Leo Boivin
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1986
Boivin with the Boston Bruins in 1962
Born (1931-08-02)August 2, 1931
Prescott, Ontario, Canada
Died October 16, 2021(2021-10-16) (aged 90)
Brockville, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 177 lb (80 kg; 12 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
Detroit Red Wings
Pittsburgh Penguins
Minnesota North Stars
Playing career 1951–1970

Leo Joseph Boivin (August 2, 1931 – October 16, 2021) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman and coach who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Boston Bruins, Detroit Red Wings, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Minnesota North Stars from 1952 to 1970.

Playing career

Boivin was born in Prescott, Ontario, on August 2, 1931.[1][2] He began playing hockey at seven years of age on the rivers and outdoor ice surfaces of Prescott, near Ottawa.[3] He began his junior career in 1948–49 with the Inkerman Rockets of the Ontario Valley Junior Hockey League.[4] He was scouted by the Boston Bruins during a pre-season competition and was signed by the franchise in 1949.[5][6] He subsequently played for the Port Arthur Bruins of the Thunder Bay Junior A Hockey League for two seasons.[4][6] His rights were later traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on November 16, 1950.[2][6]

Professional career

Boivin started the 1951–52 season playing for the Pittsburgh Hornets of the American Hockey League (AHL),[7] before being promoted to the Leafs. The franchise had lost hard-hitting blue-liner Bill Barilko in the summer of 1951 when he disappeared on a fishing trip, and the Toronto brass felt Boivin's physical style could help fill that void.[6][8] Boivin made his NHL debut for the Leafs on March 8, 1952.[3] He only played in one other game that season, but featured regularly for the Leafs the following year. Early in the 1954–55 season, Boivin was traded back to the Bruins in exchange for Joe Klukay.[2]

Back in Boston, Boivin enjoyed his best years as a feared member of the Boston Bruins blue line and helped lead them to two Stanley Cup Finals in the late 1950s. Boivin starred with other Boston defensive stalwarts Allan Stanley, Fern Flaman, Doug Mohns and Bob Armstrong.[6] He remained the anchor of a youthful Bruins defensive corps during the difficult reconstructive period of the early 1960s. Boivin became captain of the Boston Bruins in 1963.[9] In February 1966, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings in a five-player trade.[2] He recounted: "I had been in Boston for a long time and they were struggling. (General Manager) Hap Emms asked me if I would go to Detroit. It was near the (trade) deadline. (Doug) Barkley lost his eye that year and Sid Abel wanted me to go there. I said, 'Sure, I'll go to Detroit.' It was quite a feeling to go in there because they had guys like (Gordie) Howe and (Alex) Delvecchio that I had hit hard through the years. But they welcomed me with open arms. I really enjoyed playing there."[8] That spring, Boivin helped the Red Wings to the Stanley Cup Finals, where they lost to the Montreal Canadiens.[10]

After one more season with Detroit, Boivin's career was winding down but age 35, he was given a chance to extend his career when the league doubled in size by adding six new franchises for the 1967–68 campaign. Boivin found a new home when he was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1967 NHL Expansion Draft.[2] He recalled how "after sixteen years in the six-team league, expansion added on to my career. At that time, there were a lot of players playing in the American Hockey League that were great players who just didn't get a chance."[11] He spent a season and a half with the Penguins before moving on for a final time when he was traded to the Minnesota North Stars, another expansion club.[2] After the North Stars were defeated in the quarterfinals of the 1970 playoffs,[12] Boivin retired.[9][13] He declined the opportunity to extend his career with the newly established Buffalo Sabres.[3][14]

Later life

After retiring from professional hockey in 1970, Boivin became a scout in his hometown.[15] He also served as interim coach of the St. Louis Blues during the 1975–76 and 1977–78 seasons.[16] He later coached the Ottawa 67's of the Ontario Hockey League for a brief period, tutoring young defencemen Denis Potvin and Ian Turnbull.[17][18]

Boivin was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in September 1986.[15][19] The arena in his hometown was consequently retitled the Leo Boivin Community Centre in honour of him that same year.[15][20] He worked as a scout until his retirement in 1993 with the Hartford Whalers.[13] He attended Ottawa Senators games annually in his later years.[17] Boivin died on October 16, 2021, at the age of 90.[21][3][15]

