Dave Poulin

David James Poulin (born December 17, 1958) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. A centre, Poulin played 13 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Philadelphia Flyers, Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. In his post-playing career, Poulin has coached college hockey, been an Assistant General Manager with the Toronto Maple Leafs and has been an analyst on NHL television broadcasts. Currently, he is Senior Vice-President, Hockey Operations for the Ottawa Senators of the NHL.

Playing career

Poulin went undrafted in the NHL entry draft and played with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at the University of Notre Dame from 1978–1982. He was named to the Second All-Star Team in 1982. Following his NCAA career, he moved to Sweden to play for Rögle BK. Poulin's head coach was Ted Sator, who was also a scout for the Philadelphia Flyers in the National Hockey League. Sator was impressed with Poulin's abilities and called for him to be put on board the Flyers' roster.

Philadelphia Flyers In 1982–83, Poulin made the leap to the NHL after a brief stint with the Maine Mariners of the American Hockey League. On the second-last day of the season, Poulin made his debut at Maple Leaf Gardens, scoring two goals in a 6-3 Philadelphia victory.

The following season, Poulin was put on a line with Brian Propp and Tim Kerr. The line became a dangerous offensive line in the league for the bulk of the next three seasons, and in his first full NHL campaign, helped him set a club record (now since passed) for most points by a Flyers rookie with 76. Poulin quickly established himself as a strong leader and a player that could play at both ends of the ice, as he was 25 years old before taking a regular shift in the NHL. Those attributes aided in his being named team captain on the eve of the 1984–85 season, replacing Hall of Famer Bobby Clarke, On July 23, 2009, Toronto Maple Leafs GM Brian Burke introduced Poulin as the club's new Assistant General Manager. In January 2013, Poulin began also serving as the GM of the Toronto Marlies.

On July 22, 2014, the Maple Leafs announced that they had fired Poulin. He has since joined TSN as a hockey analyst on radio and TV. He is also a freelance contributor to the Toronto Star newspaper.

On December 31, 2023, Dave Poulin was hired by the Ottawa Senators to the role of Senior Vice-President, Hockey Operations.

Awards and honours Award Year All-CCHA Second Team 1981-82 NHL All-Star Game 1986, 1988 NHL Frank J. Selke Trophy 1986-87 NHL King Clancy Memorial Trophy 1992-93

Inducted into the Flyers Hall of Fame on February 23, 2004.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1977–78 Dixie Beehives OPJHL 34 28 31 59 59 — — — — — 1978–79 Notre Dame Fighting Irish WCHA 37 28 31 59 32 — — — — — 1979–80 Notre Dame Fighting Irish WCHA 24 19 24 43 46 — — — — — 1980–81 Notre Dame Fighting Irish WCHA 35 13 22 35 53 — — — — — 1981–82 Notre Dame Fighting Irish CCHA 39 29 30 59 44 — — — — — 1982–83 Rögle BK SWE.2 32 35 27 62 64 — — — — — 1982–83 Maine Mariners AHL 16 7 9 16 2 — — — — — 1982–83 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 2 2 0 2 2 3 1 3 4 9 1983–84 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 31 45 76 47 3 0 0 0 2 1984–85 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 73 30 44 74 59 11 3 5 8 6 1985–86 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 79 27 42 69 49 5 2 0 2 2 1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 75 25 45 70 53 15 3 3 6 14 1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 68 19 32 51 32 7 2 6 8 4 1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 69 18 17 35 49 19 6 5 11 16 1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 28 9 8 17 12 — — — — — 1989–90 Boston Bruins NHL 32 6 19 25 12 18 8 5 13 8 1990–91 Boston Bruins NHL 31 8 12 20 25 16 0 9 9 20 1991–92 Boston Bruins NHL 18 4 4 8 18 15 3 3 6 22 1992–93 Boston Bruins NHL 84 16 33 49 62 4 1 1 2 10 1993–94 Washington Capitals NHL 63 6 19 25 52 11 2 2 4 19 1994–95 Washington Capitals NHL 29 4 5 9 10 2 0 0 0 0 NHL totals 724 205 325 530 482 129 31 42 73 132

All-Star Games Year Location G A P 1986 Hartford 0 0 0 1987 (Rendez-vous '87) Quebec 1 1 2 1988 St. Louis 0 0 0 All-Star totals 1 1 2

Head coaching record