Michel Goulet
Michel Goulet: Quebec Nordiques legend, four-time 50-goal scorer, and Hall of Famer.
Michel Alain Goulet (; goo-LAY; born April 21, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques and Chicago Blackhawks. He also played one season in the World Hockey Association (WHA) for the Birmingham Bulls. He was a two-time Canada Cup champion with Team Canada. Goulet collected 58 points as an 18-year-old rookie in the WHA before becoming eligible to be drafted in the 1979 NHL draft, which saw him picked by Quebec.
Goulet had four consecutive seasons from 1982–83 to 1985–86 with 50 goals each, becoming the first Nordique to do so in the NHL; he had four 100-point seasons for the team while leading them to the Conference Finals twice (1982, 1985). After the team started declining in 1987, Goulet was traded to the Blackhawks in 1990. He achieved his 1,000th point in 1991 and the following year saw him score his 500th career goal and reach the Stanley Cup Final for the only time in his playing career.
Goulet sustained a severe concussion on a collision in 1994 that ultimately forced him to retire in early 1995. He was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1998. He subsequently worked for the Colorado Avalanche in their front office, and his name was engraved on the Cup when the team won it in 1996 and 2001; he was let go from the Avalanche in 2009 and soon became a scout that saw him serve for three different teams from 2009 to 2020.
Quick Facts
- Hall of Fame
- 1998
- Born
- 21 April 1960
- Birthplace
- Péribonka, Quebec, Canada
- Position
- Left wing
- Shoots
- Left
- Played for
- Birmingham Bulls
- Quebec Nordiques
- Chicago Blackhawks
- Draft
- 20th overall
- Drafted by
- Quebec Nordiques
Lore & Background
Goulet's fourth season with Quebec saw him record his first 50-goal season with a career-high 57 while adding 48 assists for 105 total points as he was named to the All-Star Game for the first of four straight seasons. His 57 goals that season still remains a franchise record. Goulet had his peak in total points with 122 in the 1983–84 season on the strength of 56 goals and a career-high 66 assists. He also had his longest streak of games with a goal with one in nine consecutive games from December 14 to January 5.
Reader's Guide
Goulet played his first professional season with the Birmingham Bulls of the WHA during the 1978–79 season. He scored 28 goals and 58 points. Following the NHL-WHA merger, Goulet was declared eligible for the 1979 entry draft and wanted to play for the Quebec Nordiques. The Nordiques held the 19th pick in the 1979 draft and elected to keep the pick and instead traded Chicago their first-round pick in the 1980 draft.
As such, Goulet was drafted by the Nordiques. In his NHL rookie season, Goulet played in 77 games for the Nordiques, collecting 22 goals and 32 assists for 54 points. The following season he recorded 32 goals with 39 assists. In his third season, he played in all 80 games and improved further with 42 goals and 42 assists, leading the league in short-handed goals with six.
Goulet's fourth season saw him record his first 50-goal season with a career-high 57. He had four consecutive 50-goal seasons from 1982–83 to 1985–86. Goulet was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on March 5, 1990. On February 23, 1991, he recorded his 1,000th career point. On February 16, 1992, Goulet became the 17th player to reach 500 career goals.
Did You Know?
- Goulet was one of just four 18-year-olds to play in the WHA in 1978–79 alongside Wayne Gretzky, Mark Messier, and Jari Kurri, all of whom ended up as members of the Hockey Hall of Fame.
- He was reportedly the first player to request a contract in French.
- As a midget player, Goulet stole the key to the local arena in Mistassini to let himself skate for an hour at 5:00 in the morning, doing so roughly three times a week for over a year without getting caught.
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