Pierre Turgeon

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This article is about the ice hockey player. For the Canadian novelist and essayist, see Pierre Turgeon (writer). For the priest, see Pierre-Flavien Turgeon.
Pierre Turgeon
Pierre Turgeon-Mario Lemieux.jpg
Turgeon in 2009
Born (1969-08-28) August 28, 1969 (age 52)
Rouyn, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 199 lb (90 kg; 14 st 3 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Buffalo Sabres
New York Islanders
Montreal Canadiens
St. Louis Blues
Dallas Stars
Colorado Avalanche
NHL Draft 1st overall, 1987
Buffalo Sabres
Playing career 1987–2007

Pierre Julien Turgeon (born August 28, 1969) is a Canadian professional ice hockey coach and former player. Turgeon serves as the offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League (NHL). He is currently the most productive retired player not yet inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Selected first overall by the Buffalo Sabres in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft, Turgeon played in the NHL for the Sabres, New York Islanders, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Dallas Stars and Colorado Avalanche. He is the younger brother of former NHL player Sylvain Turgeon. They are the only two brothers in NHL history to be selected in the No. 1 and 2 slots of the draft (in separate years). 

Playing career[]

Early years[]

Turgeon was a member of Canada's team that was involved in the "Punch-up in Piestany", a bench-clearing brawl between Canada and the Soviet Union during the final game of the 1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships in Piešťany, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia) on January 4, 1987. He was the only player to remain on the bench while his countrymen fought the Soviets.

Turgeon was drafted by the Buffalo Sabres as the first overall pick in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. Rick Jeanneret, play-by-play announcer for the Sabres, coined the phrase "Ooh-la-la Pierre" for Turgeon.

Turgeon would quickly make an impact with the Sabres once he arrived. In his rookie season, he contributed a respectable 42 points (14 goals, 28 assists) during the 1987–88 season, helping the Sabres reach the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time in three years. His production increased to 88 points (34 goals and 54 assists) for the 1988–89 season as he quickly became a fan favourite. In the 1989–90 season, he became a star by scoring 106 points (40 goals and 66 assists) and playing in the 1990 NHL All-Star Game. Turgeon's production dipped a little bit in the 1990–91 season to 79 points (32 goals and 47 assists), but he was still a solid performer.

New York Islanders[]

On October 25, 1991, after over four years with the Sabres, Turgeon was traded (along with Benoît Hogue, Uwe Krupp and Dave McLlwain) to the New York Islanders in exchange for Pat LaFontaine, Randy Wood, Randy Hillier and future considerations.[1] Turgeon's best season as an Islander was in 1992–93, where he scored 58 goals and 132 points and helped lead the Islanders to the Wales Conference Finals, where they would lose to eventual Stanley Cup champion Montreal Canadiens in five games. En route, the Islanders defeated the Washington Capitals and upset the two-time defending Stanley Cup champions Pittsburgh Penguins.

The first round series, which the Islanders won in six games, is infamous for an on-ice incident. After scoring a goal to put the Islanders up 5-1 during game six at Nassau Coliseum, Turgeon was checked from behind by Dale Hunter of the Capitals as he celebrated his goal. Turgeon suffered a separated shoulder and missed the ensuing series against the Penguins. Hunter received a then-record 21-game suspension for the hit.[2] Turgeon returned for the semifinals against the Montreal Canadiens after missing seven games.[3] The Islanders bowed out of the playoffs after a hard-fought five-game series, two of which went to overtime. After defeating the Islanders, the Canadiens went on to win the Stanley Cup.

As an Islander, Turgeon was awarded the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy in the 1992–93 season.

Montreal Canadiens[]

Following the 1994–95 NHL lockout in which the 1994–95 season was limited to 48 games, Islanders general manager Don Maloney decided to rebuild the team, which included trading Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Kirk Muller, Mathieu Schneider and Craig Darby at the trading deadline. Turgeon would be named captain of the Canadiens for the 1995–96 season after the departure of Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in December 1995. During the 1995–96 season, Turgeon would nearly record a 100-point season with 38 goals and 58 assists for 96 points; he would also play in the 1996 NHL All-Star Game.

Years in St. Louis[]

On October 29, 1996, Turgeon was traded to the St. Louis Blues (along with Rory Fitzpatrick and Craig Conroy) in exchange for Murray Baron, Shayne Corson and a fifth-round pick in the 1997 NHL Entry Draft. Turgeon spent the next five seasons producing well with the likes of Brett Hull, Chris Pronger, Al MacInnis and Grant Fuhr as teammates. He averaged more than 70 points per season and scored several key post-season goals during his tenure in St. Louis.

Dallas Stars/Colorado Avalanche[]

On July 1, 2001, Turgeon joined the Dallas Stars as a free agent, followed by the Colorado Avalanche as a free agent on August 3, 2005. Turgeon took a year off during the 2004–05 NHL lockout. Upon signing with the Avalanche, Turgeon switched his jersey number to #87 from his customary #77, as the number was retired by Colorado for Ray Bourque.

On November 8, 2005, Turgeon became the 34th player in NHL history to score 500 goals, doing so against the San Jose Sharks.

