{{short description|Canadian ice hockey player (1895–1960)}} {{redirect|George Boucher|Canadian politician and barrister|George Russell Boucher}} {{Infobox ice hockey player | image = Georges Boucher.jpg | image_size = 230px | position = Defence | shoots = Left | height_ft = 5 | height_in = 9 | weight_lb = 169 | played_for = Ottawa Senators <br>Montreal Maroons <br>Chicago Black Hawks | birth_date = {{birth date|1895|8|19}} | birth_place = Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | death_date = {{death date and age|1960|10|17|1895|8|19}} | death_place = | career_start = 1915 | career_end = 1933 | halloffame = 1960 | website = }} '''John Georges''' "'''Buck'''" '''Boucher''' (August 19, 1895 – October 17, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played for the Ottawa Senators, Montreal Maroons, and Chicago Black Hawks of the National Hockey Association (NHA) and National Hockey League (NHL) between 1915 and 1932. In 1921, he became the first defenceman to record a hat-trick in an NHL playoff game.

==Personal life== [[File:Tom Boucher, Ottawa College.jpg|thumb|left|140px|Tom Boucher, while a rugby football player at Ottawa College in the 1890s]] Georges was born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Tom Boucher and Annie Carroll. His paternal grandfather, Antoine Boucher, was French while his other grandparents were of Irish descent. His father played rugby football for Ottawa College and for the Ottawa Rough Riders, winning the Canadian championship in 1894, 1896, 1897 and 1901.

His younger brothers Billy, Bob and Frank also became professional ice hockey players.<ref name="McEvoy">{{cite news |last=McEvoy |first=Colin |date=February 9, 2023 |title=The Ultimate Sibling Rivalry: 8 Sets of Brothers Who Faced Off in Sports Championships |url=https://www.biography.com/athletes/a42805051/brothers-who-have-faced-off-in-championships |access-date=February 12, 2023 |work=Biography}}</ref> There were two other brothers, Carroll and Joseph, and two sisters, Irene and Lily.

In October 1916, Boucher enlisted with the Canadian military, joining the 207th (Ottawa-Carleton) Battalion, though he was discharged in December that year for unclear reasons. He re-enlisted in May 1917, this time joining the Signal Training Department. He was again discharged, as a medical exam found him to have mitral regurgitation, making Boucher unfit to be a soldier.<ref>{{harvnb|MacLeod|2018|p=134}}</ref>

His son, Frank Boucher, was the head coach of Canada's 1948 Olympic gold medal-winning ice hockey team – the Ottawa RCAF Flyers.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.classicauctions.net/Default.aspx?tabid=263&auctionid=17&lotid=134|title = Classic Auctions &#124; Hockey Memorabilia and Sports Cards}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tsn.ca/olympics/feature/?fid=10268 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110604061540/http://www.tsn.ca/olympics/feature/?fid=10268 |archive-date=2011-06-04 |title=History-1948 Winter}}</ref>

==Hockey career== Boucher started his professional athletic career in football as halfback for the Ottawa Rough Riders of the Canadian Football League. After three years of football, he switched to hockey.

He played as an amateur with the Ottawa Aberdeens, and the New Edinburghs and Royal Canadians of the Ottawa City Hockey League.

He started play with the Senators, then of the NHA, in 1915. At the time, he played as a forward. Boucher would soon switch to play as a defenceman where he would gain fame as an excellent stick handler. He would play with stars such as Eddie Gerard, Horrace Merrill, Sprague Cleghorn, Lionel Hitchman and King Clancy.

Boucher played against his brother Frank in the 1923 Stanley Cup playoffs, which also featured brothers Cy and Corbett Denneny playing against each other. It marked the first time two different sets of brothers faced each other in an NHL or Big Four championship series.<ref name="McEvoy" />

Boucher helped lead the Senators to four Stanley Cup championships between 1920 and 1927. He played in the NHL from 1917 to 1932, scoring 117 goals and 87 recorded assists in 449 games. An extremely tough customer, he also had 838 penalty minutes, including 115 in just 44 games in 1926–27. At his retirement in 1932, he ranked 11th among NHL career points leaders.

