#97 - Pierre Pilote

Pierre Pilote (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #97)

Adjusted Stats

1955-1956   Chi        23 GP   4 goals     7 assists     11 points     0.49 PPG
1956-1957   Chi        82 GP   4 goals     19 assists   23 points     0.28 PPG
1957-1958   Chi        82 GP   8 goals     31 assists   39 points     0.47 PPG
1958-1959   Chi        82 GP   9 goals     37 assists   46 points     0.56 PPG
1959-1960   Chi        82 GP   9 goals     46 assists   55 points     0.67 PPG
1960-1961   Chi*      82 GP   7 goals     35 assists   42 points     0.51 PPG
1961-1962   Chi        69 GP   8 goals     42 assists   50 points     0.73 PPG
1962-1963   Chi        69 GP   10 goals   22 assists   31 points     0.46 PPG
1963-1964   Chi        82 GP   9 goals     60 assists   69 points     0.84 PPG
1964-1965   Chi        80 GP   18 goals   56 assists   74 points     0.93 PPG
1965-1966   Chi        60 GP   2 goals     40 assists   43 points     0.71 PPG
1966-1967   Chi        82 GP   7 goals     56 assists   63 points     0.77 PPG
1967-1968   Chi        82 GP   1 goal      44 assists    45 points     0.55 PPG
1968-1969   Tor        74 GP   3 goals    20 assists    23 points     0.31 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1958-1959    Chi        6 GP     0 goals    2 assists      2 points      0.31 PPG
1959-1960    Chi        4 GP     0 goals    1 assist        1 point       0.26 PPG
1960-1961    Chi*      12 GP   3 goals    13 assists    17 points    1.41 PPG
1961-1962    Chi        12 GP   0 goals     7 assists      7 points     0.58 PPG
1962-1963    Chi         6 GP    0 goals     8 assists      8 points     1.32 PPG
1963-1964    Chi         7 GP    2 goals     6 assists      8 points     1.21 PPG
1964-1965    Chi        12 GP   0 goals     8 assists      8 points     0.64 PPG
1965-1966    Chi         6 GP    0 goals     2 assists      2 points     0.35 PPG
1966-1967    Chi         6 GP    2 goals     4 assists      6 points     1.03 PPG
1967-1968    Chi        11 GP   1 goal       3 assists      4 points     0.36 PPG
1968-1969    Tor         4 GP    0 goals     1 assist        1 point      0.25 PPG

Career - 1031 GP, 99 goals, 515 assists, 614 points, 0.60 PPG
Career-Highs - 18 goals (64-65); 60 assists (63-64); 74 points (64-65); 0.93 PPG (64-65)
Avg. (13 seasons) - 78 GP, 7 goals, 39 assists, 46 points, 0.60 PPG
Peak Avg. (59-67) - 76 GP, 9 goals, 45 assists, 53 points, 0.70 PPG, 1 Cup

Playoff Career - 86 GP, 8 goals, 55 assists, 64 points, 0.74 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 3 goals (60-61); 13 assists (60-61); 17 points (60-61); 1.41 PPG (60-61)

Accolades - 3 Norris Trophies
All-Star Teams - 5-time 1st-team, 3-time 2nd-team
1-time Stanley Cup Champion

Pierre Pilote has the distinction of being the best defenceman of the 1960s...that is, before Bobby Orr came along. Anchoring a Chicago Blackhawk team that featured Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita at forward, Pilote was an elite puck-moving defenceman who began putting up excellent assist numbers before Orr came along and the blew the doors off the record-books.

Pilote is remembered for his offensive contributions, but he was also excellent defensively. There is evidence in the fact that he won the 1963 Norris Trophy despite scoring just 31 points. That would be the first of three consecutive Norris trophies that Pilote would win, and the next two years are more understandable, since he put up 69 and 74 points (offensively, that's in the MacInnis/Leetch/Lidstrom area). Unlike some of the puck-movers who followed, Pilote also had quite a bit of sandpaper...he averaged almost 100 PIM a season, and in 1960-1961 (the year the Blackhawks won the Cup), he had 165 in just 70 games.

While we remember Bobby Hull and Stan Mikita helping the Blackhawks win the championship, the fact is that neither of them had remarkably productive regular seasons or postseasons in 1961. No, if anything, it was Pilote who was their most valuable player during the playoff run (along with of course Glenn Hall). In the playoffs, Pilote had 13 adjusted assists and 17 points in 12 games...the assist and point totals led the playoffs, remarkable for a defenceman in an era when they were not expected to contribute much offensively. If the Conn Smythe award had been invented, I think Pilote probably would have won it.

So you could say that Pilote, along with of course Doug Harvey, set the stage for what Orr would do to the league in a few years. I give extra points to Pilote for being a good scout, as well. When he saw Orr enter the league in 1966, he said "I'm glad I won the Norris trophy already, because now that this guy's in the league, he's going to win it for the next ten years". Good assessment, Pierre.