Mathieu Garon
Canadian goaltender who won the Stanley Cup in 2009.
Mathieu Carol Garon, born January 9, 1978, is a Canadian former NHL goaltender. He played for six teams, including the Columbus Blue Jackets, from 2000 to 2013. Selected 44th overall by Montreal in the 1996 draft, he was the backup to Marc-Andre Fleury on the Pittsburgh Penguins' 2009 Stanley Cup-winning team.
Quick Facts
- Position
- Goaltender
- Catches
- Right
- Born
- 9 January 1978
- Birthplace
- Chandler, Quebec, Canada
- Draft
- 44th overall
- Drafted by
- Montreal Canadiens
Facts from the source article.
Playing career
Mathieu Garon got his start in organized hockey at the 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Tournament, where he suited up for a minor team out of Rimouski. He then moved on to the QMJHL, playing three seasons with the Victoriaville Tigres and putting together a 74-63-5 record. His final junior season, 1997-98, was his best: he took home the Jacques Plante Memorial Trophy as the league’s top netminder, earned a spot on the QMJHL First All-Star Team, and was named the CHL Goaltender of the Year, also landing on the CHL First All-Star Team. That same year, he represented Canada at the World Junior Championships in Finland, where the team finished eighth.
Drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1996 NHL Entry Draft, Garon spent his first five pro seasons mostly in the AHL with the Canadiens’ affiliates: Fredericton, Quebec City, and Hamilton. He got occasional call-ups to Montreal but didn’t secure a regular NHL role until the 2003-04 season, when he became the backup to José Théodore. In 19 games that year, he went 8-6-2 with a 2.27 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage.
In the summer of 2004, the Canadiens traded Garon and a third-round pick to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Radek Bonk and Cristobal Huet. When the 2004-05 NHL lockout wiped out the season, Garon played for the Kings’ AHL farm team, the Manchester Monarchs, where he posted a standout 32-14-4 record, a 2.12 GAA, a .927 save percentage, and eight shutouts. That performance earned him the starting job in Los Angeles when the NHL returned in 2005-06, but he struggled as a number one and was moved to a backup role the following season.
After the 2006-07 campaign, Garon became an unrestricted free agent and signed a two-year, $2.2 million deal with the Edmonton Oilers on July 3, 2007. He shared the crease with starter Dwayne Roloson, appearing in 47 games and posting a 2.66 GAA, a .913 save percentage, and four shutouts. The Oilers missed the playoffs, but Garon stood out in shootouts, going a perfect 10-0 while stopping 30 of 32 shots.
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