J. J. Daigneault

Jean-Jacques Daigneault (born October 12, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League from 1984 to 2000. He was the head coach of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 2019 to 2021. He also served as an assistant coach for the Montreal Canadiens of the NHL from 2012 until the end of the 2017–18 NHL season.

Playing career As a youth, Daigneault and his teammate Mario Lemieux, played in the 1977 and 1978 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Ville-Émard.

Daigneault was selected tenth overall in the first round of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks. Daigneault is one of the most well-travelled players in NHL history. When he joined his tenth team, the Minnesota Wild, in 2000, he tied the NHL record held by Michel Petit. The record has since been broken by Mike Sillinger. Daigneault remains tied for second in the category, along with Petit, Jim Dowd, Lee Stempniak, Derick Brassard, Mathieu Schneider, Dominic Moore and Olli Jokinen.

Daigneault played for the Vancouver Canucks (1984–85 – 1985–86), Philadelphia Flyers (1986–87 – 1987–88), Montreal Canadiens (1989–90 – 1995–96), St. Louis Blues (1995–96), Pittsburgh Penguins (1995–96 – 1996–97), Mighty Ducks of Anaheim (1996–97 – 1997–98), New York Islanders (1997–98), Nashville Predators (1998–99), Phoenix Coyotes (1998–99 – 1999–2000), and Minnesota Wild (2000–01). He played in the Stanley Cup finals with Philadelphia in 1987, and was a key member of the Montreal Canadiens as they won their 24th Stanley Cup in 1993.

1987 Stanley Cup Finals Daigneault's earliest fame at the NHL level came when he scored the winning goal for the Philadelphia Flyers in the sixth game of the 1987 Stanley Cup Finals against the Edmonton Oilers. Daigneault had scored only six goals during the regular season, and, up to that point, had zero points in 8 playoff games. In 2006, this game was voted the eighth-greatest game in Philadelphia Flyers history according to fan voting.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1980–81 Montreal-Concordia QMAAA 48 7 48 55 95 — — — — — 1981–82 Laval Voisins QMJHL 64 4 25 29 41 18 1 3 4 2 1982–83 Longueuil Chevaliers QMJHL 70 26 58 84 58 15 4 11 15 35 1983–84 Canada Intl 62 6 15 21 40 — — — — — 1983–84 Longueuil Chevaliers QMJHL 10 2 11 13 6 14 3 13 16 30 1984–85 Vancouver Canucks NHL 67 4 23 27 69 — — — — — 1985–86 Vancouver Canucks NHL 64 5 23 28 45 3 0 2 2 0 1986–87 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 77 6 16 22 56 9 1 0 1 0 1987–88 Hershey Bears AHL 10 1 5 6 8 — — — — — 1987–88 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 28 2 2 4 12 — — — — — 1988–89 Hershey Bears AHL 12 0 10 10 13 — — — — — 1988–89 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 63 10 33 43 48 6 1 3 4 2 1989–90 Sherbrooke Canadiens AHL 28 8 19 27 18 — — — — — 1989–90 Montreal Canadiens NHL 36 2 10 12 14 9 0 0 0 2 1990–91 Montreal Canadiens NHL 51 3 16 19 31 5 0 1 1 0 1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 79 4 14 18 36 11 0 3 3 4 1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 8 10 18 57 20 1 3 4 22 1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 68 2 12 14 73 7 0 1 1 12 1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 45 3 5 8 40 — — — — — 1995–96 Montreal Canadiens NHL 7 0 1 1 6 — — — — — 1995–96 St. Louis Blues NHL 37 1 3 4 24 — — — — — 1995–96 Worcester IceCats AHL 9 1 10 11 10 — — — — — 1995–96 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 13 3 3 6 23 17 1 9 10 36 1996–97 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 53 3 14 17 36 — — — — — 1996–97 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 13 2 9 11 22 11 2 7 9 16 1997–98 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim NHL 53 2 15 17 28 — — — — — 1997–98 New York Islanders NHL 18 0 6 6 21 — — — — — 1998–99 Nashville Predators NHL 35 2 2 4 38 — — — — — 1998–99 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 35 0 7 7 32 6 0 0 0 8 1999–2000 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 53 1 6 7 22 1 0 0 0 0 2000–01 Cleveland Lumberjacks IHL 44 8 9 17 18 — — — — — 2000–01 Minnesota Wild NHL 1 0 0 0 2 — — — — — 2001–02 EHC Biel-Bienne CHE II 7 5 2 7 14 2 0 0 0 0 NHL totals 899 53 197 250 687 99 5 26 31 100

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1984 Canada WJC 7 0 2 2 2 1984 Canada OG 7 1 1 2 0

Coaching career

Personal life Daigneault and his wife Janie have three daughters, Valérie, Gabrielle and Juliette. All three of the girls were born in different states where Daigneault was playing at the time. The family resides in Dorval, Quebec.