Career statistics

Sources:[2][7]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1948–49 Inkerman Rockets OVJHL — — — — — — — — — —
1948–49 Inkerman Rockets M-Cup — — — — — 4 2 0 2 0
1949–50 Port Arthur Bruins TBJHL 18 4 4 8 32 5 0 3 3 10
1949–50 Port Arthur Bruins M-Cup — — — — — 16 6 4 10 12
1950–51 Port Arthur Bruins TBJHL 20 16 11 27 37 13 3 6 9 28
1950–51 Port Arthur Bruins M-Cup — — — — — 7 1 3 4 16
1951–52 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 2 0 1 1 0 — — — — —
1951–52 Pittsburgh Hornets AHL 30 2 3 5 32 10 0 1 1 16
1952–53 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 70 2 13 15 97 — — — — —
1953–54 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 58 1 6 7 81 5 0 0 0 2
1954–55 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 7 0 0 0 8 — — — — —
1954–55 Boston Bruins NHL 59 6 11 17 105 5 0 1 1 4
1955–56 Boston Bruins NHL 68 4 16 20 80 — — — — —
1956–57 Boston Bruins NHL 55 2 8 10 55 10 2 3 5 12
1957–58 Boston Bruins NHL 33 0 4 4 54 12 0 3 3 21
1958–59 Boston Bruins NHL 70 5 16 21 94 7 1 2 3 4
1959–60 Boston Bruins NHL 70 4 21 25 66 — — — — —
1960–61 Boston Bruins NHL 57 6 17 23 50 — — — — —
1961–62 Boston Bruins NHL 65 5 18 23 70 — — — — —
1962–63 Boston Bruins NHL 62 2 24 26 48 — — — — —
1963–64 Boston Bruins NHL 65 10 14 24 42 — — — — —
1964–65 Boston Bruins NHL 67 3 10 13 68 — — — — —
1965–66 Boston Bruins NHL 46 0 5 5 34 — — — — —
1965–66 Detroit Red Wings NHL 16 0 5 5 16 12 0 1 1 16
1966–67 Detroit Red Wings NHL 69 4 17 21 78 — — — — —
1967–68 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 73 9 13 22 74 — — — — —
1968–69 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 41 5 13 18 26 — — — — —
1968–69 Minnesota North Stars NHL 28 1 6 7 16 — — — — —
1969–70 Minnesota North Stars NHL 69 3 12 15 30 3 0 0 0 0
NHL Totals 1,150 72 250 322 1,192 54 3 10 13 59

Coaching record

Source:[16]

TeamYearRegular seasonPost season
GWLTPtsDivision rankResult
St. Louis Blues1975–76 4317179(43)3rd in SmytheLost in preliminary round
St. Louis Blues1977–78 5411367(29)4th in Smythe(fired)
Total97285316

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Leo Joseph Boivin". Mackay Funeral Home. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Leo Boivin Stats". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Laflamme, Robert (October 16, 2021). "L'ancien défenseur Léo Boivin s'éteint à l'âge de 89 ans" (in French). National Hockey League. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  4. 1 2 Blevins, David (2012). The Sports Hall of Fame Encyclopedia: Baseball, Basketball, Football, Hockey, Soccer. Vol. 1. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 92. ISBN 978-0-8108-6130-5.
  5. ↑ Weeks, Jonathan (January 12, 2021). Best of the Bruins: Boston's All-Time Great Hockey Players and Coaches. McFarland. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-4766-4225-3.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 Costello, Brian (October 16, 2021). "'Watch out for Leo Boivin': Remembering a Hockey Star". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  7. 1 2 "Leo Boivin Hockey Stats and Profile". HockeyDB. The Internet Hockey Database. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Spotlight – One on One with Leo Boivin". Hockey Hall of Fame. April 25, 2008. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  9. 1 2 Diamond, Dan; Zweig, Eric (July 16, 2013). Hockey's Glory Days: The 1950s and '60s. Andrews McMeel Publishing. p. 62. ISBN 978-1-4494-5006-9.
  10. ↑ "1966 NHL Stanley Cup Final: Montreal Canadiens defeat Detroit Red Wings 4–2". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  11. ↑ "Legends of Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame.
  12. ↑ "1970 NHL Quarter-finals: St. Louis Blues defeat Minnesota North Stars 4–2". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  13. 1 2 "Boivin dies at 90, Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman". National Hockey League. October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  14. ↑ "Leo Boivin Stats and News". National Hockey League. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  15. 1 2 3 4 Ruhnke, Tim (October 16, 2021). "Hockey Hall-of-Famer Leo Boivin dies at age 89". Ottawa Citizen. Archived from the original on October 17, 2021. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  16. 1 2 "Leo Boivin NHL & WHA Hockey Coaching Record". Hockey-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  17. 1 2 Campbell, Don (September 24, 2017). "Austen Keating leads way as 67's down Otters in home opener". Ottawa Citizen. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  18. ↑ Farber, Michael (March 29, 1999). "Check, Please – Like it or not, hitting is the soul of hockey, and there's nothing like a resounding bodycheck to change the flow of a game or even the course of history". SI.com. Sports Illustrated. p. 58. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  19. ↑ Boivin's Biography at Legends of Hockey.
  20. ↑ Lowrie, Wayne (May 3, 2021). "New Prescott arena named for Alaine Chartrand". The Recorder and Times. Brockville. Retrieved October 16, 2021.
  21. ↑ "Boivin dies at 90, Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman". NHL.com. October 16, 2021. Retrieved October 19, 2021.
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