The hockey world mourns the loss of a beloved Stanley Cup Champion at age 63: Paul Boutilier passes away
Paul Boutilier, part of Al Arbour's Stanley Cup Islanders, has died at 63, closing the book on a hockey life that reached far beyond one championship.
The news was confirmed Thursday by the NHL Alumni Association, which announced the passing of the former NHL defenseman.
No cause of death was disclosed in that statement.
Boutilier broke in with the New York Islanders after being taken in the first round, 21st overall, in 1981.
He came out of the QMJHL's Sherbrooke Castors and arrived in an organization still in the middle of its title run.
He made his NHL debut later in the 1981-82 season, then got enough action the next year to be credited as a member of the Islanders' 1983 Stanley Cup team.
That remains the headline moment of his playing career.
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Boutilier never stayed in one place for long after that.
He went through the Islanders, Bruins, North Stars, Rangers and Jets over 8 NHL seasons, the kind of path plenty of defensemen from that era knew well.
Across 288 regular-season games, he put up 27 goals and 83 assists for 110 points.
He also added 10 points in 41 playoff games, giving him a respectable body of work on top of the Cup ring.
A career that kept going after the NHL for Paul Boutilier
His last NHL stop came with Winnipeg, and by the end of that stretch he was spending more time in the AHL.
He later played in Switzerland before wrapping up his pro career in 1991.
That wasn't the end of his time in the game.
Boutilier moved into coaching and player development, working at the college, junior and pro levels over the years.
One of the notable stops came in 2013-14, when he worked as a development coach with the Nashville Predators.
More recently, he served as a defensive consultant in the QMJHL with Moncton and Quebec.
He also wore the Canadian jersey on the international stage.
Boutilier was part of Canada's gold-medal team at the 1982 World Junior Championship, another strong line on a career that touched several levels of the sport.
For older fans, Boutilier will be remembered as one of those steady names tied to a championship era.
For others, this is a reminder of how many players keep shaping the game long after their NHL shifts are done.
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YESTERDAY
MAY 14, 2026
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| G | A | PTS | ||
| Nick Suzuki | 1 | 2 | 3 | |
| Juraj Slafkovsky | - | 3 | 3 | |
| Pavel Dorofeyev | 2 | - | 2 | |
| Ivan Demidov | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Mitch Marner | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Shea Theodore | 1 | 1 | 2 | |
| Phillip Danault | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Lane Hutson | - | 2 | 2 | |
| Josh Anderson | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Cole Caufield | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Josh Doan | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jake Evans | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Mikael Granlund | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Konsta Helenius | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Brett Howden | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Alexandre Texier | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Jason Zucker | 1 | - | 1 | |
| Rasmus Andersson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Ivan Barbashev | - | 1 | 1 | |
| Leo Carlsson | - | 1 | 1 | |
| COMPLETE STATS | ||||