Billy Coutu

Wilfrid Arthur Coutu (March 1, 1892 – February 25, 1977), nicknamed "Wild Beaver", was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played ten seasons in the National Hockey League for the Montreal Canadiens, the Hamilton Tigers, and the Boston Bruins. Known for his fiery temper, Coutu was once given 42 penalty minutes in a 1923 playoff game against the Ottawa Senators, still a record to this day. He is the only player ever to have been banned from the NHL for life, as a result of his attack on a referee in 1927.

While a member of the Montreal Canadiens, Coutu was one of the players hospitalized during the cancelled 1919 Stanley Cup series, won the Stanley Cup in the 1923–24 NHL season, and was captain of the team in the 1925–26 NHL season. After his eviction from the NHL, Coutu played a total of four years in the Canadian-American Hockey League (C-AHL) and American Hockey Association (AHA), then coached the C-AHL's Providence Reds.

Personal life Billy Coutu's last name is sometimes incorrectly spelled "Couture", an error which appears in many NHL history books and, for a time, even showed up on the Montreal Canadiens website. Several hockey history books, including The Hockey News "Habs Heroes" by Ken Campbell, incorrectly attribute his name to a photograph of teammate Louis Berlinguette. He and his family pronounced their name "Kootoo", which was sometimes confused with "Couture".

Coutu's brother, Louis, was a trapper, who in 1928 discovered a message in a bottle from a survivor of the shipwreck of the SS Kamloops.

Coutu’s wife, Gertrude, was the sister of Wilhemina Aird Stewart—the mother of Mary Morenz. Mary married Howie Morenz, a Hockey Hall of Famer and teammate of Coutu on the Canadiens. Their daughter, Marlene, later married another Hall of Famer, Bernie Geoffrion

Playing career Coutu turned professional with the Canadiens in 1916–17, the last season of the NHA. He stayed with the Canadiens when the new NHL formed for 1917–18. During the Stanley Cup playoffs in 1919, Coutu and four other teammates contracted influenza and were hospitalized. The 1919 Stanley Cup series was cancelled. Most penalty minutes, playoff period: 42 (tied with Deryk Engelland) on March 7, 1923