Réjean Houle

Réjean Houle (born October 25, 1949) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League with the Montreal Canadiens from 1969 to 1973 and again from 1976 to 1983, and in the World Hockey Association with the Quebec Nordiques from 1973 to 1976. After his playing career he served as the general manager of the Canadiens from 1995 to 2000, and is notable for trading goaltender Patrick Roy early in his tenure. Selected first overall in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft by Montreal, Houle won the Stanley Cup with the team five times during his career.

Playing career

Drafted as the first pick overall in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens, Houle played for the Canadiens from 1970 to 1973 and from 1976 to 1983. He won five Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens. In between his NHL stints, he played for the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association (WHA).

Management career After retiring as a player, Houle became an executive with Molson, one of Canada's leading breweries and the then-owner of the Montreal Canadiens organization. A disastrous start to the 1995–96 season resulted in team president Ronald Corey conducting a "house cleaning" with the firing of head coach Jacques Demers and general manager Serge Savard. The team saw Houle, with his business background and history with the team, as the most viable replacement candidate for Savard, while Mario Tremblay was appointed the new head coach.

Houle then served as general manager of the Canadiens from 1995 to 2000, though his tenure was largely viewed as a disaster by many fans. Houle had held his role for just six weeks, when Tremblay kept Patrick Roy in net for 9 goals during a 11-1 drubbing to the Detroit Red Wings; Roy told Ronald Corey that he would not play for the Canadiens again so Houle initiated the infamous trade that sent Roy and Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Ručinský and Andrei Kovalenko. Following this trade, he dealt-away marquee players including Mark Recchi, Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon in exchange for players of little value to the team. He was also criticized for frequently trading with non-contending teams, being unable to land widely coveted free agents and for signing marginal players to inflated contracts.

Houle's drafting was considered even worse, however, as he was criticized for selecting players such as Matt Higgins, Jason Ward, Eric Chouinard and Marcel Hossa, the younger brother of then-rising talent Marián Hossa, with his first round selections. Houle was fired from his post two months into the 2000–01 season.

Houle also served as president of the Canadiens Alumni Association for 36 years over two stints between 1984 and 2025, relinquishing the role while he served as GM of the Canadiens.

Personal life Houle and his wife Micheline have three children; two sons, Jean-François, who is the head coach of the NCAA's Clarkson University Golden Knights and Sylvain, as well as a daughter, Annie.

Awards 1968–69: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1966–67 Thetford Mines Canadiens QJHL 43 30 30 60 80 11 10 12 22 27 1966–67 Thetford Mines Canadiens M-Cup — — — — — 19 14 16 30 12 1967–68 Montreal Jr. Canadiens OHA 45 27 38 65 102 11 12 8 20 10 1968–69 Montreal Jr. Canadiens OHA 54 53 55 108 76 14 13 10 23 13 1968–69 Montreal Jr. Canadiens M-Cup — — — — — 8 6 2 8 20 1969–70 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 0 1 1 0 — — — — — 1969–70 Montreal Voyageurs AHL 27 9 16 25 23 8 3 2 5 4 1970–71 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 10 9 19 28 20 2 5 7 20 1971–72 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 11 17 28 21 6 0 0 0 2 1972–73 Montreal Canadiens NHL 72 13 35 48 36 17 3 6 9 0 1973–74 Quebec Nordiques WHA 69 27 35 62 17 — — — — — 1974–75 Quebec Nordiques WHA 64 40 52 92 37 15 10 6 16 2 1975–76 Quebec Nordiques WHA 81 51 52 103 61 5 2 0 2 8 1976–77 Montreal Canadiens NHL 65 22 30 52 24 6 0 1 1 4 1977–78 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 30 28 58 50 15 3 8 11 14 1978–79 Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 17 34 51 43 7 1 5 6 2 1979–80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 18 27 45 68 10 4 5 9 12 1980–81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 27 31 58 83 3 1 0 1 6 1981–82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 51 11 32 43 34 5 0 4 4 6 1982–83 Montreal Canadiens NHL 16 2 3 5 8 1 0 0 0 0 WHA totals 214 118 139 257 115 20 12 6 18 10 NHL totals 635 161 247 408 395 90 14 34 48 66

International Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1974 Canada SS 7 1 1 2 2 Senior totals 7 1 1 2 2