billy coutu

Wilfrid "Billy" Arthur Coutu (March 1, 1892 North Bay, Ontario - February 28, 1978 Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario) was the first player banned from the NHL for life. A former captain of the Montreal Canadiens (1925/26), Coutu also played for the Boston Bruins and Hamilton Tigers and coached the Providence Reds. His name appears on the Stanley Cup rings.

Biography

Billy Coutu started his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens, in the first year of the NHL. In 1919, Coutu and four other teammates contracted influenza during the Stanley Cup. Joe Hall, manager George Kennedy, Jack McDonald, and Edouard "Newsy" Lalonde were hospitalized with influenza. Teammate Joe Hall died during Game 5, and the 1919 Stanley Cup series was cancelled.

After playing the 1920/21 season with the Hamilton Tigers, Coutu was traded back to Montreal prior to the start of the 1921/22 season, along with Sprague Cleghorn, in exchange for Harry Mummery, Amos Arbour, and Cully Wilson, in the NHL's first multiple-player trade. After the 1925/26 season, Coutu was traded to the Boston Bruins, in exchange for Amby Moran. During his first practice with the Bruins, Coutu body-slammed Eddie Shore, who had been strutting in front of Cleghorn and Coutu. 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 on the ear. Shore claimed Coutu used his hockey stick to cut off the ear, and Coutu was fined $50. However, Shore later recanted and Coutu's money was refunded. In Game 4 of the 1927 Stanley Cup, Coutu started a Stanley Cup brawl, apparently at the request of coach Art Ross. Coutu punched referee Jerry LaFlamme. As a result, Billy Coutu was the first player to be suspended from the NHL for life. On October 8, 1929, the suspension was lifted so that Coutu could play in the minor leagues. He never played in the NHL again. Billy Coutu's last name is sometimes incorrectly spelled "Couture". He and his family pronounced their name "Koochee", which was somtimes confused with "Couture". Plays: defence Height: 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) Weight: 190 lb (86 kg) Shoots: left