Sylvain Turgeon

Joseph Sylvain Dorilla Turgeon (born January 17, 1965) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Hartford Whalers, New Jersey Devils, Montreal Canadiens and Ottawa Senators between 1983 and 1995. The older brother of Hockey Hall of Famer Pierre Turgeon, he won the bronze medal with Team Canada at the 1983 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships and he was a member of the 1984 NHL All-Rookie Team and played in the 1986 NHL All-Star Game. He scored the game-winning goal in the Ottawa Senators first-ever game in 1992. Beleaguered by injuries, he spent the remainder of his career from 1995 to 2002 playing for various teams in the minor leagues and in Europe.

Playing career Junior career In the lead up to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL)'s entry draft in 1981, the owner, the Laval Voisins, of the first overall pick debated between selecting Turgeon or Mario Lemieux. They ultimately chose Lemieux and Turgeon was selected by the Hull Olympiques. In his rookie year in the QMJHL during the 1981–82 season, Turgeon registered 33 goals and 73 points in 57 games. Despite Lemieux, who was also a rookie that season, scoring 30 goals and 96 points in 60 games, Turgeon was awarded the 1982 Michel Bergeron Trophy as offensive rookie of the year. Turgeon's win spurred Lemieux, who became one of hockey's greatest players, to focus entirely on hockey beginning the next season. Turgeon's second season with the Olympiques saw his points total climb to 163, while scoring 54 goals in 67 games. He registered his NHL point assisting on a goal by Mike Zuke in a 4–1 loss to the Boston Bruins on October 9. He scored his first NHL goal and had his first multi-point NHL game in a 6–4 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins on October 15. He scored on goaltender Michel Dion on the power play in the second period and then assisted on Stoughton's goal later in the period. Turgeon played in 76 games during the 1983–84 season, scoring 40 goals and 72 points In his second year during the 1984–85 season, Turgeon scored 31 goals and 62 points in 64 games He scored his first NHL hat trick on March 3, 1985 on Frank Caprice in an 7–6 loss to the Vancouver Canucks.

He established career highs of 45 goals and 79 points in 76 games for the Whalers in the 1985–86 season. He was named as Francis' replacement as the Whalers' representative on the Wales Conference All-Star Team at the 1986 NHL All-Star Game that took place in Hartford. During the game, he assisted on a goal by Peter Šťastný. The Whalers made the 1986 Stanley Cup playoffs that season, the first time in Turgeon's career. The first series was a best-of-five versus the Quebec Nordiques. In game one, Turgeon scored Hartford's first-ever game-winning goal in the playoffs to give Hartford their first official playoff win. The Whalers went on to win the series, the only playoff series that the team ever won. In the second round they faced the Montreal Canadiens in a best-of-seven series. However, while warming up before game 7 against the Canadiens, Turgeon suffered an abdominal ailment and could not play. Ultimately the Canadiens won the game and the series and the Whalers were eliminated. That season saw the height of "Whalermania" and Turgeon was a key component of it, playing on a line with Francis and Kevin Dineen. He scored 23 goals and 36 points in 41 games Turgeon did register a point in those six games. He returned to the lineup on March 14, 1989 in an 8–2 victory over the New York Islanders and scored twice in his return. The Whalers faced the Canadiens in the 1989 playoffs and were swept in four games in the first round.

New Jersey Devils On June 17, 1989, the day of the 1989 NHL entry draft, the new general manager of the Hartford Whalers Eddie Johnston made his first move, trading Turgeon to the New Jersey Devils for Pat Verbeek. Turgeon was brought to the Devils to help with scoring and his ability to play both wings. He made his 1989–90 season debut on October 5 and scored his third career hat trick, this time against goaltender Ken Wregget, in a 6–2 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers. The now oft-injured Turgeon had been suffering from a slight groin pull for a week when during a game against the Flyers on March 20, he suffered a major pull while being checked by Terry Carkner. He missed the remainder of the regular season. Turgeon scored 30 goals and 47 points in 72 games in his only season with the team. The Canadiens had to trade Lemieux as he did not get along with coach Pat Burns. The Montreal fans were unhappy with the return for Lemieux, however, Lemieux had a reputation in the league and according to Canadiens' general manager Serge Savard, this was the best return they could get. New Jersey sought to replace the loss of Brendan Shanahan and the toughness he brought to the forward group. Turgeon was known as a skill player and Lemieux was known for his ability to disrupt play. However, Turgeon had undergone surgery for a hernia on August 25, 1990 and had been ordered to remain off skates for six to eight weeks.

