Boucher is unique in NHL history. He's the only player to win a trophy so often that he got to keep it.

With a combination of skills and gentlemanly play rarely seen at an elite level, Boucher won the Lady Byng Trophy seven times in eight seasons from 1927-28 to 1934-35 (he finished second in the voting in 1931-32). He was given the trophy to keep in 1935 and a new one was created to present to the annual winner.

The Ottawa native played one NHL season with the hometown Ottawa Senators in 1921-22, and the next four with Vancouver of the Pacific Coast Hockey Association and Western Hockey League. When the WHL went out of business in 1926, Boucher joined the New York Rangers, who were preparing for their first NHL season.

Boucher, a brilliant playmaker with a superb understanding of the game, was placed on a line between brothers Bill Cook and Bun Cook. The three, who became known as "The Bread Line," clicked immediately with Boucher excelling at drawing defenders to him and threading passes to his linemates who raced to the openings he created. The Rangers finished first in their inaugural season and won the Stanley Cup in 1927-28, with Boucher scoring both goals in New York's 2-1 victory against the Montreal Maroons in the fifth and deciding game of the Final.

Boucher and his linemates remained one of the top units in the NHL well into the 1930s. He was named an NHL First-Team All-Star in 1932-33 when New York won the Stanley Cup for the second time and repeated in each of the next two seasons (winning the Lady Byng each time as well). He led the NHL in assists three times and is also credited for perfecting the drop pass. Boucher retired after the 1937-38 season (though he returned as a 42-year-old for 15 games in 1943-44, when the Rangers were left shorthanded during World War II).

However, Boucher's time with the Rangers was far from over. Lester Patrick stepped down as coach in 1939 to concentrate on his role as general manager and named Boucher his successor. Boucher guided the Rangers to the Stanley Cup in 1940 and a first-place finish in 1941-42 before they were decimated by the war.

He succeeded Patrick as GM in 1947 and held both jobs until stepping down as coach during the 1948-49 season. He resigned as GM in 1955, ending his 29-year association with the Rangers.

Boucher finished with 424 points (160 goals, 264 assists) in 557 NHL games and was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1958, two years before his brother, George Boucher. He died Dec. 12, 1977.