Archive for the ‘Boston Bruins’ Category

The legacy of Jean Ratelle can be summed up in a few adjectives: consistent, gentlemanly and classy. While most of us would consider ourselves lucky to have such a legacy, it actually hurts Ratelle a little. Instead of being a superstar, he flies under the radar as one of the all-time greats because he was not flashy, outspoken, dirty, or anything else that would make us remember him. He simply played the game and played it well. So let’s dig a little deeper into the career of Jean Ratelle, shall we…

Jean Ratelle broke into the NHL with the New York Rangers during the ’60-’61 season as a twenty year old. Enjoying a cup of coffee that season (3 games), he would rejoin the team for the  following season but ended up splitting his time between the Rangers and the Kitchener-Waterloo Beavers of the EPHL. During the next two seasons, he would again split time between the Rangers and the Baltimore Clippers of the AHL. After suffering a major back injury that required spinal chord surgery during the latter half of the ’63-’64, Ratelle finally joined the Rangers for good the following season.

Ratelle would be one of the Rangers’ best players during his tenure with the team. From ’64-’65 to ’75′-’76, he would put up 774 (319 goals, 455 assists) points in 714 games. He would score over 30 goals six times and over 40 goals twice during his Broadway run. His best season with the Rangers came during ’71-’72 when he put up 109 points (46 goals, 63 assists) in only 63 games. Oh, and he had just FOUR (!!) PIMs that season. It sort of goes without saying that he won the Lady Byng that season in addition to the Lester Pearson Award. He was inducted into the HOF in 1985.

Ratelle (and Brad Park) was traded to the Boston Bruins early in the ’75-’76 season and would thrive. In 67 games, he ended up with 90 points (31 goals, 59 assists). Combined with the 13 games (15 points) he played with New York, Jean Ratelle totalled over 100 points for the second time in his career. In Boston, he was often paired with Middleton and Jonathan on a gritty, hard-working line that was the trademark of the Don Cherry Bruins. During his six seasons with the Bruins, Ratelle tallied 450 points (155 goals, 295 assists) before retiring at the age of 40.

Looking at his career numbers, Ratelle stands out as one of the best of his era. He played 1281 games, scored 491 goals, helped on 776 others, and nearly averaged a point-per-game. He finished with a higher career +/- (+299) than career PIMs (276). Fourteen times he scored over 20 goals; eight of those times he scored over 30 goals and twice over 40 goals. He scored 90+ points four times and 100+ twice. Three times he was in the top-10 in goals, six times in the top-10 in assists, and seven times in the top-10 in total points. Career wise, Ratelle is in the top-50 in goals, assists, and points. He won two Lady Byng Trophies, a Pearson Award, and the Masterton Trophy.

What hurts Ratelle is that he was never really the best player on his team. In New York, that honour usually belonged to Rod Gilbert. In Boston, the scoring tended to be spread evenly throughout the entire team. Additionally. Ratelle never won a Stanley Cup and that tends to make great players forgotten.  The biggest negative about Ratelle is that he wasn’t negative. By all accounts, he was a class act on and off the ice; admired and respected by his teammates and opponents and sometimes referred to as “Gentleman” Jean Ratelle. As fans, we  tend to forget the nice guys or the guys who just go about their business. We’d rather remember the outspoken characters or flashy players. Jean Ratelle was neither of these. It’s a shame too, because Ratelle was really REALLY good.

Onto the card…

This is Ratelle’s second card and the second card I have from this set (the other is Dallas Smith). I really like the blue border and the sort of painted photograph. Look at Jean; doesn’t he just look like a nice guy? The back is simple and contains a brief writeup in both English and French. There is not a whole lot to say about this set. It’s beautiful in it’s simplicity and I wouldn’t think twice about picking up other cards from this set. There aren’t really any notable rookies in this set. Vic Hadfield, who was Ratelle’s linemate on the GAG (Goal-A-Game) Line, has a rookie card, but that’s about it. The Bobby Hull is the big card (~$350) followed by Stan Makita (~$125). Oh, and I guess the checklist (~$250) but that is just lame.

Here is a bonus Jean Ratelle card. It comes from the 2001-02 Fleer Greats of the Game set. It’s one of his few certified on-card autographs and can be had for around $20. That’s a steal!

Mark Stuart is my favourite Bruins player, so I was a little worried come free agent time because I desperately wanted the B’s to resign him. He ended up agreeing to a 1 year/1.68 million dollar extension. While I would have preferred the B’s to have locked him up for longer, this deal is more of a temporary deal until they can (hopefully) resign him to a long-term deal after next season.

Stuart was drafted 21st overall by the Bruins in the 2003 draft and has made his debut during the ’05-’06 season. He would only play in 17 games that season before being sent back down to the Providence Bruins for some seasoning. It was the same story the next season; Stuart would only play in 15 games for the B’s before being sent back down. I can tell you that during those two seasons, what I saw, I loved. He was a tough dude who made smart plays and thought it was only a matter of time before he would be up for good. And he was the following season. Stuart would play in every game for the Bruins for the next two seasons. Last season, Stuart missed a chunk of time with a broken pinkie finger. Surgery on it led to an infection which cost him almost the entire playoffs.

I can not speak to this personally, but Stuart seems like the guy who is a great clubhouse leader. The sort of player who practices hard every day, comes to the game ready to play, leaves it all on the ice, and leads by example. He has the makings, in my opinion, of a future captain. He’s a smart defenseman who plays tough. He’ll dish out hits and will take one to make a play if need be. He is always willing to drop the gloves if an opponent is getting a bit too chippy, either with himself or with a teammate. Bruins color commentator Jack Edwards (I think it was him initially) dubbed Stuart “caveman strong”. I take this to mean that he is just a solid, SOLID dude.

I have high hopes for him this upcoming season. I think if he were 100% during the playoffs, the B’s advance past Philadelphia. I hope the Bruins brass is smart enough to realize what they have with Stuart and do everything possible to lock him up for a long time. With Cam Neely as the new president of the organization, I have to believe that he sees the value, on and off the ice, of Stuart and makes it happen. This is the sort of guy who will see on the US Olympic team in the near future and you’ll think to yourself, “Whoa, this guy is a rock.”

I used to have an SPX auto/jersey card of Stuart, but you know how I feel about sticker autographs; the SP Authentic was a no brainer, especially since it can be had for like $8. Overall, I think he has a nice signature; I especially like how the crossed T spans the entire autograph.

Below is a clip of Stuart absolutely DESTROYING Anze Kopitar on a completely legal, open-ice hit, followed by Stuart dropping them against Wayne Simmonds. I like guys like Stuart who realize that if they lay out a player, especially a star player, they are going to have to answer the bell. And I like guys like Simmonds who stick up for their teammates. To me, these are the best fights; they aren’t set up in advance and there isn’t a long drawn out square off. Just two dudes going at it in the heat of the moment.