Dan Bouchard: Goalie For The Entire Atlanta Flames Existence

Over the franchise’s eight year history, before being relocated to Calgary, Dan Bouchard was a mainstay between the Atlanta Flames pipes. Picked up from the Boston Bruins organization in the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft, Bouchard was set to be backup for Phil Myre. After the team’s inaugural season, those roles began to switch and Bouchard took over as number one.

After moving to Calgary, it wasn’t long before Dan was shipped out of town. He ended up in Quebec where he had his greatest playoff success, leading the Nordiques to a semi-final loss in 1981-82 after finishing the regular season just two points up on .500.

Junior and Minor Pro

Hockey Card Collection

NHL Career

Rookie Card

Career Stats

Dan Bouchard – Junior and Minor Pro

In 1968-69, the year before the QMJHL was formed, Dan Bouchard helped the Sorel Eperviers to the Richardson Cup finals to determine what team from the east would compete in the Memorial Cup. Sorel fell to the Montreal Junior Canadiens, then representing Ontario.

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Dan Bouchard Collection

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The QMJHL would come into existence for the 1969-70 season but Bouchard went west to play in Ontario for the London Knights. He appeared in 41 regular season games, posting a 3.89 goals against average with two shutouts. A signature of Dan’s career, he accumulated a massive 55 penalty minutes.

The Knights, led by Darryl Sittler, finished sixth in the ten team OHL. The team reached the semi-finals before falling to the Toronto Marlboros. At the time, with London coming into existence for the 1965-66 season, it was the deepest the franchise had gone in the post season.

A Boston Bruins prospect, Bouchard spent his rookie pro season with the Hershey Bears in the American Hockey League. He saw decent time as a rookie, appearing in 38 games for the Bears.

Dan caught the eye of the hockey world in 1971-72 with an outstanding season for the Boston Braves in the AHL. Playing 50 games, he recorded a 2.51 GAA with four shutouts. Bouchard was honoured with the Harry Hap Holmes Memorial Award for the lowest team goals against average, sharing with Ross Brooks who played in 30 games. Dan also was give 54 minutes in penalties.

The AHL First Team All-Star goalie helped his team to a second place overall finish in the eleven team league. The Braves were actually tied for first in points with the Nova Scotia Voyageurs but scored less overall goals. Boston was then swept by the Voyageurs in the second round of the Calder Cup playoffs.

Dan Bouchard – NHL

The Boston Bruins picked Dan Bouchard in the second round of the 1970 NHL Amateur Draft, 27th overall. He never played for the Bruins but did appear in 655 regular season National Hockey League games between 1972-73 and 1985-86 with the Atlanta Flames, Calgary Flames, Quebec Nordiques and Winnipeg Jets. 27 times, Dan shutout his opponents.

At the 1972 NHL Expansion Draft, held to populate the Flames and New York Islanders, Bouchard was picked third overall by Atlanta. Phil Myre was picked first overall by the Flames and Gerry Desjardins went second overall to the Islanders.

By his second season with the Flames, Bouchard was the team’s shining light. He finished fifth in the NHL in 1973-74 with a 2.77 goals against average. By 1978-79, Dan topped out with a 64 game season. Myre had been traded away to the St. Louis Blues midway through the 1977-78 season.

After the move to Calgary for 1980-81, Dan was traded to the Nordiques on January 30, 1981, in exchange for Jamie Hislop. The following season turned out to be one of his most successful.

The 1981-82 Quebec Nordiques finished fourth in the five team Adams Division with 82 points in 80 games. Bouchard played in 60 of those 80 games. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Quebec played giant killer, taking out the Habs in the opening round and the Bruins in the second round. When it came to the semi-finals, the mighty New York Islanders proved too much, sweeping Quebec in four.

On October 14, 1985, Dan Bouchard was traded to the Winnipeg Jets for a seventh round draft pick. He would finish out his NHL career with the Jets in 1985-86. The following year, he traveled to Europe and appeared in three games for Fribourg-Gotteron in Switzerland before calling it a career.

On the international front, Dan played for Canada at the 1978 IIHF World Championships. Canada finished third and took home the bronze, finishing behind the Soviet Union and host Czechoslovakia. Bouchard split time in the tournament with Denis Herron.

Dan Bouchard – Rookie Card

The Dan Bouchard rookie card appears as number 203 in the 1972-73 O-Pee-Chee set. He is shown with the expansion Atlanta Flames. His final card came in the 1985-86 O-Pee-Chee set, his only card with the Winnipeg Jets.

In true O-Pee-Chee fashion, the back of his 1975-76 O-Pee-Chee card states that Dan ‘Has recorded more shutouts than an other Atlanta goalie.’ This amazing feat came after just three years of the franchise’s existence. For the first five years, the team used just two goalies, Dan Bouchard and Phil Myre.

Dan Bouchard Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	A	PIM	SO	GAA
1969-70	London Knights	OHA	41	0	55	2	3.89
1970-71	Hershey Bears	AHL	38	0	8	1	3.13
1971-72	Boston Braves	AHL	50	2	54	4	2.51
1971-72	Oklahoma City Blazers	CHL	1	0	2	0	3.00
1972-73	Atlanta Flames	NHL	34	1	12	2	3.09
1973-74	Atlanta Flames	NHL	46	0	10	5	2.77
1974-75	Atlanta Flames	NHL	40	2	42	3	2.78
1975-76	Atlanta Flames	NHL	47	1	10	2	2.54
1976-77	Atlanta Flames	NHL	42	1	9	1	3.51
1977-78	Atlanta Flames	NHL	58	3	6	2	2.75
1978-79	Atlanta Flames	NHL	64	3	17	3	3.33
1979-80	Atlanta Flames	NHL	53	1	34	2	3.18
1980-81	Calgary Flames	NHL	14	4	6	0	4.03
1980-81	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	29	0	4	2	3.17
1981-82	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	60	3	36	1	3.86
1982-83	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	50	4	8	1	4.01
1983-84	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	57	3	19	1	3.20
1984-85	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	29	2	2	0	3.49
1985-86	Winnipeg Jets	NHL	32	1	38	2	3.79
	NHL Totals		655	29	253	27	3.26