Martin St. Louis is a future member of the Hockey Hall of Fame that is known for his size. At 5’8″ and 176 lbs, St. Louis has found a way, not only to compete but, to excel with the big boys. In the 1960’s and 1970’s, there was another man that stood 5’8″ that had similar offensive skills as the Tampa Bay Lightning forward. Andre Boudrias shared the same height but his playing weight was more than ten lbs. less than Marty’s.
Andre Boudrias – Junior and Minor Pro
Boudrias played his major junior hockey in the OHA with the Montreal Junior Canadiens from 1961-62 to 1963-64. In his first and last year, Andre was the scoring champ, earning the Eddie Powers Trophy. Over 50 games in 1961-62, he scored 34 and assisted on 63 for 97 points. Along with leading the league in points, he placed tied for sixth in goals and led the league in assists.
In 1963-64, Andre scored 38 and assisted on 97 for 135 points over just 55 regular season games. His high assist total can be attributed to being setup man for Yvan Cournoyer and his league leading 63 goals. Boudrias tied for eighth in the league with Ron Schock of the Niagara Falls Flyers for goals while again leading in assists and points.
In that final year of junior, Boudrias was named First Team All-Star Centre. His Junior Canadiens reached the Robertson Cup finals before being ousted by the dominant Toronto Marlboros. In that 1963-64 season, Andre saw his first National Hockey League action, playing four games for the Montreal Canadiens. He put up an impressive goal and four assists in his limited time in the NHL.
With the Montreal Canadiens, Boudrias saw little action. Between 1963-64 and 1966-67, he played in just seven games with the Habs. The rest of his time was spent in the minors, either in the CPHL or American Hockey League.
Andre Boudrias – NHL and WHA
Boudrias played in the NHL until the end of the 1975-76 season with the Canadiens, Minnesota North Stars, Chicago Blackhawks, St. Louis Blues and Vancouver Canucks. Over his career, Andre appeared in 662 regular season games, scoring 151 and assisting on 340 for 491 points. He played an additional 34 games in the Stanley Cup playoffs, adding 16 points.
Andre Boudrias Collection
With the St. Louis Blues in 1969-70, Boudrias got as close to a Stanley Cup championship as he would get during his playing career. The Blues reached the finals before being swept by Bobby Orr and the Boston Bruins.
After an impressive season with the Canucks in 1972-73, scoring a pro career high 30 goals over 77 games, Boudrias moved back into his familiar role as a setup man for the next two seasons. In 1973-74, his 59 assists tied him for fifth in the NHL with Wayne Cashman of the Bruins. The following year, Andre’s 62 helpers placed him eighth in the league, one behind Ron Schock of the Pittsburgh Penguins – the same guy he tied for eighth in assists with back in 1963-64. The 62 assists would remain a Vancouver team record until the Sedin twins came along.
In his final year in the NHL, Boudrias was designated team captain of the Canucks. To date, he remains eighth all-time for the most assists as a member of the Vancouver Canucks.
Andre played two years in the World Hockey Association, 1976-77 and 1977-78, both with the Quebec Nordiques. Over his two seasons, he played 140 regular season games, scoring 22 goals and totalling 70 points. However, when it came to the playoffs, Boudrias appeared in 28 games over two years, just six less than his NHL total.
In 1976-77, Boudrias finally got a major league championship. The Nordiques reached the Avco World Trophy finals and faced off against the Winnipeg Jets in one of the greatest hockey epics of all-time. Despite losing game six by a score of 12-3, Quebec won the championship in seven games over the Jets.
Andre Boudrias – Coach and Scout
After retirement, Boudrias moved behind the bench almost immediately. At the 1979 IIHF World Championships, Andre was assistant coach for Canada at the tournament held in Moscow. Canada placed fourth, led by the likes of Marcel Dionne, Denis Maruk and Bobby Smith.
For the Quebec Nordiques in their first two years as a NHL franchise, Boudrias was assistant coach. That was the extent of his coaching career, moving to higher office positions.
From 1983-84 to 1995-96, Andre held the position of Assistant General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens. While employed with the Habs, the team won two Stanley Cup championships. In 1985-86, the team defeated the Calgary Flames and in 1992-93, Montreal took out the Los Angeles Kings for their last championship to date.
After being relieved of duties during the 1995-96 season, Boudrias was a scout for the New Jersey Devils before the end of the year. He remained a pro scout with the Devils until the end of the 2011-12 season. During his time with the Devils, the team won Stanley Cup championships in 1999-00 and 2002-03.
Andre Boudrias – Rookie Card
Boudrias did not get on cardboard until expansion took him away from the Montreal Canadiens organization. The Andre Boudrias rookie card appears as number 53 in the 1968-69 O-Pee-Chee set. The card is valued as a common card and Andre appears as a member of the Minnesota North Stars.
| Season | Team | Lge | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1961-62 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA | 50 | 34 | 63 | 97 | 54 |
| 1961-62 | North Bay Trappers | EPHL | 2 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 1961-62 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1962-63 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA | 50 | 12 | 43 | 55 | 72 |
| 1962-63 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1963-64 | Montreal Junior Canadiens | OHA | 55 | 38 | 97 | 135 | 48 |
| 1963-64 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 4 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 |
| 1964-65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1964-65 | Omaha Knights | CPHL | 52 | 15 | 49 | 64 | 10 |
| 1964-65 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 14 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 4 |
| 1965-66 | Houston Apollos | CPHL | 70 | 27 | 46 | 73 | 53 |
| 1965-66 | Quebec Aces | AHL | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 |
| 1966-67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1966-67 | Houston Apollos | CPHL | 67 | 16 | 48 | 64 | 58 |
| 1967-68 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 74 | 18 | 35 | 53 | 42 |
| 1968-69 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 53 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 6 |
| 1968-69 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 20 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 4 |
| 1969-70 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 50 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 20 |
| 1969-70 | Kansas City Blues | CHL | 19 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 16 |
| 1970-71 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 77 | 25 | 41 | 66 | 16 |
| 1971-72 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 27 | 34 | 61 | 26 |
| 1972-73 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 77 | 30 | 40 | 70 | 24 |
| 1973-74 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 78 | 16 | 59 | 75 | 18 |
| 1974-75 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 77 | 16 | 62 | 78 | 46 |
| 1975-76 | Vancouver Canucks | NHL | 71 | 7 | 31 | 38 | 10 |
| 1976-77 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 74 | 12 | 31 | 43 | 12 |
| 1977-78 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 66 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 22 |
| NHL Totals | 662 | 151 | 340 | 491 | 216 | ||
| WHA Totals | 140 | 22 | 48 | 70 | 34 |