Ratelle's hockey career almost ended at age 23 when he suffered a serious
back injury and had to undergo major
spinal cord surgery. He recovered to become a regular with the Rangers from 1963 to 1975. His greatest success came with linemates
Vic Hadfield and
Rod Gilbert in the "
GAG Line" (i.e. Goal-a-Game Line). He led the Rangers in scoring between 1968 and 1973 when the team was a powerhouse among the league's best. Ratelle was poised to beat out
Boston Bruins' legend
Phil Esposito for the scoring title in 1972 when he had to sit out fifteen games due to an injury but came back for the Stanley Cup Final against Boston to lead his team. Only three other players - Esposito,
Bobby Orr and
Johnny Bucyk - had scored as many points in any season as Ratelle had done in his shortened season. His 109 points that season remained a Rangers' scoring record until
2006, when
Jaromír Jágr broke it. In November 1975, Ratelle was traded with
Brad Park and
Joe Zanussi to the Boston Bruins for Esposito and
Carol Vadnais. Rangers general manager
Emile Francis made the trade out in part out of respect so that Ratelle did not have to relocate his family far, plus the Bruins had sought Ratelle's skills at center. With the Bruins for the remainder of the 1975–76 season, Ratelle scored over 100 points that season for the second time in his career. He played five more seasons with Boston, gaining admiration for his slick passing, skill at faceoffs, and all-around excellent play. At the time of his retirement after the 1980–81 season, Ratelle was the league's sixth all-time leading scorer. While he never played on a team that won the
Stanley Cup (being a finalist in 1972, 1977, and 1978), he was a member of the 1972 Team Canada squad that defeated the
Soviet Union in the first
Summit Series. He was well known as a gentlemanly player, finishing in the top five for the
Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for sportsmanship and excellence nine times, including a stretch between the 1970 and 1978 seasons where he was in the top three six times and won the trophy twice. ==Post-playing career==