Yes, Pierre Bouchard is the son of Montreal Canadiens legend Butch Bouchard. O-Pee-Chee made sure we knew that, mentioning it on each of Pierre’s hockey cards. The best Bouchard father-son story involves Henri Richard. Richard starting with the Habs in 1955-56, Butch Bouchard’s last year with the team before retiring. The Pocket Rocket would then play with Pierre with Montreal from 1970-71 to 1974-75.
Pierre won five Stanley Cup championships with Montreal, including his rookie season, 1970-71. He would have won another if the team hadn’t gambled and put him on waivers prior to 1978-79. The Washington Capitals grabbed Bouchard and the Canadiens tried to nix the deal, but to no avail.
Junior and Minor Pro
NHL Career
Rookie Card
Career Stats
Pierre Bouchard – Junior and Minor Pro
Pierre Bouchard played a season with the Montreal Nationale of the MMJHL in 1965-66 before joining up with the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the OHA for 1966-67 and 1967-68. In his second year with the Junior Canadiens, Bouchard placed ninth in the league with 134 penalty minutes. This would turn out to be uncharacteristically high for the stay at home defenseman.
In 1967-68, he was teamed with future NHLers Marc Tardif, Rejean Houle, Gilbert Perreault and Guy Lapointe. Despite the talent, Montreal was knocked off in the semi-finals by the Niagara Falls Flyers.
Pierre’s first year of pro hockey came in 1968-69 with the Cleveland Barons of the American Hockey League. He put up 22 points in 69 games for the Floyd Curry coached Barons. The team lost in the opening round of the Calder Cup playoffs.
Bouchard moved to the Montreal Voyageurs in the AHL for the 1969-70 season. Again, he was teamed with Tardif, Houle and Lapointe. Other future NHLers on the team include Jude Drouin, Guy Charron, Pete Mahovlich, Dennis Hextall and Phil Myre. The team placed first overall in the nine team league.
The Voyageurs, Buffalo Bisons and Springfield Kings met in a three team round robin semi-final with Buffalo and Springfield moving on to the finals (which Buffalo swept in four games). Pierre tied for tenth in the AHL with 124 PIM, equaling Nick Polano, who played for the Reds in Providence, Rhode Island.
Bouchard would return to the minors for the 1981-82 season. He appeared in 62 games with the AHL Hershey Bears, his last hockey before retiring.
Pierre Bouchard – NHL
Pierre Bouchard was a fifth overall pick by the Montreal Canadiens at the 1965 NHL Amateur Draft. He went on to play 595 regular season games in the National Hockey League between 1970-71 and 1981-82 with the Canadiens and Washington Capitals. Over that time, Pierre scored 24 and assisted on 82 for 106 points. Bouchard also appeared in 76 Stanley Cup playoff games, adding 13 points.
He captured his first Stanley Cup championship in 1970-71. The Habs won the title despite not making the post season the year before and the Boston Bruins being heavily favoured. It was the first of five championships for Bouchard. He would win with the Canadiens in 1972-73 then again for three consecutive seasons from 1975-76 to 1977-78.
Despite finishing in the top ten for penalty minutes in both junior and in the AHL, Bouchard never sat more than 69 PIM in a single National Hockey League season. The stay to home style complimented the offensive styles of Guy Lapointe and Larry Robinson with the Habs.
After a gamble by Montreal’s management prior to the 1978-79 NHL season, Bouchard was taken off waivers by the Washington Capitals. In that 1978-79 season, Pierre mulled the idea of retirement and appeared in just a single game with the Capitals. In the end, he played parts of four seasons with Washington, never again appearing in a Stanley Cup playoff games after winning five titles in eight years with Montreal.
Pierre Bouchard – Rookie Card
The Pierre Bouchard rookie card appears as number 2 in the 1971-72 O-Pee-Chee NHL hockey card set as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. His final card is included in the 1980-81 O-Pee-Chee as a member of the Washington Capitals.
As mentioned, all of his hockey cards mention that his father Butch Bouchard is a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1974-75, he got some extra coverage by O-Pee-Chee. His picture is not only on the front of his own card but also on the front of teammate Chuck Lefley‘s.
After the unwanted transfer to the Capitals, Bouchard’s 1978-79 OPC card shows his still as a member of the Canadiens with a note on the front stating, “Retired From Active Play”. The following year, he is shown as a member of the Capitals but still wearing a Montreal jersey in the photo.
Pierre Bouchard Stats
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1965-66 | Montreal Nationale | MMJHL | 40 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 53 |
| 1966-67 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | OHA | 48 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 105 |
| 1967-68 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | OHA | 54 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 134 |
| 1968-69 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 69 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 32 |
| 1969-70 | Montreal Voyageurs | AHL | 65 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 124 |
| 1970-71 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 51 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 50 |
| 1971-72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 39 |
| 1972-73 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 41 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 69 |
| 1973-74 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 25 |
| 1974-75 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 79 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 65 |
| 1975-76 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 1 | 11 | 12 | 50 |
| 1976-77 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 52 |
| 1977-78 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 59 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 29 |
| 1978-79 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1979-80 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 54 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 16 |
| 1980-81 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 50 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 28 |
| 1981-82 | Hershey Bears | AHL | 62 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 26 |
| 1981-82 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| NHL Totals | 595 | 24 | 82 | 106 | 433 |