Pierre-Marc Bouchard - Playing Career

Playing Career

Pierre-Marc Bouchard appeared in professional play for the first time in the 2002–2003 NHL season in which he posted 7 goals and 13 assists for a total of 20 points in 50 games for the Minnesota Wild, which has been regarded as decent by NHL standards. During the 2004–2005 NHL lockout, Bouchard played for the Wild's minor league team, the Houston Aeros. Within this time period, Bouchard vastly improved his game. This was proved in the 2005–2006 season while he posted 17 goals and 42 assists for a total of 59 points in 80 games.

Bouchard is regarded as a creative playmaker and strong team player who often attempts unorthodox techniques during play. An example of one of these techniques was performed during an overtime shootout attempt in which he converted by utilizing a variation of a spin-o-rama against Chicago Blackhawks goalie Nikolai Khabibulin. He repeated this move several years later, again against Khabibulin, though he did so during regulation play on a breakaway, rather than during an overtime shootout attempt. Bouchard later credited the move to his younger brother François Bouchard.

On July 25, 2008, Bouchard signed a five-year, $20.4 million deal with the Minnesota Wild. After suffering a hit to the head late in the 2008-09 season, Bouchard missed the rest of that season and all but the season opener of the 2009-10 season with post-concussion syndrome. Bouchard resumed play on December 1, 2010, against the Phoenix Coyotes after a 13-month absence, having missed 112 games. Bouchard scored a goal in his second game back, a loss to the Calgary Flames by a score of 3-2 in a shootout.