He would go on to coach in the NHL in Ottawa, Boston and St. Louis. He coached the Ottawa Senators of the Quebec Hockey League, winning the Allan Cup in 1949.<ref name="MacLeod 136">{{harvnb|MacLeod|2018|p=136}}</ref>

He suffered from throat cancer for six years and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1960, three weeks before he died.<ref name="MacLeod 136"/>

==Career statistics== ===Regular season and playoffs=== {| border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" style="text-align:center; width:60em" |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Regular season ! rowspan="100" bgcolor="#ffffff"| ! colspan="5"|Playoffs |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! Season ! Team ! League ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM ! GP !! G !! A !! Pts !! PIM |- | 1913–14 | Ottawa New Edinburghs | IPAHU | 5 || 1 || 0 || 1 || — | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1914–15 | Ottawa New Edinburghs | OCHL | 15 || 12 || 0 || 12 || — | 1 || 0 || 0 || 0 || — |- | 1914–15 | Ottawa Royal Canadians | OCHL | 4 || 6 || 0 || 6 || — | 2 || 2 || 0 || 2 || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1915–16 | Montreal La Casquette | MCHL | 1 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 0 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1915–16 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 19 || 9 || 1 || 10 || 62 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1916–17 | Ottawa Senators | NHA | 18 || 10 || 5 || 15 || 27 | 2 || 1 || 0 || 1 || 8 |- | 1917–18 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 21 || 9 || 8 || 17 || 46 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1918–19 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 17 || 3 || 2 || 5 || 29 | 5 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 9 |- | 1919–20 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 22 || 9 || 8 || 17 || 55 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1919–20 | Ottawa Senators | St-Cup | — || — || — || — || — | 5 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 2 |- | 1920–21 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 23 || 11 || 8 || 19 || 53 | 2 || 3 || 0 || 3 || 10 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1920–21 | Ottawa Senators | St-Cup | — || — || — || — || — | 5 || 2 || 0 || 2 || 9 |- | 1921–22 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 23 || 13 || 12 || 25 || 12 | 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1922–23 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 24 || 14 || 9 || 23 || 58 | 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 2 |- | 1922–23 | Ottawa Senators | St-Cup | — || — || — || — || — | 6 || 2 || 1 || 3 || 6 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1923–24 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 21 || 13 || 10 || 23 || 38 | 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 4 |- | 1924–25 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 28 || 15 || 5 || 20 || 95 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1925–26 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 36 || 8 || 4 || 12 || 64 | 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 10 |- | 1926–27 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 40 || 8 || 3 || 11 || 115 | 6 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 43 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1927–28 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 43 || 7 || 5 || 12 || 78 | 2 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 4 |- | 1928–29 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 29 || 3 || 1 || 4 || 60 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1928–29 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 12 || 1 || 1 || 2 || 10 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1929–30 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 37 || 2 || 6 || 8 || 50 | 3 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 2 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1930–31 | Montreal Maroons | NHL | 30 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 25 | — || — || — || — || — |- | 1931–32 | Chicago Black Hawks | NHL | 43 || 1 || 5 || 6 || 30 | 2 || 0 || 1 || 1 || 0 |- bgcolor="#f0f0f0" | 1932–33 | Boston Cubs | Can-Am | 9 || 0 || 0 || 0 || 8 | — || — || — || — || — |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | NHA totals ! 37 !! 19 !! 6 !! 25 !! 89 ! 2 !! 1 !! 0 !! 1 !! 8 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | NHL totals ! 449 !! 117 !! 87 !! 204 !! 838 ! 28 !! 5 !! 3 !! 8 !! 88 |- bgcolor="#e0e0e0" ! colspan="3" | St-Cup totals ! — !! — !! — !! — !! — ! 16 !! 6 !! 1 !! 7 !! 17 |}

==Coaching record== ===National Hockey League=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason |- ! G !! W !! L !!T!! Pts !! Division rank !! Result |- !Montreal Maroons||1930-31 |12||6||5||1||(46)||3rd in Canadian||Lost in league quarter-finals (1-8 vs. NYR) |- !Ottawa Senators||1933-34 |48||13||29||6||32||5th in Canadian||Did not qualify |- !St. Louis Eagles||1934-35 |35||9||20||6||(28)||5th in Canadian||Did not qualify |- !Boston Bruins||1949-50 |70||22||32||16||60||5th in NHL||Did not qualify |- align="centre" bgcolor="#dddddd" !NHL totals!!!!165!!50!!86!!29!!129!!!! 0-2 (0.000) |}

===Canadian-American Hockey League=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason |- ! G !! W !! L !!T!! Pts !! Division rank !! Result |- !Boston Cubs||1932-33 |48||21||18||9||51||3rd in CAHL||'''Won in league semi-finals (2-0 vs. PRO) <br> Won Fontaine Cup (3-2 vs. PHI)''' |- !Springfield Indians||1935-36 |48||21||22||5||47||3rd in CAHL||Lost in league semi-finals (1-2 vs. PRO) |- align="centre" bgcolor="#dddddd" !CAHL totals!!!!96!!42!!40!!14!!98!!!! 6-4 (0.600 - 1 Fontaine Cup) |}

