Joseph Henri Jean-Claude Tremblay (January 22, 1939 – December 7, 1994) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL) and the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association (WHA), notable for play-making and defensive skills.

J. C. Tremblay
Tremblay with the Montreal Canadiens in the 1960s
Born (1939-01-22)January 22, 1939
Bagotville, Quebec, Canada
Died December 7, 1994(1994-12-07) (aged 55)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Quebec Nordiques
National team  Canada
Playing career 1958–1979

Playing career

edit

After an amateur and minor professional career that saw him move from left wing to defence and win the league Most Valuable Player title in 1960, Tremblay began play for the Canadiens in that season and stuck with the big league squad for good in the 1961–1962 season, playing for five Stanley Cup winning teams. He became one of the NHL's preeminent stars on defence for both his offense and defensive work, playing in seven NHL All-Star Games and setting the franchise record for points by a defenceman, and was recognized as a first team All-Star in 1971 and a Second Team All-Star in 1968.

In 1972, Tremblay jumped to the upstart WHA with the Nordiques, which had negotiated with the Los Angeles Sharks for his rights. He was the franchise's first great star, as well as the league's first great defenceman, winning the league honors for best defenceman in 1973 and 1975 and being named to the WHA's Team Canada in 1974, leading that club in defensive scoring. Tremblay also led his team to the 1977 AVCO World Trophy championship. He was the only player to play for the Nordiques all seven seasons of the WHA, and retired after the 1979 season. His number #3 jersey was retired by the Nordiques after that season just before the franchise's move into the NHL, thus gaining Tremblay the distinction of being one of only three players to have a number retired by an NHL team without ever actually playing for it (the other two being Johnny McKenzie by the Hartford Whalers and Frank Finnigan by the modern-day Ottawa Senators). He later scouted in Europe for the Montreal Canadiens.

In 1979, he donated a kidney to his daughter. Tremblay died of kidney cancer on December 7, 1994, at the age of 55.[1]

Honors and achievements

edit

Career statistics

edit

Regular season and playoffs

edit
Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1957–58 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens OHA-Jr. 24 7 12 19 8
1957–58 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EOHL 34 5 17 22 16
1957–58 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens M-Cup 13 2 5 7 10
1958–59 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EOHL 26 4 13 17 22 1 0 1 1 9
1958–59 Buffalo Bisons AHL 3 0 0 0 0
1958–59 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens M-Cup 9 4 5 9 12
1959–60 Montreal Canadiens NHL 11 0 1 1 0
1959–60 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 55 25 31 56 55 7 1 4 5 2
1960–61 Montreal Canadiens NHL 29 1 3 4 18 5 0 0 0 2
1960–61 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 37 7 33 40 28
1961–62 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 3 17 20 18 6 0 2 2 2
1962–63 Montreal Canadiens NHL 69 1 17 18 10 5 0 0 0 0
1963–64 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 5 16 21 24 7 2 1 3 9
1964–65 Montreal Canadiens NHL 68 3 17 20 22 13 1 9 10 18
1965–66 Montreal Canadiens NHL 59 6 29 35 8 10 2 9 11 2
1966–67 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 8 26 34 14 10 2 4 6 2
1967–68 Montreal Canadiens NHL 73 4 26 30 18 13 3 6 9 2
1968–69 Montreal Canadiens NHL 75 7 32 39 18 13 1 4 5 6
1969–70 Montreal Canadiens NHL 58 2 19 21 7
1970–71 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 11 52 63 23 20 3 14 17 15
1971–72 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 6 51 57 24 6 0 2 2 0
1972–73 Quebec Nordiques WHA 75 14 75 89 32
1973–74 Quebec Nordiques WHA 68 9 44 53 10
1974–75 Quebec Nordiques WHA 68 16 56 72 18 11 0 10 10 2
1975–76 Quebec Nordiques WHA 80 12 77 89 16 5 0 3 3 0
1976–77 Quebec Nordiques WHA 53 4 31 35 16 17 2 9 11 2
1977–78 Quebec Nordiques WHA 54 5 37 42 26 1 0 1 1 0
1978–79 Quebec Nordiques WHA 56 6 38 44 8
NHL totals 794 57 306 363 204 108 14 51 65 58
WHA totals 454 66 358 424 126 34 2 23 25 4

References

edit
  1. ^ "J. C. Tremblay; Hockey Player, 55". New York Times. December 9, 1994. Retrieved December 28, 2013.
  2. ^ "WHA Hall of Fame Members". whahof.com. Archived from the original on January 15, 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2013.
edit