Shot Left Height 1.8 m Position Defenseman Role Ice hockey player Career end 1933 | Name Billy Coutu Career start 1916 Playing career Weight 86 kg | |
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Born March 1, 1892North Bay, ON, CAN ( 1892-03-01 ) Played for Montreal CanadiensHamilton TigersBoston Bruins Died February 25, 1977, Sault Ste. Marie, Canada | ||
Wilfrid Arthur "Billy" "Wild Beaver" Coutu (March 1, 1892 – February 25, 1977) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, the Hamilton Tigers, and the Boston Bruins. He was the only player banned from the NHL for life, as a result of his attack on a referee in 1927.
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While a member of the Montreal Canadiens, Coutu was one of the players hospitalized during the cancelled 1919 Stanley Cup series, won the Stanley Cup in the 1923–24 NHL season, and was captain of the team in the 1925–26 NHL season. After his eviction from the NHL, Coutu played a total of four years in the Canadian-American Hockey League (C-AHL) and American Hockey Association (AHA), then coached the C-AHL's Providence Reds.
Personal life
Billy Coutu's last name is sometimes incorrectly spelled "Couture", an error which appears in many NHL history books and, for a time, even showed up on the Montreal Canadiens website. Several hockey history books, including The Hockey News "Habs Heroes" by Ken Campbell incorrectly attribute his name to a photograph of teammate Louis Berlinguette. He and his family pronounced their name "Koochee", which was sometimes confused with "Couture".
Coutu's wife Gertrude was the sister of Ms. Aird Stuart, the mother of Mary Morenz, wife of Hockey Hall of Fame member Howie Morenz and grandmother to their daughter Marlene Geoffrion, wife of Bernie Geoffrion, another Hall of Famer. Howie Morenz played with Coutu on the Canadiens.
Playing career
Coutu turned professional with the Canadiens in 1916–17, the last season of the NHA. He stayed with the Canadiens when the new NHL formed for 1917–18. During the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1919, Coutu and four other teammates contracted influenza and were hospitalized. The 1919 Stanley Cup series was cancelled.
After playing the 1920–21 NHL season with the Hamilton Tigers, Coutu was traded back to Montreal prior to the start of the 1921–22 NHL season, along with Sprague Cleghorn, in exchange for Harry Mummery, Amos Arbour, and Cully Wilson, in the NHL's first multiple-player trade.
Wearing No. 9, Coutu was named Canadiens captain in 1925-26, replacing Sprague Cleghorn. After the 1925–26 NHL season, Coutu was deemed expendable and traded to the Boston Bruins in exchange for defenceman Amby Moran who ultimately played just 12 games for the Canadiens.
During his first practice with the Bruins, Coutu body-slammed Eddie Shore. Coutu's forehead hit Shore's skull, severing Shore's ear. Shore visited several doctors who wanted to amputate the ear, but finally found one who sewed it back on. After refusing anaesthetic, Shore used a mirror to watch the doctor sew the ear back on. Shore claimed Coutu used his hockey stick to cut off the ear, and Coutu was fined $50; Shore later recanted and Coutu's money was refunded.
At the end of Game 4 of the 1927 Stanley Cup, Coutu started a bench-clearing brawl, apparently at the request of coach Art Ross, by assaulting referee Jerry Laflamme and tackling referee Billy Bell in the corridor. As a result, he was expelled from the NHL for life; the longest suspension to date. On October 8, 1929, the suspension was lifted allowing Coutu to play in minor professional leagues, where he played into his late 30s with Minneapolis and also coached for several years. He never played in the NHL again, although he was reinstated in 1932–33 at the insistence of Canadiens owner Leo Dandurand.