Gilles Marotte

Jean Gilles "Captain Crunch" Marotte (June 7, 1945 – July 26, 2005) was a Canadian defenceman in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Chicago Black Hawks, Los Angeles Kings, New York Rangers and St. Louis Blues.

Gilles Marotte
Born (1945-06-07)June 7, 1945
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died July 26, 2005(2005-07-26) (aged 60)
Verdun, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Chicago Black Hawks
Los Angeles Kings
New York Rangers
St. Louis Blues
Cincinnati Stingers
Indianapolis Racers
Playing career 1965–1978

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Marotte played junior hockey for the Victoriaville Bruins in Quebec before joining the Niagara Falls Flyers of the Ontario Hockey Association in 1963. He was a first-team all-star on the Flyers team that won the 1965 Memorial Cup. Both of his junior teams were affiliated with the Boston Bruins, and Marotte began his NHL career with the Bruins in 1965. In May 1967, he was part of one of the biggest trades in NHL history as one of three players sent to Chicago in the deal where Boston acquired Phil Esposito.

Marotte spent most of the next three seasons with the Black Hawks before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings in February 1970. While with the Kings in January 1971, Marotte broke rookie Darryl Sittler's wrist with a cross-check, giving him the most serious injury of his career. Marotte represented the Kings at the 1973 National Hockey League All-Star Game and scored a career-high 45 points that year. The next season, he was sent to the New York Rangers in the trade where the Kings acquired their future captain and coach, Mike Murphy. Marotte played in New York for three years. At the beginning of the 1976–77 season, Marotte was claimed on waivers by the St. Louis Blues, and spent time in the minor leagues for the only time in his career, playing for the Kansas City Blues in the Central Hockey League. The next season, Marotte jumped to the World Hockey Association to join the Cincinnati Stingers. He was traded mid-season to the Indianapolis Racers and finished his career there in 1978, retiring at the age of 33. Over his 13 seasons as a professional, Marotte appeared in 808 NHL games and 73 WHA games.

Marotte died of pancreatic cancer in 2005.

Awards and achievements
  • QJHL First All-Star Team (1963)
  • OHA-Jr. First All-Star Team (1965)
  • Played in NHL All-Star Game (1973)

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1961–62 Victoriaville Bruins QJHL 43 15 28 43 — 10 1 3 4 6
1962–63 Victoriaville Bruins QJHL 52 12 25 37 — 10 1 7 8 20
1963–64 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 56 12 34 46 160 4 0 0 0 9
1963–64 Niagara Falls Flyers M-Cup — — — — — 13 4 9 13 30
1964–65 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA-Jr. 52 12 25 37 122 11 2 0 2 50
1965–66 Boston Bruins NHL 51 3 17 20 52 — — — — —
1966–67 Boston Bruins NHL 67 7 8 15 112 — — — — —
1967–68 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 73 0 21 21 122 11 3 1 4 14
1968–69 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 68 5 29 34 120 — — — — —
1969–70 Chicago Black Hawks NHL 51 5 13 18 52 — — — — —
1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 21 0 6 6 32 — — — — —
1970–71 Los Angeles Kings NHL 78 6 27 33 96 — — — — —
1971–72 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 10 24 34 83 — — — — —
1972–73 Los Angeles Kings NHL 78 6 39 45 70 — — — — —
1973–74 Los Angeles Kings NHL 22 1 11 12 23 — — — — —
1973–74 New York Rangers NHL 46 2 17 19 28 12 0 1 1 6
1974–75 New York Rangers NHL 77 4 32 36 69 3 0 1 1 4
1975–76 New York Rangers NHL 57 4 17 21 34 — — — — —
1976–77 St. Louis Blues NHL 47 3 4 7 26 3 0 0 0 2
1976–77 Kansas City Blues CHL 26 1 10 11 46 7 2 0 2 2
1977–78 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 29 1 7 8 58 — — — — —
1977–78 Indianapolis Racers WHA 44 2 13 15 18 — — — — —
NHL totals 808 56 265 321 919 29 3 3 6 26
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