Michel Plasse

Michel Pierre Plasse (June 1, 1948 – December 30, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League from 1970 to 1982. He was selected first overall in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career Born in Montreal, Quebec, Plasse played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 to 1982 after being the first overall draft pick in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft. During his NHL career, he played for the St. Louis Blues (1970–71), Montreal Canadiens (1972–74), Kansas City Scouts (1974–75), Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76), Colorado Rockies (1976–80), and Quebec Nordiques (1981–1982).

Despite being a first draft pick, Plasse played just sixty minutes in goal for his first club, St. Louis, playing mainly for their affiliate, the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League. On February 21, 1971, the Oklahoma City Blazers were trailing the Blues 2–1 and decided to pull their goaltender. Plasse scored on the open net and became the first professional goalie in the history of the game to score a goal.

Plasse returned to Kansas City as the first pick of the NHL Scouts in the 1974 expansion draft. Plasse attended the draft at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

"All year long, I said I was going to Kansas City. I used to sing that in the locker room to my teammates, 'Kansas City, here I come,'" Plasse told Jay Greenberg of the Kansas City Star. (Icing on the Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City's NHL Scouts, pp. 41-42)

In total, Plasse clocked up 16,760 regular season minutes on ice in 299 games, conceding 1,058 goals with an average of 3.79 goals per game. He earned two shutouts, both for Pittsburgh in 1975–76. He played four Stanley Cup playoff games, conceding nine goals in 195 minutes at a rate of 2.77, including one shutout. Plasse won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1973.

Death Plasse died in La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas, Quebec of a heart attack on December 30, 2006.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV% 1965–66 Drummondville Rangers QJHL — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1966–67 Drummondville Rangers QJHL — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — 1967–68 Drummondville Rangers QJHL 30 — — — 1800 63 3 2.10 — 10 8 2 600 32 1 3.20 — 1967–68 Drummondville Rangers M-Cup — — — — — — — — — 4 1 3 250 19 0 4.56 — 1968–69 Cleveland Barons AHL 7 2 4 0 320 27 0 5.40 — — — — — — — — — 1969–70 Jacksonville Rockets EHL 61 — — — 3660 297 0 4.87 — 4 0 4 240 35 0 8.75 — 1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .917 — — — — — — — — 1970–71 Kansas City Blues CHL 16 — — — 960 42 0 2.63 — — — — — — — — — 1971–72 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 36 — — — 2036 94 1 2.77 — 15 12 3 912 19 3 1.25 — 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 11 2 3 932 40 0 2.58 .912 — — — — — — — — 1973–74 Montreal Canadiens NHL 15 7 4 2 839 57 0 4.08 .861 — — — — — — — — 1974–75 Kansas City Scouts NHL 24 4 16 3 1420 96 0 4.06 .878 — — — — — — — — 1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 20 9 5 4 1094 73 0 4.00 .890 — — — — — — — — 1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 55 24 19 10 3096 178 2 3.45 .890 3 1 2 180 8 1 2.67 .914 1975–76 Hershey Bears AHL 5 0 4 0 278 25 0 5.40 — — — — — — — — — 1976–77 Colorado Rockies NHL 54 12 29 10 2986 190 0 3.82 .889 — — — — — — — — 1977–78 Colorado Rockies NHL 25 3 12 8 1383 90 0 3.90 .871 — — — — — — — — 1977–78 Hampton Gulls AHL 2 0 1 1 124 5 0 2.42 — — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Colorado Rockies NHL 41 9 29 2 2302 152 0 3.96 .873 — — — — — — — — 1978–79 Philadelphia Firebirds AHL 7 0 6 1 423 31 0 4.39 .854 — — — — — — — — 1979–80 Colorado Rockies NHL 6 0 3 2 327 26 0 4.77 .838 — — — — — — — — 1979–80 Fort Worth Texans CHL 32 9 13 3 1632 113 0 4.15 — 14 8 5 827 41 1 2.97 — 1980–81 Quebec Nordiques NHL 33 10 14 9 1933 118 0 3.66 .876 1 0 0 15 1 0 4.00 .833 1981–82 Quebec Nordiques NHL 8 2 3 1 388 35 0 5.41 .820 — — — — — — — — 1981–82 Binghamton Whalers AHL 8 3 3 1 444 32 0 4.32 — — — — — — — — NHL totals 299 92 136 54 16,760 1058 2 3.79 .881 4 1 2 195 9 1 2.77 .909