Marcel Dionne

Marcel Elphège Dionne ( ; born August 3, 1951) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Detroit Red Wings, Los Angeles Kings and New York Rangers between 1971 and 1989.

Dionne played five seasons of junior hockey before being drafted by Detroit in 1971, where he immediately made the major league roster. His 77 points in his rookie season set the record for most points for a player in their first NHL season. He recorded his first 100-point season in the season, which saw him win the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy for the first time for his sportsmanship and named to the first of his eight selections to the NHL All-Star Game. Conflicts with management led to him signing as a free agent with the Kings in 1975. The season saw him record his first 50-goal season, and he would record five consecutive 50-goal seasons from 1978 to 1983, becoming the third player to do so in NHL history; he won the Art Ross Trophy as the leading scorer in the season. He was awarded the Lester B. Pearson Award for his play as voted by his peers in 1979 and 1980. In 1982, he became the ninth NHL player to score 500 goals. He was traded late in the season to the Rangers, where he recorded his 700th goal and 1,000th assist before he was cut prior to the 1989 season.

A prolific scorer, he recorded 50 goals or more in a season six times, and 100 points or more in a season eight times during his career. His 731 goals rank as sixth most in NHL history and is the most for a player who never reached or won a Stanley Cup. He was the third player with 1,000 career assists when he retired. Internationally, Dionne played for the Canadian national team at two Canada Cups and three World Championships, winning the Canada Cup once in 1976. Dionne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. In 2017, Dionne was named one of the '100 Greatest NHL Players' in history.

Early life Dionne was born on August 3, 1951, in Drummondville, Quebec, Canada to Gilbert Sr. and Laurette Dionne. He was the oldest of eight children, and his youngest brother Gilbert was 19 years his junior. Growing up, his father worked as a foreman at a steel plant while his mother ran a corner store and beauty salon with her children's help. He played baseball as a youth as well, but chose to focus solely on hockey due to lack of prospects for Canadian baseball players. During his pee-wee career, Dionne garnered widespread attention from hockey teams and fans. He would often find dollar bills stuffed in his gloves from fans, and his parents received a letter from the Montreal Canadiens informing them to "take special care of young Marcel."

While playing with the Drummondville Rangers, Dionne earned the attention of scouts from the St. Catharines Black Hawks of the Ontario Hockey Association (OHA). This sparked outrage among locals who threatened legal action if Dionne tried to move leagues. On advice from a lawyer, Dionne's parents pretended to separate, and Dionne moved to St. Catharines with his mother, brother, and three sisters. He made his OHA regular season debut on October 18, 1968 against the Niagara Falls Flyers. Dionne finished his rookie season second in league scoring with 37 goals and 63 assists for 100 points. His points total set a new rookie scoring record, and he received the league's Rookie of the Year award.

When Dionne returned to the Black Hawks for his sophomore season, he won the league's scoring title and was named to the OHA's 1969–70 Second All-Star Team. He finished the regular season with 55 goals and 77 assists for 132 points. Dionne was named team captain in his final season with the Black Hawks before the start of the 1970–71 season. Despite missing 14 games, he improved upon his previous two seasons and finished with 62 goals and 81 assists. During the 1971 Richardson Cup finals against the Quebec Remparts, Dionne's Black Hawks' team bus was attacked by a mob after Game 4. The team laid on the floor of the bus as the mob outside lobbed bottles at the bus's windows. As such, the fifth game was played at a neutral site and the Black Hawks forfeited the remainder of the series due to fears of further violence.

Dionne was drafted in the first round, second overall, by the Detroit Red Wings in the 1971 NHL amateur draft.

