Not everyone can be inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, that would cheapen the honour. Although, sometimes I wonder about those who are selected. I’ve wondered about a guy like Joe Thornton. Joe has quietly had an outstanding NHL career, to date. It seems worthy of a HHOF selection but Thornton lacks a championship, which seems to be a prerequisite. Will Thornton get in?
Looking at the career of Bobby Rousseau, you have to wonder just what element was missing to keep the star out of the Hall. Memorial Cup, Olympic Silver Medal, Calder Trophy, ultra rare five goal game, multiple Stanley Cup wins and often found among the top ten in the NHL. Yet, Rousseau enters the Hall of Fame just the same as you and I, by buying a ticket and walking through the front door (well, he might have a few more privileges than us).
Bobby Rousseau – Junior and Minor Pro
As a 15 year old, Rousseau jumped onto the scene with 53 goals in 44 games for the St. Jean Braves in the QJHL (Metro Montreal Junior Hockey League). He followed that up with four years of major junior with the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens from 1956-57 to 1959-60.
Bobby Rousseau Collection
In his first year with the Canadiens, the team reached the Memorial Cup finals against the Flin Flon Bombers. The series was held jointly between Flin Flon, Manitoba and Regina, Saskatchewan. The set went the full seven games with the Bombers eventually coming out on top.
In 1957-58, Ottawa and Hull hosted the Memorial Cup finals and the Canadiens faced off against the Regina Pats. The Scotty Bowman coached Canadiens won the championship in six games. Rousseau was team with other future NHL Habs like Ralph Backstrom, Gilles Tremblay and J.C. Tremblay.
For the 1960 Winter Olympics, Bobby joined up with the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen to represent Canada at Squaw Valley, California. Over seven games, he scored five and assisted on four for nine points. Canada won silver, behind the Jack McCartan led U.S. team and ahead of the Soviet Union. Harry Sinden was also a member of that Canadian squad.
In minor pro, Rousseau spent very little time. In 1960-61, he appeared in 15 NHL games with Montreal while spending the rest of the season with the EPHL version of the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens. Over 38 regular season games, Bobby scored 34 and assisted on 26 for 60 points. He was third in team scoring, despite playing a little more than half the schedule. His 34 goals placed him fifth in the EPHL.
That 1960-61 Canadiens team finished first overall in the six team EPHL. In the finals, Hull-Ottawa came out victorious in seven games over the Sault Ste. Marie Thunderbirds. The Canadiens were also led by J.C. Tremblay, Gilles Tremblay and Joe Szura. Ed Johnston was the team’s only goalie, appearing in all 70 regular season and all 14 playoff games. Rousseau was named to the Second All-Star Team.
Bobby Rousseau – NHL
Between 1960-61 and 1974-75, Rousseau played 942 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars and New York Rangers. Over that time, Bobby scored 245 and assisted on 458 for 703 points. In an impressive 128 playoff games, he added 27 goals and 57 assists.
Rousseau was the Calder Trophy winner in 1961-62 as the NHL’s top first year player. He scored 21 and assisted on 24 for 45 points while playing the full 70 game schedule. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, he added two assists in Montreal’s six games.
Over his career, Bobby scored 20 or more goals in six seasons. In two years, he scored exactly 30 goals. In 1964-65, his regular season numbers weren’t particularly exceptional but his 13 points in the playoffs was second only to Jean Beliveau’s 16 for the Habs. Montreal finished the regular season in second place, just four points behind the Detroit Red Wings. In the finals, the Canadiens captured the Stanley Cup championship in seven games over the Chicago Blackhawks. It was the first of four championships for Rousseau.
During the 1963-64 NHL season, Rousseau made hockey history. On February 1, 1964, the Canadiens beat the Detroit Red Wings 9-3 at the Forum in Montreal. Bobby scored five of the nine goals. To date, this feat has been accomplished just 60 times in the NHL by just 44 different players.
The following year, 1965-66, Bobby had what would be his best overall season. Playing the full 70 games for Montreal, his 30 goals tied him for fifth spot in the NHL with Stan Mikita of the Chicago Blackhawks. His 48 assists tied him for the league lead with Mikita and Jean Beliveau. In the race for the Art Ross Trophy, Rousseau’s 78 points tied him for second with Mikita, behind Bobby Hull (97).
In that 1956-66 season, the Habs finished first overall and won the Stanley Cup championship over the Detroit Red Wings. Rousseau was named the Second Team All-Star right winger with Gordie Howe named to the First Team.
In 1966-67, the Toronto Maple Leafs broke up what would have been another five year Montreal dynasty. Montreal did reach the finals before losing to Toronto. It was the first of two times Rousseau would be unsuccessful in the finals. However, his 44 assists during the regular season tied him for fourth in the NHL with Norm Ullman of the Red Wings. His 63 points was good for sixth.
1967-68 and 1968-69 would bring two more Stanley Cup rings with Montreal beating the St. Louis Blues in each of those seasons for the championship. In both years, the Habs finished first overall. Rousseau’s numbers began a downward trend but in 1967-68, his 46 assists were still good enough for a fifth place tie with Jean Ratelle of the New York Rangers, only three behind leader Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins.
The Canadiens traded Rousseau to the Minnesota North Stars over the summer of 1970, in exchange for Claude Larose. He played just the 1970-71 season with the North Stars before a May, 1971 trade shipped Bobby to the Rangers with Bob Nevin going the other way.
With the 1971-72 Rangers, Rousseau led the team with 17 points over 16 playoff games. New York advanced to the Stanley Cup finals but were dropped by the mighty Boston Bruins.
Bobby Rousseau – Rookie Card
The Bobby Rousseau rookie card appears as number 47 in the 1962-63 Parkhurst set. The set was not particularly rich in rookie cards but was highlighted by the Habs trio of Rousseau, J.C. Tremblay and Gilles Tremblay. The Rousseau card is valued at around twice that of a common card.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1960-61 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 15 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1961-62 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 26 |
| 1962-63 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 19 | 18 | 37 | 15 |
| 1963-64 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 32 |
| 1964-65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 12 | 35 | 47 | 26 |
| 1965-66 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 30 | 48 | 78 | 20 |
| 1966-67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 19 | 44 | 63 | 58 |
| 1967-68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 19 | 46 | 65 | 47 |
| 1968-69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 59 |
| 1969-70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 24 | 34 | 58 | 30 |
| 1970-71 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 63 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 12 |
| 1971-72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 21 | 36 | 57 | 12 |
| 1972-73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 14 |
| 1973-74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 72 | 10 | 41 | 51 | 4 |
| 1974-75 | New York Rangers | NHL | 8 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 942 | 245 | 458 | 703 | 359 |