Breaking: Montreal Canadiens mourn the passing of a four-time Stanley Cup winner

On Saturday, the Montreal Canadiens shared the sad news that former forward Joseph Jean-Paul Robert Rousseau, widely known in the hockey world as Robert “Bobby” Rousseau, has passed away at the age of 85.

Rousseau is best remembered for his time with the Montreal Canadiens, where he helped the team capture four Stanley Cups during his NHL career. He also had shorter stints with the Minnesota North Stars and the New York Rangers. Over the course of 942 NHL games, Rousseau amassed 245 goals and 458 assists, totaling 703 points in his career.

After a modest start — recording just 1 goal and 2 assists in his first 15 games — Rousseau truly emerged in his second season with Montreal. In his first full NHL season, he notched 21 goals and 24 assists for 45 points in 70 games, earning the Calder Memorial Trophy as the league’s top rookie. That was only the beginning of what would become a storied career with the Canadiens.

Rousseau is also one of just eight players in Canadiens history to score five goals in a single game, underscoring his exceptional talent and cementing his legacy as one of the franchise’s greats.