Professional career

Detroit Red Wings (1971–1975) Following the draft, Dionne signed a rookie contract with the Red Wings for a record-breaking amount with various bonuses. While the exact terms were not released, his bargaining agent Alan Eagleson said: "If Marcel gets as many goals as I think he can, he'll be paid like a super-star...No matter what he does, he's got the best contract in the history of the league for a rookie." It was speculated that the amount was $50,000 with incentive clauses which could add another $15,000 to $20,000. Despite having a self-proclaimed "poor training camp," Dionne was named to the Red Wings opening roster for the 1971–72 season. He made his NHL debut on October 9, 1971, in the teams season opener against the Minnesota North Stars. He recorded his first career NHL goal on October 16, 1971, in a 9–2 loss to the St. Louis Blues. While the Red Wings began the season with a losing 2–5-0 record, Dionne scored three goals and two assists. Dionne spent the majority of his rookie season playing on a line with Bill Collins and Nick Libett. By January, he had earned more on ice responsibility and was part of the Red Wings' power-play and penalty kill unit. While playing in this dual role, Dionne ranked third on the team in scoring and 22nd in the league. He then assisted on four goals the following game to tie with Rick Martin of Buffalo Sabres for 13th place on the NHL scoring list. Dionne added two goals and two assists in his next game to break the NHL record for most points by a rookie. He finished the regular season as the Red Wings' leading scorer with 28 goals and 49 assists and finished third in Calder Memorial Trophy voting as the NHL's top rookie. and was the youngest player on Team Canada at the Summit Series. The Red Wings began the season with a six-game win streak before losing four straight games. Following the fourth consecutive loss, head coach Johnny Wilson mandated a two-hour bag skate. However, both Wilson and general manager Ned Harkness felt that Dionne was not giving enough effort. Following the skate, Harkness told the media, "If he keeps it up and doesn't start working, he might find himself playing in the minors." Dionne expressed his frustration that he spoke to the media instead of having a conversation with him. On December 2, Dionne scored one goal and three assists in his 100th career NHL game. This tied him with Richard Martin and Fred Stanfield for seventh place in league scoring. However, his earlier conflicts with management continued into December and resulted in a suspension. Due to a miscommunication as to the meaning of that order, Dionne assumed he had been suspended and missed their game that night. However, the Red Wings claimed he had not been suspended until he failed to show for that evening's game. Immediately following their game against the Canucks, Harkness handed out a press released that said that Dionne was “suspended indefinitely (without pay) for failing to report for the game.” After rejoining the team, Dionne scored his second career hat-trick against the Canadiens on February 22, 1973. By the end of February, he had amassed 36 goals and 76 points. Dionne finished the regular season tied with Dennis Hull for 11th in league scoring with 90 points. His 167 total career points were the most ever collected by an NHL player through their first two seasons.

While Dionne arrived at the Red Wings' 1973 training camp eight pounds overweight, head coach Ted Garvin said he was more concerned about his moodiness. His attitude and poor start to the 1973–74 season resulted in a temporary suspension before his 11th game. At the time, he had collected seven assists and no goals. After he was reinstated, Dionne told members of the media that he asked to be traded "for the benefit of the team...and for the good of the other players." Despite Dionne verbalising his unhappiness in Detroit, the Red Wings were hesitant to trade him due to the poor results of their trade of centreman Garry Unger. In between the trade talks, Dionne broke his 22-game goalless streak on November 29 against the St. Louis Blues. The Red Wings also fired Garvin and replaced him with Alex Delvecchio. In December 1973, Eagleson warned the Red Wings that they could lose Dionne to the World Hockey Association (WHA) if they did not trade him. However, Dionne denied asking for a trade and finished the season with the Red Wings. By the end of February, he had amassed 61 points through 59 games. However, Dionne suffered a knee injury in March during a game against the New York Rangers and missed several games to recover.

During the 1974 offseason, Delvecchio spoke to Dionne about returning to training camp at a healthy weight, and was disappointed when Dionne arrived at camp 15 pounds overweight. Despite this, Dionne was appointed captain of the Red Wings at the start of the 1974–75 season, and he changed his jersey number to 12. At the age of 23, he was the second-youngest captain in the NHL that season, behind 22-year-old Jim Schoenfeld. Delvecchio gave Dionne the captaincy in an effort "to give him more responsibility." In this new role, he was praised by both teammates and management for his positive attitude while also leading the league with 12 points over his first five games. However, his lack of goals worried fans and he was sent medallions and jewelry to try and help him break the streak. Dionne scored seven goals and 20 assists through November, and tied with Bobby Clarke for seventh place in league scoring by mid-December. He finished the season ranked third in league scoring and became the first player in NHL history to score 10 short-handed goals in one season. He was also fifth in voting for the Lady Byng Memorial Trophy as the NHL's most gentlemanly player.

