Ralph Backstrom
Ralph Gerald Backstrom ( born September 18, 1937 in Kirkland Lake, Ontario ) is a retired Canadian ice hockey player ( center ), who from 1958 to 1977 for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Blackhawks of the National Hockey League and the Chicago Cougars, Denver Spurs, Ottawa Civics and New England Whalers played in the World Hockey Association.
Career
As a junior he played with the Montreal Junior Canadiens in the QJHL before he worked for the Hull- Ottawa Canadiens at senior level. Already in the season 1956/57, he was for three games NHL breathe air at the Montreal Canadiens, but he soon returned to the farm team to Hull - Ottawa. As early as 1956 he had played for the first time at the Memorial Cup with the Hull- Ottawa he made it in 1957 for the first time in the finals, where they lost to hosts from Flin Flon. In 1958 the third attempt it worked finally and as team captain led Backstrom, who was considered one of the greatest talents, his team to the Memorial Cup win. Scotty Bowman was then coach of the team and celebrated his first success as a coach.
For the season 1958/59 they wanted to build it up slowly with the Rochester Americans in the AHL. But already in the preparation, he played with the Montreal Canadiens, he impressed those in charge that they picked him in the NHL squad. He thanked scorer with 40 points, and the Calder Memorial Trophy, which was awarded to him as the best rookie of the season. At the end of the season he won the first of six Stanley Cups. In his second season he managed only 28 points, but by his defensive oriented game he had a place in the team safe. He stood in the shadow of the big stars Jean Beliveau and Henri Richard, but together with Claude Provost, he was one of the most persistent and toughest players of his time.
The late 1960s, his dissatisfaction grew, and he wanted to leave the Canadiens. He started almost reluctantly in the 1970/71 season and moved in January 1971 to the Los Angeles Kings. The Canadiens gave him from cheap, but were not there unselfishly. It had acquired from Oakland Seals their first-round draft pick and hoped that the Seals were the weakest team in the NHL the first pick. So they wanted to commit the talented Guy Lafleur. But Los Angeles played a bad season, and it was feared that they were last in the NHL. Backstrom helped to bring the Kings to the last place. At the end of the 1972/73 season he still changed for some games to the Chicago Blackhawks.
He remained in Chicago, but moved the team and league. The Chicago Cougars in the World Hockey Association brought the experienced Backstrom, who brought it there in his first year on 83 points. He was also nominated for the 1974 Summit Series, where the WHA All-Stars played against the national team of the Soviet Union. In line with Gordie and Mark Howe, he was one of the outstanding players of the series. As in the season 1974/75 the Cougars faced financial ruin, it was Backstrom, who had come with him from the Blackhawks along with Dave Dryden and Pat Stapleton, who took over the team. There they failed the team about the end of the season to keep alive. With a majority of the teams he moved to the Denver Spurs but also this team stood on wobbly legs. Turn of the year they wanted to save the team with a move to Ottawa, but even that failed and was followed by the resolution. He came through a completed Dispersal Draft to the New England Whalers. Here he played a very tidy 1976/77 season, before he ended his career.
In the early 1980s, he returned as an assistant coach with the Los Angeles Kings. He later coached the team from the University of Denver and the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League.
Statistics
Sporting successes
- Memorial Cup: 1958
- Stanley Cup: 1959, 1960, 1965, 1966, 1968 and 1969
Personal Awards
- Calder Memorial Trophy: 1959
- Paul Deneau Trophy: 1974
- WHA All-Star Game: 1974, 1975, 1976 and 1977
- Participate in the NHL All-Star Game: 1958, 1959, 1960, 1962, 1965 and 1967