Jack “John” Portland spent a decade in the NHL, bracketing his career with stints as a member of the Montreal Canadiens. An outstanding athlete in his youth, the Collingwood, ON native was also Canada’s top high school high jumper in 1930.

At 21, after signing a two-year deal with the club, he cracked a Habs lineup studded with veteran stars in 1933-34.  Appearing in 31 games as the team’s fifth defenseman, the 6-foot-2, 200-pounder was one of the biggest players in the NHL.

Five games into the next campaign, Portland was traded to Boston where he spent the next several seasons, winning the Stanley Cup with the Bruins in the spring of 1939.

Traded to Chicago in January 1940, Portland was on the move again before the year was out. Returning to Montreal as a veteran presence on new coach Dick Irvin’s retooled Habs, Portland skated alongside a half dozen rookies in 1940-41.
 
Anchoring the Montreal blue line for the next three seasons, Portland’s leadership, steady play and rugged physical approach to his on-ice responsibilities were an asset to the team and set an example for young defensemen Ken Reardon and Butch Bouchard as they moved up the ladder and matured into star performers.

As the 1942-43 NHL campaign wound down, the 31-year-old joined the Canadian Army and saw combat action in Europe while the team he had helped through a rebuilding process captured Stanley Cup titles in 1944 and 1946.

After demobilization, Portland spent two years in the AHL before hanging up his skates and joining the coaching ranks, guiding amateur teams in his home province following his 1948 retirement.