In his final season with the Red Wings, Dionne scored 47 goals and 74 assists through 80 games. He received the 1975 Lady Byng Memorial Trophy after only accumulating 14 penalty minutes all season.

Los Angeles Kings (1975–1987)

As a free agent, Dionne and Eagleson fielded offers from the Edmonton Oilers of the WHA, Chicago Blackhawks, Toronto Maple Leafs, Los Angeles Kings, Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Buffalo Sabres, and New York Islanders. However, his agent felt that the Red Wings were deterring offers as they wanted "a couple of regulars and a super-star for Marcel." Despite being offered a six-figure contract from the Oilers to join the WHA, he agreed to a $1.5 million contract with the Kings. In an effort to avoid arbitration, the Kings offered the Red Wings Terry Harper, Dan Maloney, cash, and draft picks in exchange for Dionne. However, after Harper failed to appear at the Red Wings' training camp, an injunction was requested to prohibit Dionne from joining the Kings. A judge ultimately rejected the injunction, and Dionne was able to continue participating in the Kings' training camp. Upon arriving in Los Angeles, head coach Bob Pulford assigned Dionne to a weight loss regimen which included skating extra laps with plastic sheets around his stomach.

While the Kings started the 1975–76 season with back-to-back losses, Dionne helped them win their next four consecutive games. He quickly accumulated five goals and six assists through six games By the end of October, he had maintained an eight-game goal streak for 10 goals overall and 14 assists. During the streak, Dionne recorded his fifth career hat-trick and set a Kings franchise record with 11 shots on net in one game. On March 27, 1976, Dionne scored his 37th goal of the season to tie a franchise record for most goals in a single season. He then surpassed the record set by Mike Corrigan with his 38th goal on March 31, against the St. Louis Blues. Dionne finished the regular season with a franchise-leading 40 goals and 54 assists en route to the 1976 Stanley Cup playoffs. While the Kings beat the Atlanta Flames in the preliminary round of the playoffs, they fell to the Boston Bruins in seven games. After the Kings were shut out by the Bruins in Game 1, Dionne scored his first two postseason goals in Game 2 to help the Kings even their quarterfinal series. He scored a hat-trick the following game to lead the Kings to a 6–4 win and a 2–1 series lead. While he finished the series leading the team with six goals, the Kings were ultimately eliminated from playoff contention.

During the offseason, Dionne was chosen to represent Team Canada in the inaugural 1976 Canada Cup. Due to an overabundance of centremen, Canada's head coach Scotty Bowman chose to convert Dionne into a right winger. After witnessing Dionne's success in this position, Kings head coach Bob Pulford chose to keep him as a winger for the 1976–77 season. In this new role, Dionne and his linemates Tom Williams and Butch Goring became one of the highest-scoring lines that season. By the end of November, Dionne ranked third in league scoring with 13 goals and 23 assists. While he was occasionally benched by Pulford due to his defensive deficiencies, Dionne still ended December with 20 goals and 53 points. Despite his offensive success, Dionne was left off the original roster for the 1977 NHL All-Star Game before being personally selected by Wales Conference All-Stars coach Scotty Bowman. Following the All-Star Game, Dionne recorded his second hat-trick of the season to reach 40 goals and tie the Kings' franchise record for most goals in a single season, which he had set the previous year. In March, Dionne broke the Kings' franchise goal record and reached 100 points for the second time in his career. He finished the 1976–77 regular season with a career-high 53 goals and 69 assists for 122 points, In recognition of his efforts, Dionne became the first Los Angeles Kings player to be named to the NHL All-Star team at the end of the season. He also received the 1977 Seven Crowns of Sports award as the NHL's most consistent player and his second Lady Byng Memorial Trophy.

