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Jack Laviolette
Jack Laviolette
Hockey Hall of Fame, 1963
Born	July 17, 1879; Belleville, Ontario, Canada
Died	January 10, 1960 (aged 80); Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Defence/Winger
Shot	Right
Played for	Montreal Le National; Michigan Soo Indians; Montreal Shamrocks; Montreal Canadiens
Playing career	1903–1918

Jean-Baptiste "Jack" Laviolette (July 17, 1879 – January 10, 1960) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Laviolette played nine seasons for the Montreal Canadiens hockey club and was their first captain, coach, and general manager.

Laviolette was one of the first francophone ice hockey stars. He was born in Belleville, Ontario, but grew up in Valleyfield, Quebec. He was a solid scorer from the defenceman position, but Laviolette's true place in hockey history has less to do with his scoring prowess and more to do with his role as a founding organizer of the Canadiens hockey club. He was their first player, coach, and general manager in their inaugural 1910 season.

With the formation of the National Hockey Association (NHA) in December 1909, (replaced 7 years later by the NHL), team/league owner Ambrose O'Brien asked Laviolette to put together a team made up of French Canadian players to play as the "Les Canadiens" franchise in Montreal. Laviolette completed the task in time for the NHA's inaugural season. Among those that would sign on to that first team would be future hall of famers Newsy Lalonde, Didier Pitre. The team he built would go on to be the most successful franchise in professional hockey.

Playing career

Laviolette first played elite-level senior men's amateur hockey in 1904 for the Montreal Le National, famous for being one of the first men's teams composed of francophones. From 1905 onward, he played as a professional, first with the Michigan Soo Indians of the International Professional Hockey League for three seasons, and then returned to Montreal to play for Montreal Shamrocks in the 1908 and 1909 seasons. A teammate of Laviolette on all of those teams was forward Didier Pitre.

He then starred for the new Montreal Canadiens franchise from 1910 until 1918, both in the NHA and the NHL, scoring 51 goals in 156 games, and winning the Stanley Cup in 1916.

Laviolette lost his right foot in an automobile accident on May 1, 1918, ending his playing career.^[1] A benefit game for Laviolette was arranged at the Mount Royal Arena in 1921. He was the guest of honour, and also refereed.

Playing style

"Jack could skate backwards as fast as most skaters could, or can, skate forward."

– Lester Patrick on Jack Laviolette in 1928.^[2]

Primarily a defenceman position wise, Laviolette was renowned for his strong skating and his marvelous speed, which helped dub the Montreal Canadiens team The Flying Frenchmen.^[2] He would occasionally also play as a forward.^[3]

Player, coach, and executive Lester Patrick, who was a contemporary player of Laviolette and later a coach in the NHL with the New York Rangers, claimed that Laviolette could skate as fast backward as most other players could skate forward. On the other hand, despite Laviolette having solid goal-scoring upside both as a defenceman and as a forward, Patrick also claimed that Laviolette "lacked a sense of direction" to his game, which he claimed hindered him from reaching the superstar status of his fellow Montreal teammates Didier Pitre and Newsy Lalonde.^[2]

Laviolette was known as a clean and gentlemanly player, both in hockey and on the lacrosse field, which combined with his genial disposition on and off the sports venues made him a popular character in the various sports circuits. Outside of hockey and lacrosse, his fascination for speed also brought his attention to motorcycle racing and flying machines.^[3]

Career statistics

			Regular season					Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1903–04	Montreal Nationals	FAHL	6	8	0	8	—	—	—	—	—	—
1904–05	Michigan Soo Indians	IHL	24	15	0	15	24	—	—	—	—	—
1905–06	Michigan Soo Indians	IHL	17	15	0	15	28	—	—	—	—	—
1906–07	Michigan Soo Indians	IHL	19	10	7	17	34	—	—	—	—	—
1907–08	Montreal Shamrocks	ECAHA	6	1	0	1	36	—	—	—	—	—
1908–09	Montreal Shamrocks	ECHA	9	1	0	1	36	—	—	—	—	—
1909–10	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	12	4	0	4	41	—	—	—	—	—
1910–11	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	16	0	0	0	24	—	—	—	—	—
1911–12	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	17	7	0	7	10	—	—	—	—	—
1912–13	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	20	8	0	8	77	—	—	—	—	—
1913–14	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	20	7	9	16	30	2	0	1	1	0
1914–15	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	18	6	3	9	35	—	—	—	—	—
1915–16	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	18	8	3	11	62	—	—	—	—	—
1915–16	Montreal Canadiens	St-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	4	0	0	0	6
1916–17	Montreal Canadiens	NHA	17	7	3	10	24	—	—	—	—	—
1916–17	Montreal Canadiens	St-Cup	—	—	—	—	—	4	1	2	3	9
1917–18	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	18	2	1	3	6	2	0	0	0	0
IHL totals			60	40	7	47	86	—	—	—	—	—
NHA totals			138	47	18	65	303	4	0	1	1	0
St-Cup totals			—	—	—	—	—	8	1	2	3	15

Awards and achievements

1904–05, 06–07 – First All-Star Right Wing, IPHL
1915–16 – Stanley Cup champion
1960 – Inducted into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame
1963 – Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame^[4]

References

^ "Laviolette hurt in auto smash" The Gazette (Montreal). May 2, 1918 (pg. 4). Retrieved 2020-10-27.
^ ^a ^b ^c "Crack Hockey Player Becomes Super Star by Adding Brain to Skill" Schoenfeld, Alfred L. Brooklyn Daily Eagle. Feb. 7, 1928. Retrieved 2021-08-17.
^ ^a ^b "Montreal athlete had great career" Victoria Daily Times. May 10, 1918 (pg. 10). Retrieved 2021-08-17.
^ Hockey Hall of Fame 2003, p. 56.

General

Hockey Hall of Fame (2003). Honoured Members: Hockey Hall of Fame. Bolton, Ontario: Fenn Publishing. ISBN 1-55168-239-7.

External links

Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database

Preceded by Position created	Head coach of the Montreal Canadiens 1910–11	Succeeded by Adolphe Lecours
Preceded by Position created	Montreal Canadiens captain 1910	Succeeded by Newsy Lalonde
Preceded by Newsy Lalonde	Montreal Canadiens captain 1911–12	Succeeded by Newsy Lalonde
Preceded by Position created	General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens 1909–10 with Joseph Cattarinich	Succeeded by George Kennedy