Pierre Pilote obit

Blackhawks great Pierre Pilote dies at 85

He was not on the list.

Pierre Pilote, a former Blackhawks captain and defenseman who helped the franchise hoist the Stanley Cup in 1961, died Saturday night. He was 85.

"The Chicago Blackhawks offer our sincere condolences to the family of Pierre Pilote as we mourn his passing," the Blackhawks said Sunday in a statement. "Pierre was one of the most decorated defensemen in NHL history and was a valuable member of the 1961 Stanley Cup championship team. He will be remembered for his toughness, leadership and reliability on the ice — as proven by his captaincy and streak of 376 consecutive games played. We will forever be grateful for his incredible contribution to the Blackhawks and the game of hockey."

Pilote finished his career with 80 goals and 418 assists in 890 career games during 13 seasons with the Hawks and one with the Maple Leafs. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1975.

Pilote helped revolutionize the game for defensemen and was also known for his offensive prowess in helping lead the Hawks' scoring attack. He began his hockey career as a center and carried over some of those attributes to the blue line.

"I always believed that if I had the puck, the other team didn't have it," Pilote told the Hockey Hall of Fame in 2006. "My first instinct was always playing forward. ... If I played strictly defense, I wouldn't earn as much as if I played defense and offense. There weren't many laurels just being a defensive player. If you can do both, why not?"

And Pilote earned his fair share of laurels — he won the Norris Trophy three consecutive seasons in 1963, '64 and '65. In the 1964-65 season, Pilote, a left-handed shot, had his best offensive season with 14 goals and 45 assists. He finished runner-up for the Norris three other times and appeared in eight All-Star Games.

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Pilote, who didn't play his first organized hockey game until he was 17, helped blaze a trail in the NHL for other offensive-minded defensemen like Bobby Orr, who came after Pilote and is regarded as one of the best players of all time.

"Some nice people have said I was like Orr before Orr," Pilote told the Hawks website in 2014. "I don't know about that. I do know that I could skate pretty well, and it was difficult for guys to get around me."

After spending more than four seasons in the minor leagues, Pilote finally got the chance to crack the Hawks lineup in the 1955-56 season when he played in 20 games. He would go on to play 378 consecutive games, many alongside frequent blue-line partner Elmer "Moose" Vasko, before a dislocated shoulder in the 1961-62 season ended his consecutive-games streak. Pilote was known as one of the rougher players in the league and compiled a total of 1,251 penalty minutes in his career, including a league-high 165 in 1960-61.

Also that season, Pilote helped the Hawks end the Canadiens' stranglehold on the Stanley Cup. The Canadiens had won the Cup the previous five seasons, but the Hawks took them down 4-2 in the semifinals of the playoffs before advancing to defeat the Red Wings, led by Gordie Howe, in six games. Pilote cemented his legacy during that postseason when he led the Hawks with 15 points (three goals, 12 assists). It was the Hawks' first Stanley Cup since 1938 and would be their only title until 2010.

During that offseason, the Hawks traded captain Ed Litzenberger to the Red Wings and named Pilote the new captain.

"You have to be a good leader and a good politician," Pilote told the Hockey Hall of Fame. "We had three or four superstars and you had to know how to handle these guys. No matter how good a captain you are, it's just like politics — you have to win a majority. You have to have the guys on your side, but there's always a little bit of dissension and you're always trying to fix it before it gets too far and gets into the office. If a guy had a beef, we'd talk about it. If it was reasonable, I'd go to the management. I just tried to lead by example."

NHL Commissioner Gary Bettman released a statement Sunday, saying, in part: "Pierre was a man of humor and great dignity and a proud member of the Hockey Hall of Fame. The National Hockey League mourns Pierre's passing and sends heartfelt condolences to his family, teammates and many friends."

Between 1960 and 1968, Pilote tallied at least 29 assists in all but one season.

The Hawks traded him to the Maple Leafs after the 1968 season for winger Jim Pappin, a move that angered Pilote because he found out from a reporter that he had been traded. His season with the Leafs wasn't among his best — he had just three goals and 18 assists in 69 games — and he retired in 1969.

When Chairman Rocky Wirtz took over the franchise from his late father, Bill, in 2007, the Hawks reached out to Pilote to include him in the organization again. The team retired his number No. 3 in 2008.

Pilote co-authored a book about his life, "Heart of the Blackhawks: The Pierre Pilote Story," which was released in 2013.

"We are saddened with the passing of our father, but our family will always remember the Blackhawks organization for providing us with so many special moments," the Pilote family said in a statement. "We are so proud of what our father accomplished in his professional career and thankful that his legacy will be preserved with the retirement of his No. 3 by the team."

Pilote is survived by four children; Denise, Pierre Jr., Renee and David. He was preceded in death by his wife, Annie.