Former Montreal Canadiens forward Bobby Rousseau has passed away at the age of 85, after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. Rousseau was a part of the Canadiens’ push to two rounds of back-to-back Stanley Cup wins, in 1965 and 1966, then 1968, and 1969. He also won the Calder Trophy as the NHL’s best rookie in 1962, after posting 21 goals and 45 points in 70 games.
Rousseau, born Joseph Jean-Paul Robert Rousseau, began his career in the QMJHL. He led the league in scoring as a rookie, with 85 points in 44 games. Montreal acquired his rights soon after, and loaned him to the Hull-Ottawa Canadiens of the Eastern Professional Hockey League for the 1960-61 season. That same year, Rousseau was also loaned to the Kitchener-Waterloo Dutchmen, who represented Team Canada at the 1960 Winter Olympics in Squaw Valley. He would take home a Silver Medal from that tourney, in a year where USA won Gold and the Soviet Union won Bronze.
All of that came before Rousseau’s NHL career, which kicked off in-full in the 1961-62 season. He took home the Calder that year, en route to planting his feet as a routine 20-goal, 50-point challenger in the Canadiens’ lineup. He held that role through his age-24 season in 1964-65, but broke out in the 1965-66 season with 30 goals and 78 points in 70 games – all career-highs. Rousseau bounced between 60 and 70 points for the next three seasons, before dipping back to 58 points in the 1969-70 campaign.
That was enough to turnover his position in the Canadiens’ lineup. Rousseau was traded to the Minnesota North Stars, where he spent one season before again being traded to the New York Rangers. He was technically a later-named future considerations in the latter trade, a move that would prove foolish after Rousseau posted 157 points in 236 games, and four seasons, with the Rangers. His career came to a gradual close in the 1973-74 season, and officially in 1975 – the same year that his Montreal Canadiens would kick off another spree of Stanley Cup wins.
Rousseau is remembered for his fast skating and hard shot. More than that, he’s remembered for taking over games with bouts of skill, and the dynamic option that skill offered Jean Béliveau and Henri Richard in some of their best years. Rousseau was a key winger for Montreal, alongside the links of Gilles Tremblay and Claude Provost.
Rousseau’s older brother, Roland, also won the Memorial Cup. The family completed the Memorial Cup hat-trick when Rousseau’s grandson, William Rousseau, won the 2023 Cup with the QMJHL’s Quebec Remparts. William went on to win the QMJHL’s ’Goaltender of the Year’ award in 2024 and now plays professionally with the ECHL’s Iowa Heartlanders.
Bobby Rousseau will forever be rememebred as one of 119 players to have their name on the Stanley Cup four different times. He leaves behind his wife, Huguette, as well as eight grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren. His name is among Montreal’s true greats. Pro Hockey Rumors sends our condolences to Rousseau’s family, friends, and the Montreal faithful. For more insights and quotes, visit NHL.com’s story remembering the Canadiens legend.