Ratelle played his junior hockey with the Guelph Biltmore Mad Hatters. In 1959-60, he placed third in the OHA with 86 points. In 1960-61, he finished second with 101. In both cases, he was directly behind Gilbert, also of Guelph.
Jean played in the NHL from 1960-61 (just three games as a call-up from the Biltmores) to 1980-81. He was a member of the New York Rangers until a trade sent him, Brad Park and Joe Zanussi to the Boston Bruins for Phil Esposito and Carol Vadnais midway through the 1975-76 season.
Jean Ratelle Collection
Seven times during his NHL career, Ratelle finished among the top ten in the race for the Art Ross Trophy. His highest position was fourth, achieved twice. In 1967-68, he was fourth with 78 points and in 1971-72 he was fourth with 106 points. In that 1971-72 season, he had the potential of taking the Art Ross but injuries limited him to just 63 games. The Rangers finished 3rd, 4th and 5th that season with Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert placing just behind Jean.
Ratelle crossed the 100 point line just one other time in his career. In his 1975-76 season, split between the Rangers and Bruins, Ratelle totalled 105. He never reached the 50 goal plateau, topping out at 46 in 1971-72.
Never a Stanley Cup champion, Ratelle was on teams that made the finals on three occasions. His Rangers fell to the mighty 1972 Boston Bruins in six games. As a Bruin, Jean was disappointed by the Montreal Canadiens in consecutive seasons, 1976-77 and 1977-78.
In 1985, Jean Ratelle was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame along with Gerry Cheevers and Bert Olmstead. He finished his career with 1,267 points over 1,281 regular season games. His point total still places him 35th in the NHL all-time.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1958-59 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 54 | 20 | 31 | 51 | 11 |
| 1959-60 | Guelph Biltmores | OHA | 48 | 39 | 47 | 86 | 15 |
| 1959-60 | Trois Rivieres Lions | EPHL | 3 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 0 |
| 1960-61 | Guelph Royals | OHA | 47 | 40 | 61 | 101 | 0 |
| 1960-61 | New York Rangers | NHL | 3 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 1961-62 | New York Rangers | NHL | 31 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 4 |
| 1961-62 | Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers | EPHL | 32 | 10 | 29 | 39 | 8 |
| 1962-63 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 20 | 11 | 8 | 19 | 0 |
| 1962-63 | New York Rangers | NHL | 48 | 11 | 9 | 20 | 8 |
| 1963-64 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 57 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 2 |
| 1963-64 | New York Rangers | NHL | 15 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
| 1964-65 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 8 | 9 | 4 | 13 | 6 |
| 1964-65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 54 | 14 | 21 | 35 | 14 |
| 1965-66 | New York Rangers | NHL | 67 | 21 | 30 | 51 | 10 |
| 1966-67 | New York Rangers | NHL | 41 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 4 |
| 1967-68 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 18 |
| 1968-69 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 32 | 46 | 78 | 26 |
| 1969-70 | New York Rangers | NHL | 75 | 32 | 42 | 74 | 28 |
| 1970-71 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 26 | 46 | 72 | 14 |
| 1971-72 | New York Rangers | NHL | 63 | 46 | 63 | 109 | 4 |
| 1972-73 | New York Rangers | NHL | 78 | 41 | 53 | 94 | 12 |
| 1973-74 | New York Rangers | NHL | 68 | 28 | 39 | 67 | 16 |
| 1974-75 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 36 | 55 | 91 | 26 |
| 1975-76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 13 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 2 |
| 1975-76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 31 | 59 | 90 | 16 |
| 1976-77 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 33 | 61 | 94 | 22 |
| 1977-78 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 80 | 25 | 59 | 84 | 10 |
| 1978-79 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 80 | 27 | 45 | 72 | 12 |
| 1979-80 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 28 | 45 | 73 | 8 |
| 1980-81 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 47 | 11 | 26 | 37 | 16 |
| NHL Totals | 1281 | 491 | 776 | 1267 | 276 |
