height_ft played_for shoots weight_lb birth_place image_size career_end position height_in birth_date article_title career_start
5 montreal canadiens left 160 watrous , sk , can 200px 1955 left wing 7 17 february 1929 paul meger
 1946
paul meger

paul carl meger -lrb- born february 17 , 1929 -rrb- is a retired canadian ice hockey forward .
meger played his entire national hockey league career with the montreal canadiens .
his career would last from 1950 to 1955 .
the 1951-52 season saw three talented newcomers nail down slots on left wing .
both dickie moore and dick gamble went on to enjoy long careers in the pro ranks , but a life-threatening injury brought paul meger 's star crashing down just three seasons in .
turning pro in the fall of 1949 with the canadiens ' ahl affiliate in buffalo , the saskatchewan native exploded out of the gate , racking up 66 points and earning rookie of the year honors .
after making the jump to the big club for two playoff games in the spring of 1950 , meger saw more action in montreal the following season , suiting up for 17 games and notching 10 points .
playing alongside bernard `` boom boom '' geoffrion and billy reay , the 5-foot-7 speedster enjoyed a 24-goal , 18-assist campaign , finishing the year third on the team in points .
the clutch goal scorer recorded the only hat trick of his career in an 8-3 drubbing of the blackhawks in 1951-52 , adding his three markers to a trio from maurice `` rocket '' richard .
shifting to a more defensive role the following season , the playmaker 's totals dipped to nine goals and 17 assists .
meger enjoyed his last full season with the habs in 1952-53 , hoisting the stanley cup to cap his career in montreal .
while suiting up for the qshl 's montreal royals in 1955 , meger collided with boston 's leo labine midway though the november match-up .
labine 's skate accidentally kicked up , shattering meger 's temporal lobe and slicing into his brain .
though surgeons managed to save the 25-year-old 's life , his hockey career was over .
in a show of solidarity , his teammates voted to give meger a share of their playoff bonus money at season 's end .
regular season playoffs
