Pierre Pilote
Three-time Norris Trophy winner and Black Hawks captain.
Pierre Pilote was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played most of his NHL career for the Chicago Black Hawks, serving as team captain for seven seasons. He won the James Norris Memorial Trophy three times as the league's best defenceman and was a perennial All-Star.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Defence
- Played For
- Chicago Black Hawks / Toronto Maple Leafs
- Shoots
- Left
- Height Ft
- 5
- Height In
- 10
- Weight Lb
- 178
- Birth Date
- 1931-12-11
- Birth Place
- Kénogami, Quebec, Canada
- Death Date
- 2017-09-09
- Death Place
- Barrie, Ontario, Canada
- Career Start
- 1955
- Career End
- 1969
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
Pilote did not play organized hockey until age 17 because the local rink collapsed. He originally tried out as a centre but was turned down because the team needed a defenceman, so he practiced that position and joined the next season. Rudy Pilous recruited him to the St. Catharines Teepees of the OHA, and he made the team in 1950. He played four full seasons for the Buffalo Bisons of the AHL before being signed by Chicago. Pilote had an iron man streak of 376 consecutive games over more than five seasons and was often paired with Elmer 'Moose' Vasko on the Chicago blue line. After the Black Hawks won the Stanley Cup in 1961, team captain Ed Litzenberger was traded and Pilote was named captain, a role he held until traded to Toronto in 1968.
Reader's Guide
Pierre Pilote's significance lies in his three consecutive Norris Memorial Trophy wins (1963–1965), a feat matched or surpassed only by Doug Harvey, Bobby Orr, and Nicklas Lidström. He was a First or Second All-Star team member every year from 1960 to 1967. At retirement, he was the second leading defence scorer in NHL history (behind Harvey), sixth leading career scorer for the Black Hawks, and second in all-time assists behind Stan Mikita. His seven-season tenure as Black Hawks captain was the longest in franchise history until surpassed by Jonathan Toews in 2016–17. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975 and ranked number 59 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 greatest hockey players in 1997. His jersey number 3 was retired by the Blackhawks in 2008, and a bronze statue was erected in his honour in Jonquière in 2012.
More in Hockey Hall of Fame Defencemen 1-24
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