Dionne experienced a significant dip in his production level during the 1977–78 season. King's general manager George Maguire later stated that the team's experimenting with different linemates was to blame for Marcel's lack of scoring. Due to an injury to captain Mike Murphy early in the season, Dionne was named the Kings' acting captain. After the Kings acquired Syl Apps in a trade, coach Stewart moved Dionne to right wing and placed him on a line with Apps and Glenn Goldup. However, they did not spend an extended period of time together as Dionne suffered a shoulder injury on November 23. Over his two-week absence, Dionne continued to skate daily and practiced shooting the puck. Despite describing his shoulder as sore, he returned to the Kings' lineup on December 15 and recorded an assist that night against the Sabres. Dionne also continued to ice his shoulder between periods and after each game. Upon his return, the Kings moved Dionne between centerman and right wing alongside various linemates. He would occasionally center a line between Dave Taylor and Danny Grant, or serve as a winger to Apps. Despite his lack of consistency in the lineup, Dionne continued to lead the team in scoring. He finished the regular season with 36 goals and helped the Kings qualify for the first round of the 1978 Stanley Cup playoffs.

Dionne was named to Team Canada for the 1978 Ice Hockey World Championships and was elected team captain the night before the tournament began. After losing their opening game to Team Finland, Dionne and Team Canada won their next three consecutive contests. Dionne finished the tournament with three goals and 12 points through nine games as Team Canada clinched third place. Despite placing fifth in total scoring and receiving 42 votes, Dionne was not named to the Tournament's All-Star Team.

Dionne started the 1978–79 season playing alongside Taylor and newly acquired winger Murray Wilson. He accumulated five goals and 16 points through his first 10 games of the season, the best start of his career. Dionne continued to improve as the season progressed and set two new franchise recoreds by December. He became the first player in franchise history to record one goal in seven consecutive games and became the fastest Kings player to score 20 goals in a season. On January 13, 1979, coach Bob Berry put Dionne on a line with Charlie Simmer and Dave Taylor after the team scored one goal over three consecutive losses. The trio would soon be known as the "Triple Crown Line" due to their accomplishments. In their first game together on January 13 against the Detroit Red Wings,

Dionne signed a six-year, $3.6 million contract with the Kings before the start of the 1980–81 season. On January 7, 1981, Dionne recorded two goals and an assist against the Hartford Whalers to become the fastest NHL player to reach 1,000 points. He accomplished this feat in 740 games, 83 games faster than the previous record holder Phil Esposito.

On December 7, 1985, Dionne scored his 500th goal with the Kings organization to help the team beat the Winnipeg Jets.

Dionne was traded to the New York Rangers upon his request on March 10, 1987. The Kings sent Dionne, Jeff Crossman, and a third-round pick to the Rangers in exchange for Bobby Carpenter and Tom Laidlaw.

New York Rangers (1987–1989)

Dionne played his remaining two and a half seasons with the Rangers.

On November 7, 1987, playing against the Kings, he recorded his 1,000th career assist, becoming the third player to reach the mark in NHL history. During his short tenure, the Rangers lost in the first round of the playoffs twice and missed the playoffs once.

In February 1989, Dionne and his agent asked Phil Esposito and coach Michel Bergeron to assign him to their minor league affiliate so he could get back into proper condition. They reluctantly agreed to the request when Dionne insisted that the move would not be degrading. Dionne was cut from the Rangers training camp roster ahead of the 1989–90 season. Rangers general manager Neil Smith said that the cut was a mutually agreed upon descison and they would explore the possibility of sending him to another team.

Retirement and legacy When Dionne retired, he was second all-time in goals and third all-time in assists and points. He was the first player to record seven 100-point seasons in NHL history, recording his seventh in the season. His eight 100-point seasons has only been surpassed by three other players in league history. Success, alongside roster consistency, eluded Dionne in the playoffs, as he played for sixteen different coaches in his eighteen seasons in the NHL and he played in just 49 playoff games.

