BLACK SOCIAL HISTORY Francis J. Bouillon (born October 17, 1975) is a Canadian-American professional hockey defenseman who is currently an unrestricted free agent in the National Hockey League.
Early life
Bouillon was born in New York City to a Haitian father and a French Canadian mother. Bouillon moved to Quebec City, Quebec with his mother when he was only 3 years old.[1] He played Junior hockey in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Laval Titans and the Granby Predateurs. He was Granby's captain when they won the 1996 Memorial Cup.
Playing career
Francis made his professional debut the 1996–97 season in the ECHL with the Wheeling Nailers and played the following season in theIHL with the Quebec Rafales before he was signed as a free agent to an NHL contract by the Montreal Canadiens in 1998.
He played the next 11 seasons, the majority of his career (except for a short stint with the Predators in 2002–03) within the Canadiens organization. At 5'8" and 201 lbs,[2] Bouillon is considered small for an NHL defencemen but is never one to shy away from physical play. According to Pierre Houde, he is one of the strongest players in the NHL, according to official physical tests.[citation needed]
On September 30, 2009, just prior to the 2009–10 season, Bouillon was signed to a one-year contract as a late inclusion to the Nashville Predators after joining the team on a try-out for training camp.[3] In returning to the Predators after an initial four game stint in 2002, Bouillon established himself within the Predators defense as a stay-at-home defenceman to appear in 81 games, missing only a single game, for 3 goals and 11 points. On June 18, 2010, he signed a two-year extension to remain with the Predators.[4]
On July 1, 2012, Bouillon signed a one-year deal worth 1.5 million with the Montreal Canadiens. His play during that season earned him a one-year extension with the team. Following the 2013-14 season, the Canadiens declined to offer Bouillon a contract and on July 1, 2014 he became an unrestricted free agent.
Personal
Francis is married to Ginette and has 2 sons; Michael and Anthony.[5] Bouillon resides in Montreal with his family and retains his US citizenship.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1992–93 | Laval Titan | QMJHL | 46 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Laval Titan | QMJHL | 68 | 3 | 15 | 18 | 129 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Laval Titan Collège Français | QMJHL | 72 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 115 | 20 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 21 | ||
| 1995–96 | Granby Predateurs | QMJHL | 68 | 11 | 35 | 46 | 156 | 21 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 30 | ||
| 1996–97 | Wheeling Nailers | ECHL | 69 | 10 | 32 | 42 | 77 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | ||
| 1997–98 | Quebec Rafales | IHL | 71 | 8 | 27 | 35 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 79 | 19 | 35 | 54 | 174 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1999–00 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 3 | 13 | 16 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Quebec Citadelles | AHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 29 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Quebec Citadelles | AHL | 38 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 28 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 33 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Hamilton Bulldogs | AHL | 29 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 20 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 2 | 16 | 18 | 70 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 2004–05 | Leksands IF | Swe-1 | 21 | 6 | 12 | 18 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 67 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 34 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 74 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 61 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 54 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 53 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2009–10 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 81 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 50 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2010–11 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 44 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 27 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Nashville Predators | NHL | 66 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 33 | 10 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 2012–13 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 21 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 2013–14 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 52 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 34 | 9 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 776 | 32 | 117 | 149 | 536 | 55 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 50 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | United States | WC | 13th | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0                                                                                                                | ||||
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