In an unfortunate announcement from the NHL’s Alumni Association, the group shared that former defenseman Paul Boutilier has passed away at the age of 63. He played for the New York Islanders, Boston Bruins, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, and Winnipeg Jets throughout his NHL career.
The roots of that career sprouted in the 1980-81 season when Boutilier scored 10 goals and 39 points in 72 games for the QMJHL’s Sherbrooke Castors. In the postseason, he registered three goals and 10 points in 14 games, setting him up as one of the top-30 talents heading into the 1981 NHL Draft. He was ultimately selected with the 21st overall pick by the Islanders, one spot ahead of current Jets’ head coach, Scott Arniel.
Despite debuting in the NHL in the 1981-82 campaign, Boutilier wouldn’t become a full-time player in New York until the 1982-83 season. He didn’t factor in as much as he may have liked, but he was a part of the last Islanders team to win the Stanley Cup in 1983, having his name engraved on the illustrious silver.
Over the next three years, Boutilier enjoyed the most productive years of his career. From the beginning of the 1983-84 season to the end of the 1985-86 campaign, Boutilier registered 16 goals and 80 points in 183 games for the Islanders with a +14 rating. During the 1984-85 season, he was the third-highest scoring defenseman on the team behind Denis Potvin and Tomas Jonsson.
Unfortunately, inconsistency became a recurring theme throughout Boutilier’s career. He played for four different organizations over the last three years of his career, scoring seven goals and 21 points in 75 games with a -4 rating split between the Bruins, North Stars, Rangers, and Jets.
After a two-year career with NLA’s SC Bern, Boutilier retired after the 1990-91 season. He worked for several years as an assistant coach at St. Mary’s University and Dalhousie University in Canada, and he also had a one-year stint as a development coach with the Nashville Predators. The last stop of his coaching career was working as a defensive coach and assistant coach for the QMJHL’s Montcon Wildcats and Québec Remparts this past season, respectively.
All in all, Boutilier finished his NHL career with 27 goals and 110 points in 288 games with a +1 rating and a Stanley Cup ring from 1983. We at PHR offer our condolences to those impacted by Boutilier’s loss.