Joseph Sylvain Dorilla Turgeon (born January 17, 1965) is a Canadian former professional
ice hockey
Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two o ...
player who played 669 games in the
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranke ...
(NHL).
Playing career
Turgeon was drafted by the
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972–73 WHA season, 1972 until 1978–79 WHA season, 1979, and in the ...
in the
1983 NHL Entry Draft
The 1983 NHL Entry Draft was the 21st NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec, on June 8, 1983. The NHL Entry Draft is the primary means by which players arrive in the National Hockey League. The St. Louis Blues did ...
as the second overall pick. During his NHL career he played for the Whalers, the
New Jersey Devils
The New Jersey Devils are a professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The club was founded as the Kans ...
, the
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...
and the
Ottawa Senators
The Ottawa Senators (french: Sénateurs d'Ottawa), officially the Ottawa Senators Hockey Club and colloquially known as the Sens, are a professional ice hockey team based in Ottawa. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member ...
.
Turgeon scored 40 goals as a rookie for the Whalers in the 1983–84 NHL season, establishing career highs of 45 goals, 34 assists and 79 points for the Whalers in the 1985–86 season, and he scored 30 or more goals four times in his NHL career. However, he suffered a major abdominal injury in 1986–87 and would not reach the same highs again.
In 1989, Turgeon was traded from the Whalers to the Devils for
Pat Verbeek, and scored 30 goals in 72 games in his only season with the team. In 1990, he was traded from the Devils to the Canadiens for
Claude Lemieux, in a lopsided trade, as Turgeon only scored 15 goals in 75 games over two seasons for the Canadiens, while Lemieux produced 125 goals for the Devils in the next five seasons and won the
Conn Smythe Trophy
The Conn Smythe Trophy (french: Trophée Conn Smythe) is awarded annually to the most valuable player (MVP) of his team during the National Hockey League's (NHL) Stanley Cup playoffs. It is named after Conn Smythe, the longtime owner, general m ...
while leading the Devils to the
Stanley Cup in
1995
File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The Great Hanshin earthquake strike ...
.
Turgeon's final NHL season was 1994–95 with the Senators. He spent 1995–96 with the
Houston Aeros in the
International Hockey League, where he scored 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points in 65 games. From 1996 to 2002, he played for various European teams in Germany, Switzerland and Italy.
Personal life
Turgeon is the older brother of former NHL player
Pierre 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). His nephew,
Dominic Turgeon (Pierre's son), was drafted by the
Detroit Red Wings
The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...
in the
2014 NHL Entry Draft.
Awards and achievements
*Named to the
NHL All-Rookie Team in
1983–84.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
International
External links
*
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See also
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Notable families in the NHL
1965 births
Bolzano HC players
Canadian ice hockey left wingers
EHC Olten players
Hartford Whalers draft picks
Hartford Whalers players
HC Thurgau players
Houston Aeros (1994–2013) players
Hull Olympiques players
Sportspeople from Rouyn-Noranda
Kassel Huskies players
Living people
Montreal Canadiens players
National Hockey League first-round draft picks
New Jersey Devils players
Ottawa Senators players
Revier Löwen players
SC Herisau players
SCL Tigers players
Wedemark Scorpions players
Ice hockey people from Quebec
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Germany
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