Ralph Backstrom, who won six Stanley Cups with Montreal Canadiens, dies at 83

Six-time Stanley Cup winner Ralph Backstrom died on Sunday at age 83.

He was at his home in Windsor, Colorado, as he battled illness, according to NHL.com.

Backstrom was the 1959 winner of the Calder Trophy as NHL rookie of the year. He played 1,032 NHL games for the Montreal Canadiens, Los Angeles Kings and Chicago Black Hawks between 1956-57 and 1972-73, registering 639 points (278 goals, 361 assists). He played another 304 games for four teams in the World Hockey Association between 1973-77. 

Only nine players in National Hockey League history have won more than six Stanley Cups. 

The Kirkland Lake, Ontario, native coached the University of Denver Pioneers for nine seasons after retiring as a player, winning the Coach of the Year award in 1986.

Backstrom was one of the main figures who championed a change of plans for the Budweiser Events Center from mostly a rodeo venue to instead become the home of the Colorado Eagles.

He founded the Eagles of the Central Hockey League in 2002. In 2003, the team began to play at the brand new Budweiser Events Center in Loveland.

Backstrom officially retired from an active role with the Eagles in 2007 but was still a constant presence at practices and games. The franchise has moved up the ladder of minor league hockey from the CHL to ECHL and now to the AHL as the top minor league affiliate of the Colorado Avalanche. 

Many have championed Backstrom as a qualified candidate for the Hall of Fame.

"If I had my druthers, I would have Ralph submitted as a builder of the sport," recently retired Eagles president and coach Chris Stewart told the Coloradoan in 2013. "From the standpoint of being a builder of the sport, there is no argument. There is absolutely no wavering on that at all. He is one of the best builders of this sport at all levels. He's just a great ambassador of the game of hockey."

Backstrom was elected to the Colorado Sports Hall of Fame in 2008 and was awarded the ECHL’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 2013.

“Ralph Backstrom was the most honorable gentleman I’ve ever encountered in my professional life and he was single-handedly responsible for professional hockey in Northern Colorado,” Eagles owner and CEO Martin Lind said in a news release. “We all are forever indebted to this legacy of a gentleman and we pray his family has peace and comfort in this difficult time.”

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