9	23	58	8	2	2	4	8
1923–24	Ottawa Senators	NHL	23	13	10	23	38	2	0	1	1	2
1924–25	Ottawa Senators	NHL	28	15	5	20	95
1925–26	Ottawa Senators	NHL	36	8	4	12	64	2	0	0	0	10
1926–27	Ottawa Senators*	NHL	40	8	3	11	115	6	0	0	0	43
1927–28	Ottawa Senators	NHL	24	14	9	23	58	8	2	2	4	8
1928–29	Ottawa Senators	NHL	29	3	1	4	60
1928–29	Montreal Maroons	NHL	12	1	1	2	10
1929–30	Montreal Maroons	NHL	37	2	6	8	50	3	0	0	0	2
1930–31	Montreal Maroons	NHL	30	0	0	0	25
1931–32	Chicago Black Hawks	NHL	43	1	5	6	50	2	0	1	1	0
NHL Totals:			449	117	87	204	838	28	5	3	8	88

• *Stanley Cup championship season

Trivia

• George Boucher became the first defenseman in NHL playoff history to score a Hat trick, doing so in the 5-0 win in Game 1 of the 1921 NHL Championship.

Gallery

Coach George Boucher, Milt Schmidt, Jack Gelineau and Bill Quackenbush prior to an exhibition game, October 1949. Note the 25th anniversary jerseys from the previous season.

Preceded by Cy Denneny	Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators (Original Era) 1933–1934	Succeeded by Franchise relocates to become St. Louis Eagles
Preceded by Cy Denneny	Ottawa Senators captains (Original Era) 1926-28	Succeeded by King Clancy