Sylvain Turgeon

Lore & Background

In the lead-up to the 1981 Quebec Major Junior Hockey League entry draft, the Laval Voisins, holding the first overall pick, debated between selecting Turgeon or Mario Lemieux. They chose Lemieux, and Turgeon was selected by the Hull Olympiques. In his rookie QMJHL season, Turgeon registered 33 goals and 73 points in 57 games.

Despite Lemieux scoring 30 goals and 96 points in 60 games, Turgeon was awarded the 1982 Michel Bergeron Trophy as offensive rookie of the year. Turgeon's win spurred Lemieux to focus entirely on hockey beginning the next season. In his second season, Turgeon scored 54 goals and 163 points in 67 games, earning the 1983 Mike Bossy Trophy as the league's best prospect and a spot on the QMJHL First All-Star Team.

Turgeon was drafted by the Hartford Whalers second overall in the 1983 NHL entry draft. He did not know English when he arrived and boarded with an English family to learn. His speed and accurate shot made him a key power-play member alongside Ron Francis. In his rookie season, he scored 40 goals and 72 points in 76 games and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Professional

He established career highs of 45 goals and 79 points in 1985–86 and was selected to the 1986 All-Star Game as Francis' replacement. In the 1986 playoffs, Turgeon scored Hartford's first-ever playoff game-winning goal. However, before game 7 of the second round against the Montreal Canadiens, he suffered an abdominal ailment and could not play; the Canadiens won the series.

Turgeon's abdominal ailment required stomach surgery and kept him out through the first half of the 1986–87 season. He returned to play 41 games, scoring 23 goals and 36 points, as the Whalers won the Adams Division. Injuries continued to plague him: a separated shoulder in December 1988 limited him to 42 games in his final Hartford season. On June 17, 1989, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils for Pat Verbeek.

In his only season with New Jersey, he scored 30 goals and 47 points in 72 games, but a groin pull ended his regular season early. On September 4, 1990, the Devils traded Turgeon to the Montreal Canadiens for Claude Lemieux. Turgeon had undergone hernia surgery on August 25, 1990, and was ordered off skates for six to eight weeks.

He made his Canadiens debut on December 15, 1990. On February 6, 1991, he fractured his right kneecap blocking a shot and missed the rest of the regular season. He finished with five goals and 12 points in 19 games. In his second season with Montreal, he scored nine goals and 20 points in 56 games, in and out of the lineup.

Reader's Guide

Sylvain Turgeon's NHL career was marked by high offensive potential repeatedly curtailed by significant injuries. Drafted second overall in 1983, he immediately delivered a 40-goal rookie season and was named to the All-Rookie Team, establishing himself as a key scorer for the Hartford Whalers. His career-high 45 goals and 79 points in 1985–86 earned him an All-Star Game appearance and a role in the Whalers' only playoff series victory. However, a series of abdominal, groin, shoulder, and knee injuries—including stomach surgery, a separated shoulder, a fractured kneecap, and multiple groin pulls—limited his effectiveness and availability after his third season.

He was traded twice: from Hartford to New Jersey for Pat Verbeek, and then from New Jersey to Montreal for Claude Lemieux, a deal that disappointed Montreal fans due to Lemieux's reputation. Turgeon's time with the Canadiens was brief and injury-riddled, totaling 14 goals and 32 points in 75 games over two seasons. He later scored the game-winning goal in the Ottawa Senators' first-ever game in 1992. After 1995, he continued playing in the minor leagues and in Europe until 2002, beleaguered by the same injuries that had defined much of his NHL tenure.