Jim Roberts

James Wilfred Roberts (April 9, 1940 – October 23, 2015), known as Jim Roberts or Jimmy Roberts, was a Canadian ice hockey defenceman and forward.

Early life Roberts was born in Toronto. After playing for future Montreal Canadiens coach Scotty Bowman with the OHA junior Peterborough Petes, Roberts was signed by the Canadiens and turned pro with the Montreal Royals minor league team in 1959.

Career In the 1964 season, he saw his first NHL action with Montreal and remained the next several seasons, winning two Stanley Cups before becoming the first selection of the St. Louis Blues in 1967 NHL Expansion Draft. He played solidly for the Blues for five seasons, being named the team captain in 1971 before his trade back to Montreal, where he played for three more Cup winners. Roberts rejoined the Blues for one final season in 1978 before his retirement. He was known for his defensive skills and often used as a "shadow" against high scoring enemy forwards.

After his retirement as a player, Roberts was an interim coach of the Buffalo Sabres under his old mentor Bowman before coaching the Springfield Indians of the American Hockey League to back-to-back Calder Cup championships in 1990 and 1991, after which he was named the head coach of the Hartford Whalers. He went on to be the coach and general manager of the Worcester IceCats of the AHL for two seasons before moving on to be an assistant coach with the St. Louis parent club between 1996 and 2000, including a short stint as the interim head coach in 1997.

Roberts played in 1,006 NHL games, scoring 126 goals and 194 assists for 320 points, and playing in three All-Star Games in 1965, 1969 and 1970. "Jimmy Roberts" was engraved on the Stanley Cup in 1965, 1966, 1973, 1976, 1977 (all with Montreal).

On October 22, 2024, the St. Louis Blues announced Roberts would be inducted into the team's Hall of Fame in January, 2025 along with Wayne Babych and Curtis Joseph.

Personal life Roberts died on October 23, 2015, of cancer, which had been diagnosed weeks prior. On October 27, 2015, the St. Louis Blues announced team members would wear helmet decals for the home stand that read "JR" in the lower left corner to honor Roberts.

Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1958–59 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 54 2 8 10 34 19 0 0 0 2 1958–59 Peterborough Petes M-Cup — — — — — 12 2 1 3 2 1959–60 Peterborough Petes OHA-Jr. 48 6 21 27 55 12 2 7 9 18 1959–60 Montreal Royals EPHL — — — — — 4 0 0 0 4 1960–61 Montreal Royals EPHL 51 7 18 25 55 — — — — — 1961–62 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 67 11 28 39 42 13 3 0 3 18 1962–63 Hull-Ottawa Canadiens EPHL 72 2 27 29 78 3 0 0 0 10 1962–63 Cleveland Barons AHL — — — — — 1 0 0 0 2 1963–64 Montreal Canadiens NHL 15 0 1 1 2 7 0 1 1 14 1963–64 Omaha Knights CPHL 46 18 19 37 47 — — — — — 1963–64 Cleveland Barons AHL 9 1 3 4 4 — — — — — 1963–64 Quebec Aces AHL 2 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 1964–65 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 3 10 13 40 13 0 0 0 30 1965–66 Montreal Canadiens NHL 70 5 5 10 20 10 1 1 2 10 1966–67 Montreal Canadiens NHL 63 3 0 3 16 4 1 0 1 0 1967–68 St. Louis Blues NHL 74 14 23 37 66 18 4 1 5 20 1968–69 St. Louis Blues NHL 72 14 19 33 81 12 1 4 5 10 1969–70 St. Louis Blues NHL 76 13 17 30 51 16 2 3 5 29 1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 72 13 18 31 77 6 2 1 3 11 1971–72 St. Louis Blues NHL 26 5 7 12 4 — — — — — 1971–72 Montreal Canadiens NHL 51 7 15 22 53 6 1 0 1 0 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 14 18 32 28 17 0 2 2 22 1973–74 Montreal Canadiens NHL 67 8 16 24 39 6 0 0 0 4 1974–75 Montreal Canadiens NHL 79 5 13 18 52 11 2 2 4 2 1975–76 Montreal Canadiens NHL 74 13 8 21 35 13 3 1 4 2 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens NHL 45 5 14 19 18 14 3 0 3 6 1977–78 St. Louis Blues NHL 75 4 10 14 39 — — — — — NHL totals 1,006 126 194 320 621 153 20 16 36 160

Coaching statistics Team Year Regular season Postseason G W L T Pts Finish ResultBUF1981–824521168(93)3rd in Adams (interim; returned to assistant coaching role)HAR1991–9280264113654th in Adams Lost in first roundSTL1996–979333(83)4th in Central (interim; returned to assistant coaching role)Total134506024