On September 5, 2007, Turgeon announced his retirement from the NHL.[4] He is the highest-scoring player in NHL history who is otherwise eligible and has not been elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Coaching career[]

On July 10, 2017, Turgeon was named as the offensive coordinator of the Los Angeles Kings.[5] On June 8, 2018, the Kings announced that they had accepted Turgeon's resignation to leave the organization due to family reasons.[6]

Turgeon, the racehorse[]

George W. Strawbridge, Jr., an active shareholder of the Buffalo Sabres and director and member of the team's executive committee for more than 30 years, named one of his thoroughbred racehorses in Pierre Turgeon's honor. Turgeon raced for Strawbridge's racing stable in France where he won several conditions races and, after retiring, is developing into a successful sire. [1] [2]

Personal life[]

Turgeon and his wife Elisabeth have four children and currently live in Cherry Hills Village, Colorado. One of their children, Elizabeth, died in a car accident on December 23, 2010, near Vaughn, New Mexico, at age 18.[7] Turgeon represented Canada in the Little League World Series in 1982. Turgeon's son Dominic was drafted 63rd overall by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2014 NHL Entry Draft.[8] His daughter, Valérie Turgeon, was a forward for Harvard Crimson women's ice hockey team, playing for two seasons.[9][10]

Awards[]

Career statistics[]

Regular season and playoffs[]

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1984–85 Bourassa Angevins QMAAA 41 49 52 101 26 5 3 8 11 2
1985–86 Granby Bisons QMJHL 69 47 67 114 31 — — — — —
1985–86 Canada Intl 11 2 4 6 2 — — — — —
1986–87 Granby Bisons QMJHL 58 69 85 154 8 7 9 6 15 15
1987–88 Buffalo Sabres NHL 76 14 28 42 34 6 4 3 7 4
1988–89 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 34 54 88 26 5 3 5 8 2
1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 80 40 66 106 29 6 2 4 6 2
1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 78 32 47 79 26 6 3 1 4 6
1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 8 2 6 8 4 — — — — —
1991–92 New York Islanders NHL 69 38 49 87 16 — — — — —
1992–93 New York Islanders NHL 83 58 74 132 26 11 6 7 13 0
1993–94 New York Islanders NHL 69 38 56 94 18 4 0 1 1 0
1994–95 New York Islanders NHL 34 13 14 27 10 — — — — —
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 15 11 9 20 4 — — — — —
1995–96 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 38 58 96 44 6 2 4 6 2
1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 1 10 11 2 — — — — —
1996–97 St. Louis Blues NHL 69 25 49 74 12 5 1 1 2 2
1997–98 St. Louis Blues NHL 60 22 46 68 24 10 4 4 8 2
1998–99 St. Louis Blues NHL 67 31 34 65 36 13 4 9 13 6
1999–2000 St. Louis Blues NHL 52 26 40 66 8 7 0 7 7 0
2000–01 St. Louis Blues NHL 79 30 52 82 37 15 5 10 15 2
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 66 15 32 47 16 — — — — —
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 65 12 30 42 18 5 0 1 1 0
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 76 15 25 40 20 5 1 3 4 2
2005–06 Colorado Avalanche NHL 62 16 30 46 32 5 0 2 2 6
2006–07 Colorado Avalanche NHL 17 4 3 7 10 — — — — —
NHL totals 1,294 515 812 1,327 452 109 35 62 97 36

International[]

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1987 Canada WJC DSQ 6 3 0 3 2
Junior totals 6 3 0 3 2

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "Sabres deal Turgeon, get LaFontaine". The Buffalo News. October 25, 1991. Retrieved April 23, 2018.
  2. ^ LaPointe, Joe (May 5, 1993). "HOCKEY; Hunter's Attack Costs Him the First 21 Games". The New York Times. Pittsburgh. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  3. ^ Crothers, Time (1993-12-06). "Dale Hunter". Sports Illustrated. Archived from the original on 2010-07-02. Retrieved 2011-01-11.
  4. ^ "Pierre Turgeon retires from NHL". cbc.ca. September 5, 2007. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  5. ^ "Pierre Turgeon Joins LA Kings as 'Offensive Coordinator' Assistant Coach". NHL.com. July 10, 2017. Retrieved July 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "LA Kings Announce Change to Coaching Staff". NHL.com. July 8, 2018. Retrieved June 8, 2018.
  7. ^ "Pierre Turgeon's daughter killed in crash". Vaughan, N.M: The Toronto Star. December 25, 2010. Retrieved January 1, 2018.
  8. ^ 3rd Round Draft Pick, NHL.com, June 28, 2014.
  9. ^ "Val Turgeon". Harvard. Harvard University. Retrieved 1 January 2021.
  10. ^ "Valérie Turgeon". Elite Prospects. Retrieved 1 January 2021.

External links[]

Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Joe Murphy 		NHL first overall draft pick
1987 		Succeeded by
Mike Modano
Preceded by
Shawn Anderson 		Buffalo Sabres first round draft pick
1987 		Succeeded by
Joel Savage
Preceded by
Wayne Gretzky 		Winner of the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy
1993 		Succeeded by
Wayne Gretzky
Sporting positions
Preceded by
Mike Keane 		Montreal Canadiens captain
1995–96 		Succeeded by
Vincent Damphousse
Retrieved from ""