Jacques Laperrière

Jacques Laperrière
Born	(1941-11-22) November 22, 1941 Béarn, Quebec, Canada
Occupation(s)	Ice hockey player, coach
Years active	1962–1974 (player), 1975–2007 (coach)
Known for	Six-time Stanley Cup champion player, two-time Stanley Cup champion assistant coach, Hockey Hall of Fame inductee

Joseph Jacques Hughes Laperrière (born November 22, 1941) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and coach. He competed with the Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1962 until 1974, securing six Stanley Cup championships and later being inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. In his coaching career, he contributed to two additional Stanley Cup victories. He is also the father of NHL athlete Daniel Laperrière and AHL coach Martin Laperrière.

Playing career

Originating from Béarn, Quebec, Laperrière admired the Montreal Canadiens and particularly defenseman Doug Harvey. His development took place within junior squads such as the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens, Montreal Junior Canadiens, and Brockville Jr. Canadiens. He made his NHL debut during the 1962–63 season, participating in six regular-season contests and five playoff matches for Montreal.

In the 1963–64 campaign, Laperrière earned a permanent position on the Canadiens' lineup, accumulating 30 points alongside 102 penalty minutes. That season, he was honored with the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie, selected for the 1964 NHL All-Star Game, and named to the NHL second All-Star team—becoming the first rookie to receive an All-Star team nod since World War II.

The subsequent season saw him achieve NHL first All-Star team recognition and claim his initial Stanley Cup as Montreal triumphed over the Chicago Black Hawks. Although injuries limited his appearances in 1965–66, he secured the James Norris Memorial Trophy as the league’s premier defenseman and played a key role in Montreal’s Stanley Cup victory against Detroit.

Over the next eight years, Laperrière added four more Stanley Cup titles to his record. During the 1972–73 season, he led the NHL in plus-minus rating, one of only two players aside from Bobby Orr to do so between 1969 and 1975. His playing days concluded midway through the 1973–74 season due to a knee injury. In recognition of his career accomplishments, he was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1987.

Coaching career

Following his retirement as a player, Laperrière took on coaching duties with the Montreal Juniors during the 1975–76 season but stepped down the following year because he found the pressure and physicality at the amateur level unsettling. He returned to the Canadiens organization as an assistant coach in 1980–81, maintaining that position for sixteen years under six different head coaches and contributing to two Stanley Cup championships in 1985–86 and 1992–93. Subsequently, he joined the Boston Bruins as an assistant coach for four seasons beginning in 1997–98. In 2001–02, Laperrière became part of the coaching staff for the New York Islanders for two seasons before moving to the New Jersey Devils in 2003–04, initially serving as assistant coach and later transitioning to a special assignment coaching role during the 2006–07 campaign.

Awards and achievements

• Calder Memorial Trophy — 1964
• Selected to NHL second All-Star team — 1964, 1970
• Participant in NHL All-Star Games — 1964, 1965, 1967, 1968, 1970
• Stanley Cup champion — 1965, 1966, 1968, 1969, 1971, 1973 (player) (Montreal Canadiens)
• Named to NHL first All-Star team — 1965, 1966
• Recipient of James Norris Memorial Trophy — 1966
• Led NHL in Plus/Minus rating — 1973
• Stanley Cup champion — 1986, 1993 (assistant coach) (Montreal Canadiens)
• Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame — 1987

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1958–59	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EOHL		1	1	1	2	2		2	0	0	0	0
1958–59	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		9	1	0	1	16
1959–60	Brockville Canadiens	OVJHL		—	—	—	—	—		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		5	0	2	2	0		—	—	—	—	—
1959–60	Brockville Jr. Canadiens	M-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		13	0	13	13	34
1960–61	Hull Canadiens	IPSHL		—	11	29	40	—		—	—	—	—	—
1960–61	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		5	0	0	0	2		3	0	2	2	4
1960-61	Hull Canadiens	Al-Cup		—	—	—	—	—		3	0	0	0	4
1961-62	Montreal Jr. Canadiens	OHA		48	20	37	57	98		6	0	1	1	11
1961-62	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		1	0	0	0	4		7	1	4	5	6
1962-63	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		6	0	2	2	2		5	0	1	1	4
1962-63	Hull-Ottawa Canadiens	EPHL		40	8	19	27	51		2	0	0	0	0
1963-64	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		65	2	28	30	102		7	1	1	2	8
1964-65	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		67	5	22	27	92		6	1	1	2	16
1965-66	NHL |57 |6 |25 |31 |85 |— |— |— |— |—
NHL |61 |0 |20 |20 |48 |9 |0 |1 |1 |9
NHL |72 |4 |21 |25 |84 |13 |1 |3 |4 |20
NHL |69 |5 |26 |31 |45 |14 |1 |3 |4 |28
NHL |73 |6 |31 |37 |98 |- |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	NHL |49 |0 |16 |16 |20 |20 |4 |9 |13 |12
NHL |73 |3 |25 |28 |50  |   4  |   0  |   0  |   0  |   2   |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0"	NHL | 57 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 34 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 2 |- |- (same) | NHL | 42 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 14 | — | — | — | — | —
NHL totals !691 !40 !242 !282 !674 !88 !9 !22 !31 !101