Posts Tagged ‘Bill Masterton Trophy’

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!

Oh man, these past couple days have been bananas in the hockey world. The 2010 Hall of Fame class was announced, some BIG trades were made, a retirement, and some awards were dished out. So let’s review the week that was and is and see who/what failed and who/what won…

2010 Hall of Fame Class Announced, Part 1

For the first time, some ladies were inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. I won’t pretend to know anything about women’s hockey. Personally, I find it boring and ridiculous; when you take a sport that is like 80% physical and remove it from the game, I can’t take it seriously. Same goes for women’s lacrosse. Whatever. I know who Cammi Granato is and she appeared in more than one issue of Sports Illustrated for Kids when I was younger, so she must be important. Angela James? Never heard of her. I’ll take your word that she is Canada’s greatest female hockey player. So,while I am unsure how I feel about this personally, I think overall it’s good for hockey and the HOF. (Sort of) Gender equality gets a…

2010 Hall of Fame Class Announced, Part 2

On the dude side, two builders and one player got it. Jimmy Devellano or Doc Seaman go in as builders. I guess I’m okay with these two, but if Doc was so important, why not induct him while he was alive? Looks like more of a sentimental pick than anything. But whatever, they must have been the best available to pick from, right? More on that in a moment.

My man Dino Ciccarelli got in but the more I think about it, the more I don’t like it. Yes, he scored 600 goals and that is certainly impressive. But no Cups, no awards, no All-NHL team selections. Was he the best at his position? Nah, not even for any one specific season. He may not have even been the best player on his team for any season. Add some on and off ice issues to the mix and it becomes a tough pick to justify for some. BUT, there are worse players in, so I don’t HATE this selection. I just hope that there were not better players overlooked, which I’ll get to next. For these three, I give this class a…

2010 Hall of Fame Class Announced, Part 3

So, the HOF is telling me that Dino is better than these guys?

And that these two guys shouldn’t be in the Builders section?

And when will they finally recognize the tough guy?

Hockey Hall of Fame, you get a big ol’…

So Long, Farewell, Auf Wiedersehen, Good Night

Couple of big retirements on the blue line.

Future Hall of Fame defenseman Scott Niedermayer got a lot of ink for hanging up the skates, but fellow future HOFer Rob Blake called it a career as well. Some Cups and Norris Trophies between these warriors; they could play for my team any day.

A big…

for their careers, but for the NHL losing couple of stand-up, hard-nosed players, a…

Bruins Trade For Nathan Horton

The Bruins sent embattled d-man Dennis Wideman and the 15th pick in this years draft to Florida for Nathan Horton and Gregory Campbell.  I liked Wideman but man, he played like a drunk toddler this season; it was like he forgot how to skate. The 15th pick hurts, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE Horton. Finally, a goal scorer who I predict will net 37 goals this year. Campbell is whatever. Could be nice having the son of the league’s disciplinarian on the team.

Bruins Agressively Shopping Savard

Nooooooooooooooo! Horton needs Savard like whoa! Yes, Savard takes dumb penalties. And yes, Savard is a bit injury prone but the ENTIRE offense runs through him. Trade Thomas, trade Wheeler, but the B’s gotta keep Savy.

I hate this rumor.

2010-11 Schedule Released

Bruins open the season with a “home/away” series versus the Coyotes IN PRAGUE?! Ugh! I hate hate HATE this. First off, the effin’ Coyotes? I understand the NHL wants some of that sweet Gretzky action abroad, but c’mon? These teams aren’t rivals. Why not throw, oh I don’t know, the STANLEY CUP winning Blackhawks versus the Coyotes? And I have wait TWO MONTHS for a B’s vs. Flyers rematch?! Scheduling gods, you get a…

Blackhawks Win Cup, Mess With Success

Chicago, you will rue the day you dealt Byfuglien. RUE!

Hey Atlanta, take Wheeler and Thomas for Byfuglien?

NHL Dishes Out Some Hardware

Most of the winners weren’t too shocking. Miller taking the Vezina was a no-brainer. I’m more than fine with Myers winning the Calder, but wouldn’t have been surprised if Howard had taken it. I was hoping Doughty was going to get the Norris, but he may be a year away. Rest assured that once he wins it the first time, it won’t be his last time.

I guess the biggest surprise was Ovechkin winning the newly named Lindsay Award but Sedin winning the Hart. Sedin is a good player and finally put it all together to have a great season, but I don’t think he is Hart worthy, not when there are two 50 goal/1oo point scorers on winning teams in the mix. All three of the finalists were on teams that had disappointing playoff runs, so we can’t take that into consideration. I can’t bring myself to care enough to make a huge stink about it.

Also, in more boring news, Datsyuk won the Selke, St. Louis won the Lady Byng, Theodore won the Masterson, and Tippet won the Adams.

New Cards Added To Collection

And to wrap it up, I grabbed a couple of on-card autographs of HOFers.

2008-09 ITG Bleu Blanc et Rouge #A-JL1 Jacques Laperriere Bleu Version (/40)

Laperriere is sort of a tough signature, so this was a nice one to get especially for the price I paid.

1997-98 UD SP Authentic #m4 Bryan Trottier /560

I thought finding a Trottier auto would be easy, but there were never any on eBay. Saw this and immediately had to have it. Great signature and I dig the hand numbering on the back.