Bernie Geoffrion, better known as 'Boom Boom', is often credited with inventing and popularizing the slapshot, the most powerful shot a player can unleash. Geoffrion made his debut with the Montreal Canadiens in 1950 and was awarded the Calder Memorial Trophy as the NHL's leading rookie. His achievement of scoring 30 goals that first year was a feat unmatched until after the league expanded to 14 teams in 1970. Geoffrion won his first of two league scoring titles in the 1954-55 season, bettering the legendary Maurice Richard by just one point. A most prolific scorer, Geoffrion had four 30-plus goal seasons, including one five-goal game in 1955. If the true measure of a player is in playoff performance, Geoffrion was truly a star. He had three three-goal games, scoring a total of 58 goals and adding 60 assists in 132 playoff contests. In 1958, he scored the Stanley Cup winning goal for the Canadiens. Geoffrion's greatest season came in 1960-61 when he won both the Hart Trophy as the league's MVP and the Art Ross Trophy as the league's leading point getter. His 50 goals that season, scored despite being out six games with injuries, made him only the second player in league history to reach that plateau after Richard. Geoffrion retired in 1964 but returned in 1966 to play two seasons with the New York Rangers. Throughout his 883-game career, he scored 393 goals, had 429 assists, and enjoyed six Stanley Cup victories. Geoffrion briefly coached the New York Rangers and spent three years behind the bench of the Atlanta Flames. In 1979, Boom Boom finally realized his dream of coaching the Canadiens, but his tenure was cut short after just 30 games because of health problems. For his brilliant performance on the ice, Geoffrion was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1972. He passed away on March 11, 2006, the very day his number 5 was to be retired by the Canadiens.