| Bill Root | |
| |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Right |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 210 lb (95 kg) |
| Teams | Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs St. Louis Blues Philadelphia Flyers |
| Nationality |  Canadian
|
| Born | September 6, 1959, Toronto, ON, CAN |
| Pro Career | 1979 – 1991 |
William John "Bill" Root (born September 6, 1959) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played six seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Montreal Canadiens, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Blues and Philadelphia Flyers.
He played junior hockey with the Niagara Falls Flyers from 1976 to 1979. Undrafted by any NHL team, he was sugned as a free agent by the Montreal Canadiens in 1979 and was immediately assigned to the Nova Scotia Voyageurs. Against heavy odds, the undrafted Root eventually made it onto the deep Canadiens roster in 1982-83 and stayed there for the full 1983-84 season.
Root was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1984. Due to injuries and problems with team management, Root never played a full season with the Leafs and bounced between the minor pros and the NHL. In the fall of 1987 he actually belonged to four different NHL teams, ending up with the Philadelphia Flyers. He was traded back to the Leafs the next year and finished off his career with the Newmarket Saints and retired in 1991.
In his NHL career Root played in 247 games and scored 11 goals and 23 assists.
Career statistics[]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1976–77 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OMJHL | 66 | 3 | 19 | 22 | 114 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OMJHL | 67 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OMJHL | 67 | 4 | 31 | 35 | 119 | 20 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 42 | ||
| 1979–80 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 55 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 57 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 63 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 76 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1981–82 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 77 | 6 | 25 | 31 | 105 | 9 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 46 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 24 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 35 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | St. Catharines Saints | AHL | 28 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 29 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 13 | ||
| 1985–86 | St. Catharines Saints | AHL | 14 | 7 | 4 | 11 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 34 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 37 | 13 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1986–87 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 32 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 24 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 16 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1988–89 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 66 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 39 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | ||
| 1989–90 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 47 | 8 | 7 | 15 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Newmarket Saints | AHL | 36 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 247 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 180 | 22 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 25 | ||||