Pierre Pilote, a Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman who won the Stanley Cup in 1961 with the Chicago Blackhawks, died Saturday the team announced. He was 85.
Pilote, a native of Kenogami, Quebec, did not make his NHL debut until he was 24 years old, first appearing for the Blackhawks in the 1955-56 season. He became a fixture on the Hawks’ blue line for the rest of that decade and most of the 1960s, playing in 821 games for Chicago.
He was an eight-time all-star, three-time Norris Trophy winner as the NHL’s best defenseman, and was a crucial part of the Hawks’ 1961 Stanley Cup victory before being named the team’s captain in the following season.