Dionne has maintained a large business and investment portfolio since his playing days, owning the Blue Line Diner in Niagara Falls, operating a sports memorabilia store in Buffalo and buying and selling real estate. He was the franchise leader in goals (550) and assists (757) until he was passed by Luc Robitaille and Anže Kopitar, respectively.

Dionne was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992. Prior to the start of the 1993–94 season, Dionne helped to create local interest in the ECHL's newest franchise, the South Carolina Stingrays. With the help of some young players, Dionne gave an on-ice demonstration of the rules of hockey to the southern audience. In 1998, he was ranked number 38 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players, the highest-ranking player to have not won a Stanley Cup since 2001 when No. 14-ranked Ray Bourque won with the Colorado Avalanche. The Centre Civique arena in Drummondville was renamed Centre Marcel-Dionne in his honour in 1980. In January 2004, Dionne was featured on a Canadian postage stamp. As part of the NHL All-Stars Collection, Dionne was immortalized along with five other All-Stars.

Personal life Dionne married St. Catharines native Carol Gaudet in Troy, Michigan in April 1974. They have three children together, two sons and one daughter. After he retired, the Dionne's settled in Buffalo and his sons, Drew and Garrett, played Junior B hockey for the Niagara Falls Canucks.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs Bold indicates led league Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1967–68 Drummondville Rangers QJHL 48 34 35 69 45 10 14 7 21 4 1967–68 Drummondville Rangers M-Cup — — — — — 4 9 4 13 5 1968–69 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 48 37 63 100 38 18 15 20 35 8 1969–70 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 54 55 77 132 46 10 12 20 32 10 1970–71 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 46 62 81 143 20 15 29 26 55 11 1971–72 Detroit Red Wings NHL 78 28 49 77 14 — — — — — 1972–73 Detroit Red Wings NHL 77 40 50 90 21 — — — — — 1973–74 Detroit Red Wings NHL 74 24 54 78 10 — — — — — 1974–75 Detroit Red Wings NHL 80 47 74 121 14 — — — — — 1975–76 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 40 54 94 38 9 6 1 7 0 1976–77 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 53 69 122 12 9 5 9 14 2 1977–78 Los Angeles Kings NHL 70 36 43 79 37 2 0 0 0 0 1978–79 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 59 71 130 30 2 0 1 1 0 1979–80 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 53 84 137 32 4 0 3 3 4 1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 58 77 135 70 4 1 3 4 7 1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 78 50 67 117 50 10 7 4 11 0 1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 56 51 107 22 — — — — — 1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 66 39 53 92 28 — — — — — 1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 46 80 126 46 3 1 2 3 2 1985–86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 80 36 58 94 42 — — — — — 1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 67 24 50 74 54 — — — — — 1986–87 New York Rangers NHL 14 4 6 10 6 6 1 1 2 2 1987–88 New York Rangers NHL 67 31 34 65 54 — — — — — 1988–89 New York Rangers NHL 37 7 16 23 20 — — — — — 1988–89 Denver Rangers IHL 9 0 13 13 0 — — — — —NHL totals 1,348 731 1,040 1,771 600 49 21 24 45 17

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1976 Canada CC 7 1 5 6 4 1978 Canada WC 10 9 3 12 2 1979 Canada WC 7 2 1 3 4 1981 Canada CC 6 4 1 5 4 1983 Canada WC 10 6 3 9 2 1986 Canada WC 10 4 4 8 8Senior totals 50 26 17 43 24

Awards and honours

OHA 2× Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy winner – 1969–70, 1970–71 OHA Second All-Star Team – 1969–70 OHA First All-Star Team – 1970–71

NHL Lady Byng Memorial Trophy – 1975, 1977 Lester B. Pearson Award – 1979, 1980 Art Ross Trophy – 1980 NHL All-Star Game – 1975, 1976, 1977, 1978, 1980, 1981, 1983, 1985 NHL First All-Star Team – 1977, 1980 NHL Second All-Star Team – 1979, 1981 Ice Hockey World Championships Best Forward selection – 1978 Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1992