Hockey Hall of Famer (Leo Boivin)
Leo Boivin was a professional ice-hockey player in the NHL. He played defense for 19 seasons from 1952 to 1970. He broke into the NHL during the 1951-52 season, playing two games for the Toronto Maple Leafs. The following season 1952-53, Boivin became an NHL regular, manning the Maple Leaf blue-line until seven games into the 1954-55 season when he was traded to the Boston Bruins for Joe Klukay. Boivin would remain in Boston for the next twelve seasons until being traded 46 games into the 1965-66 season to the Detroit Red Wings. With the expansion in 1967 and Boivin getting on in years, he had an opportunity to extend his NHL career. Instead, he was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins and, after a season and a half, was later dealt with the Minnesota North Stars, where he would conclude his career in 1969-70.
Boivin was a hard-hitting defenseman who relished the art of the hip check and prided himself on executing it. Twice he helped the Boston Bruins reach the Stanley Cup final only to be defeated 4-1 in 1957 and 4-2 in 1958 by the Montreal Canadians. For much of his tenure in Boston, he was paired with Allen Stanley, Doug Mohns, Bob Armstrong, and Fern Flaman. In 1963 he was named team captain. In 1966 Boivin accepted a trade to the Detroit Red Wings and helped the Wings to an appearance in the 1965-66 Stanley final, again bowing out to the Montreal Canadians in six games. When expansion arrived and the league doubled from six teams to twelve teams, Boivin’s career was extended. He played four more seasons in the NHL, two with Pittsburgh and two with Minnesota. Boivin retired at the end of the 1969-70 NHL season. When the expansion continued with the additions of the Vancouver Canucks and Buffalo Sabres in 1970, Boivin declined an offer to play for the Sabres.
After retiring, Boivin returned to his hometown, where he became a scout. He later served as an interim coach with the St. Louis Blues, coaching 43 games in 1975-76 and 54 games in 1977-78 before being fired. He later had a brief stint coaching the Ontario Hockey Leagues Ottawa 67’s, where he mentored future NHL Star defensemen Ian Turnbull and Denis Potvin.
Hockey Hall of Famer (1986)
In 1986 Boivin’s hometown of Prescott, Ontario, renamed their Community Centre the Leo Boivin Community Centre in honor of him. In September of that year, he was also inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame. Boivin retired from hockey in 1993 after working as a scout with the Hartford Whalers. Leo Boivin passed away on October 16, 2021, only two months after celebrating his 90th birthday.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1948–49 | Inkerman Rockets | OVJHL | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1948–49 | Inkerman Rockets | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1949–50 | Port Arthur Bruins | TBJHL | 18 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 32 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 |
| 1949–50 | Port Arthur Bruins | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 16 | 6 | 4 | 10 | 12 |
| 1950–51 | Port Arthur Bruins | TBJHL | 20 | 16 | 11 | 27 | 37 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 28 |
| 1950–51 | Port Arthur Bruins | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 16 |
| 1951–52 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1951–52 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 30 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 32 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| 1952–53 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 70 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 97 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1953–54 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 58 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 81 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1954–55 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1954–55 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 59 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 105 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 1955–56 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 68 | 4 | 16 | 20 | 80 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1956–57 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 55 | 2 | 8 | 10 | 55 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 |
| 1957–58 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 33 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 54 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 21 |
| 1958–59 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 94 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| 1959–60 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 70 | 4 | 21 | 25 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1960–61 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 57 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1961–62 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 70 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1962–63 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 62 | 2 | 24 | 26 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1963–64 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 10 | 14 | 24 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1964–65 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 67 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1965–66 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 46 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1965–66 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 16 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | 12 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 16 |
| 1966–67 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 78 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1967–68 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 73 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 74 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 41 | 5 | 13 | 18 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 28 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 69 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 30 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| NHL Totals | 1150 | 72 | 250 | 322 | 1192 | 54 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 59 |
Coaching record
| Team | Year | Regular season | Postseason | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| G | W | L | T | Pts | Division rank | Result | ||
| St. Louis Blues | 1975–76 | 43 | 17 | 17 | 9 | (43) | 3rd in Smythe | Lost in Preliminary Rd |
| St. Louis Blues | 1977–78 | 54 | 11 | 36 | 7 | (29) | 4th in Smythe | (fired) |
| Total | 97 | 28 | 53 | 16 |
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