Playing career

A product of the New York Rangers organization, Ratelle's hockey career almost ended when he suffered a serious back injury at age 23 and had to undergo major spinal cord surgery. He recovered to become a regular with the Rangers from 1963 until 1975. His greatest success came with the linemates Vic Hadfield and Rod Gilbert in the so-called "GAG line" (which stood for Goal A Game). He was the perennial scoring leader for the Rangers between 1968 and 1973 when the team was a powerhouse annually among the league's best.

Ratelle was poised to beat out Boston Bruins' legend Phil Esposito for the scoring title in 1972 before he lost fifteen games due to an injury, but came back for the Stanley Cup finals against Boston to lead his team. Only Esposito, Bobby Orr and Johnny Bucyk had scored as many points in league history as Ratelle had managed in his shortened season. His 109 points that season remained a Rangers' scoring record until 2006, when Jaromir Jagr broke the mark.

In November 1975, Ratelle was traded with teammates Brad Park and Joe Zanussi in a blockbuster deal to the Boston Bruins for Esposito and Carol Vadnais. Ratelle finished strongly that year for his second 100-point campaign. On March 21, 1976, he played his 1,000th game against the Montreal Canadiens. He starred for several more seasons for Boston, gaining admiration for his slick passing, skill at faceoffs and all-around excellent play, retiring a Bruin after the 1981 season. He served for several years thereafter as an assistant coach for the Bruins.

Ratelle played centre ice in the NHL for twenty-one seasons, accumulating 1267 points on 491 goals and 776 assists. At the time of his retirement, he was the league's sixth all-time leading scorer. While he never played on a team that won the Stanley Cup, Ratelle was a member of the 1972 Team Canada squad that defeated the Soviet Union in the first-ever Summit Series. He was well known as a gentlemanly player, finishing in the top five for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and excellence nine times, including a stretch between the 1970 and 1978 seasons where he was in the top three six times and won the trophy twice.

On September 12, 1985, Jean Ratelle was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame, along with players Bernie Parent and Bert Olmstead.

In 2009, Ratelle was ranked No. 7 on the all-time list of New York Rangers in the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons).

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1958-59	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		54	20	31	51	11		10	5	4	9	2
1959-60	Guelph Biltmores	OHA-Jr.		48	39	47	86	15		5	3	5	8	4
1959-60	Trois-Rivières Lions	EPHL		3	3	5	8	0		—	—	—	—	—
1960-61	Guelph Royals	OHA-Jr.		47	40	61	101	10		14	6	11	17	6
1960-61	New York Rangers	NHL		3	2	1	3	0		—	—	—	—	—
1961-62	New York Rangers	NHL		31	4	8	12	4		—	—	—	—	—
1961-62	Kitchener Beavers	EPHL		32	10	29	39	8		7	2	6	8	2
1962-63	New York Rangers	NHL		48	11	9	20	8		—	—	—	—	—
1962-63	Baltimore Clippers	AHL		20	11	8	19	0		3	0	0	0	0
1963-64	New York Rangers	NHL		15	0	7	7	6		—	—	—	—	—
1963-64	Baltimore Clippers	AHL		57	20	26	46	2		—	—	—	—	—
1964-65	New York Rangers	NHL		54	14	21	35	14		—	—	—	—	—
1964-65	Baltimore Clippers	AHL		8	9	4	13	6		—	—	—	—	—
1965-66	New York Rangers	NHL		67	21	30	51	10		—	—	—	—	—
1966-67	New York Rangers	NHL		41	6	5	11	4		4	0	0	0	2
1967-68	New York Rangers	NHL		74	32	46	78	18		6	0	4	4	2
1968-69	New York Rangers	NHL		75	32	46	78	26		4	1	0	1	0
1969-70	New York Rangers	NHL		75	32	42	74	28		6	1	3	4	0
1970-71	New York Rangers	NHL		78	26	46	72	14		13	2	9	11	8
1971-72	New York Rangers	NHL		63	46	63	109	4		6	0	1	1	0
1972-73	New York Rangers	NHL		78	41	53	94	12		10	2	7	9	0
1973-74	New York Rangers	NHL		68	28	39	67	16		13	2	4	6	0
1974-75	New York Rangers	NHL		79	36	55	91	26		3	1	5	6	5
1975-76	New York Rangers	NHL		13	5	10	15	2		—	—	—	—	—
1975-76	Boston Bruins	NHL		67	31	59	90	16		12	8	8	16	4
1976-77	Boston Bruins	NHL		78	33	61	94	22		14	5	12	17	4
1977-78	Boston Bruins	NHL		80	25	59	84	10		15	3	7	10	0
1978-79	Boston Bruins	NHL		80	27	45	72	12		11	7	6	13	2
1979-80	Boston Bruins	NHL		67	28	45	73	8		3	0	0	0	0
1980-81	Boston Bruins	NHL		47	11	26	37	16		3	0	0	0	0
NHL totals				1281	491	776	1267	276		123	32	66	98	24

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1972	Canada	SS		6	1	3	4	0

[ Source: Wikipedia ]