===International-American Hockey League=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason |- ! G !! W !! L !!T!! Pts !! Division rank !! Result |- !Springfield Indians||1936-37 |48||22||17||9||53||2nd in East||Won in division semi-finals (2-1 vs. PRO) <br> Lost in division finals (0-2 vs. PHI) |- !Springfield Indians||1937-38 |48||10||30||8||28||4th in East||Did not qualify |- align="centre" bgcolor="#dddddd" !IAHL totals!!!!96!!32!!47!!17!!81!!!! 2-3 (0.400) |}

===Quebec Provincial Hockey League=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason |- ! G !! W !! L !!T!! Pts !! Division rank !! Result |- !Quebec Castors||1939-40 |41||13||25||3||29||8th in QPHL||Did not qualify |- align="centre" bgcolor="#dddddd" !QPHL totals!!!!41!!13!!25!!3!!29!!!! 0-0 (0.000) |}

===Quebec Senior Hockey League=== {| class="wikitable" style="font-size: 95%; text-align:center;" |- ! rowspan="2"|Team !! rowspan="2"|Year !! colspan="6"|Regular season !! colspan="1"|Postseason |- ! G !! W !! L !!T!! Pts !! Division rank !! Result |- !Ottawa Senators||1946-47 |40||26||10||4||56||'''1st in QSHL'''||Won league semi-finals (3-1 vs. SF) <br> Lost league finals (2-4-1 vs. MTL) |- !Ottawa Senators||1947-48 |48||35||11||2||72||'''1st in QSHL'''||Won league semi-finals (4-3 vs. SF) <br> Won league finals (4-1 vs. QUE) <br> Won Quebec Senior Playoffs (2-1 vs. VIC) <br> Won Eastern Canada Allan Cup Playoffs (3-2-1 vs. HAM) <br> Lost Allan Cup finals (1-4 vs.EDM) |- align="centre" bgcolor="#dddddd" !QSHL totals!!!!88!!61!!21!!6!!128!!!! 19-16-2 (0.541) |}

==NHL Records (1)== * Most goals, defenceman, playoff game: '''3''' (tied with 10 other players) on March 10, 1921<ref>{{cite web | title=Playoff Skater Records - Most Goals, Defenseman, Playoff Game &#124; NHL Records | url=https://records.nhl.com/records/playoff-skater-records/scoring-by-a-defenseman/most-goals-defenseman-one-game-playoff }}</ref>

==References== {{Reflist}}

==Bibliography== {{Refbegin}} * {{cite book|location=Toronto|title=Globe and Mail|date=October 16, 1960}} * {{Citation|last=MacLeod|first=Alan Livingstone|year=2018|title=From Rinks to Regiments: Hockey Hall-of-Famers and the Great War|publisher=Heritage House|location=Victoria, British Columbia|isbn=978-1-77203-268-0}} {{Refend}}

==External links== * {{Ice hockey stats|legendsm=P196001}} * {{Find a Grave|8880266}}

{{s-start}} {{succession box | before = Cy Denneny | title = Head Coach of the Ottawa Senators (Original Era) | years = 1933&ndash;1934 | after = Franchise relocates to become St. Louis Eagles }} {{succession box | before = Cy Denneny | title = Ottawa Senators captain <br /> (Original Era) | years = 1926–28 | after = King Clancy}} {{succession box | before = Dunc Munro | title = Head coach of the Montreal Maroons | years = 1930–31 | after = Sprague Cleghorn}} {{succession box | before = Dit Clapper | title = Head coach of the Boston Bruins | years = 1949–50 | after = Lynn Patrick}} {{s-end}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boucher, Georges}} Category:1895 births Category:1960 deaths Category:Boston Bruins coaches Category:Boston Cubs players Category:Canadian football running backs Category:Canadian ice hockey coaches Category:Canadian ice hockey defencemen Category:Chicago Blackhawks players Category:Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Category:Deaths from esophageal cancer Category:Franco-Ontarian people Category:Hockey Hall of Fame inductees Category:Ice hockey people from Ottawa Category:Montreal Maroons players Category:Ottawa Rough Riders players Category:Ottawa Senators (1917) players Category:20th-century Canadian sportsmen Category:Ottawa Senators (NHA) players Category:Players of Canadian football from Ontario Category:Stanley Cup champions