Gaétan Duchesne

Gaétan Joseph Pierre Duchesne (July 11, 1962 – April 16, 2007) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He played with the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, San Jose Sharks and Florida Panthers in the National Hockey League (NHL). He retired in 1995, then returned in 1996 and became a player-coach with the Quebec Rafales of the International Hockey League and later after retiring again in 1998, an assistant coach with the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League.

Early life Duchesne was born in Quebec City, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1974 and 1975 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Quebec City.

Playing career Duchesne played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) with the Quebec Remparts. He scored 36 goals and 109 points in 120 games in the QMJHL.

Duchesne was drafted by the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the eighth round, 152nd overall, of the 1981 NHL entry draft. He made the Capitals roster out of his first training camp, but was later returned to his junior team. He returned to the Capitals a few weeks later and became a key penalty killer for the Capitals alongside Doug Jarvis, only making one further appearance in the minors with the Hershey Bears of the American Hockey League. He we the first scorer of the franchise's current record-fastest back-to-back goals, with only six seconds elapsing before a second goal was scored by Mark Taylor in a 4–2 win over the Chicago Black Hawks. In his final year with the Capitals in 1986–87, Duchesne set the franchise mark for the fastest goal to start a game with eight seconds, a mark matched by Alexander Semin in the 2009–10 season. He finished the season with 17 goals and 52 points.

Duchesne was dealt to the Quebec Nordiques on June 13, 1987 along with forward Alan Haworth and a first-round pick in the 1987 NHL entry draft for forward Dale Hunter and goaltender Clint Malarchuk. Though Washington's general manager, David Poile, did not want to give up Duchesne, a need for a goaltender after the departure of Bob Mason created an urgent need for the Capitals.

The Nordiques traded Duchesne to Minnesota North Stars on June 19, 1989 in exchange for forward Kevin Kaminski. However, the Penguins went on to defeat the North Stars four games to two and win the Stanley Cup. In his final season with Minnesota, he played in all 84 games, scoring 16 goals and 29 points.

Considered one of the NHL's top defensive forwards, Duchesne was acquired by the San Jose Sharks on June 20, 1993, for a sixth round pick in the 1993 NHL entry draft. The Sharks snuck into the 1994 Stanley Cup playoffs and upset the league's top team, the Detroit Red Wings in the first round, with Duchesne as one of the team's leaders. The Sharks were eliminated from the playoffs by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the following round. The following season, Duchesne registered his 1,000th game in the NHL on February 26, 1995, the second player to do so in a Sharks jersey. However, he was unhappy with the team, unable to come to terms on a new contract with the Sharks. At the season's trade deadline, he was dealt to the Florida Panthers for a sixth round pick in the 1995 NHL entry draft.

Coaching career Duchesne was a player-assistant coach with the Quebec Rafales and an assistant coach with the Quebec Remparts of the QMJHL.

His son, Jeremy Duchesne, is a former goaltending prospect for the Philadelphia Flyers.

Career statistics Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1978–79 Ste-Foy Gouverneurs QMAAA 25 3 12 15 — — — — — — 1979–80 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 46 9 28 37 22 5 0 2 2 9 1980–81 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 72 27 45 72 63 7 1 4 5 6 1981–82 Quebec Remparts QMJHL 2 0 0 0 0 — — — — — 1981–82 Washington Capitals NHL 74 9 14 23 46 — — — — — 1982–83 Washington Capitals NHL 77 18 19 37 52 4 1 1 2 4 1982–83 Hershey Bears AHL 1 1 0 1 0 — — — — — 1983–84 Washington Capitals NHL 79 17 19 36 29 8 2 1 3 2 1984–85 Washington Capitals NHL 67 15 23 38 32 5 0 1 1 7 1985–86 Washington Capitals NHL 80 11 28 39 39 9 4 3 7 12 1986–87 Washington Capitals NHL 74 17 35 52 53 7 3 0 3 14 1987–88 Quebec Nordiques NHL 80 24 23 47 83 — — — — — 1988–89 Quebec Nordiques NHL 70 8 21 29 56 — — — — — 1989–90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 72 12 8 20 33 7 0 0 0 6 1990–91 Minnesota North Stars NHL 68 9 9 18 18 23 2 3 5 34 1991–92 Minnesota North Stars NHL 73 8 15 23 102 7 1 0 1 6 1992–93 Minnesota North Stars NHL 84 16 13 29 30 — — — — — 1993–94 San Jose Sharks NHL 84 12 18 30 28 14 1 4 5 12 1994–95 San Jose Sharks NHL 33 2 7 9 16 — — — — — 1994–95 Florida Panthers NHL 13 1 2 3 0 — — — — — NHL totals 1,028 179 254 433 617 84 14 13 27 97