Turgeon made his Canadiens debut on December 15, 1990 in a 4–2 loss to the Winnipeg Jets. He scored his first goal for the Canadiens in the following game on December 18, a 6–4 loss to the Nordiques. Playing on a line with Stéphan Lebeau and Stéphane Richer, Turgeon had two goals and four points in an 8–4 victory over the Jets on January 31, 1991. On February 6, during a game versus the Chicago Blackhawks, Turgeon blocked a shot with his knee and fractured his right kneecap. He missed the rest of the regular season. He finished the season with five goals and 12 points in 19 games. He played in five games in the series, going pointless

In his second season with the Canadiens, Turgeon scored nine goals and 20 points in 56 games. After that meeting, Turgeon was scratched for the next fourteen games, only getting back into the lineup on March 21. Turgeon played in the Canadiens' first round series with the Hartford Whalers during the 1992 Stanley Cup playoffs, making his first appearance in game four. He scored his first playoff goal for the Canadiens in game 5 against Frank Pietrangelo, a 7–4 win for the Canadiens. He played the remainder of the series which Montreal won, but played only one game in the second round series with Boston, the final game. The Canadiens were searching for scoring and Turgeon and Lebeau were inserted into the lineup, replacing Chris Nilan and Mike McPhee. The Canadiens lost the game and were swept by the Bruins, ending the Canadiens season.

Ottawa Senators The Canadiens left Turgeon unprotected in the 1992 NHL expansion draft and he was the chosen by the Ottawa Senators. He was named an alternate captain as one of the few original Senators established in the NHL. He played in the Senators inaugural game on October 8, 1992 against the Montreal Canadiens and scored the game-winning goal. Turgeon led the expansion Senators in goals scored during the 1992–93 season, registering 25 and 43 points in 72 games. The next season, Turgeon was no longer an alternate captain. He scored the fifth hat trick of his career against goaltender Ron Hextall of the New York Islanders on October 23, 1993, registering the 250th goal of his career in the process. In the next game on October 25 versus the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim, Turgeon's left forearm was fractured in a collision with teammate Dennis Vial in the third period. After missing 37 games, Turgeon returned to the Senators' lineup on January 10, 1994 in a 3–3 tie with the Islanders. Turgeon had two assists and was named the first star of the match. He finished the season with 11 goals and 26 points in 47 games. He joined the Houston Aeros of the International Hockey League (IHL) on October 13 for the 1995–96 season. He scored 28 goals and 31 assists for 59 points in 65 games for Houston, An unrestricted free agent at the end of the year, Turgeon chose to play in Europe beginning in 1996. He played for various European teams in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland until 2002. Turgeon was named to Canada's Spengler Cup team for the 1996 tournament. Turgeon scored a hat trick in the final, a 6–2 victory over HC Davos on December 31, 1996.

Personal life Turgeon is the older brother of former NHL player Pierre Turgeon. His nephew, Dominic Turgeon (Pierre's son), was drafted by the Detroit Red Wings in the 2014 NHL entry draft.

Turgeon's trading card from the 1994–95 Pinnacle hockey set (which also featured future Hockey Hall of Fame member Dale Hawerchuk) unexpectedly jumped in value in 2007, from to more than $70 , when 2007 first overall draft pick (later 2008 Rookie of the Year) Patrick Kanethen six-years-oldwas spotted sitting on his father's lap in the stands, right at the glass, in the right-hand side of the card.

Career statistics Regular season and playoffs Regular seasonPlayoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1980–81 Bourassa Angevins QMAAA 43 34 44 78 87 11 13 9 22 30 1981–82 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 57 33 40 73 72 14 11 11 22 16 1982–83 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 67 54 109 163 105 7 8 7 15 10 1983–84 Hartford Whalers NHL 76 40 32 72 55 — — — — — 1984–85 Hartford Whalers NHL 64 31 31 62 67 — — — — — 1985–86 Hartford Whalers NHL 76 45 34 79 88 9 2 3 5 4 1986–87 Hartford Whalers NHL 41 23 13 36 45 6 1 2 3 4 1987–88 Hartford Whalers NHL 71 23 26 49 71 6 0 0 0 4 1988–89 Hartford Whalers NHL 42 16 14 30 40 4 0 2 2 4 1989–90 New Jersey Devils NHL 72 30 17 47 81 1 0 0 0 0 1990–91 Montreal Canadiens NHL 19 5 7 12 20 5 0 0 0 2 1991–92 Montreal Canadiens NHL 56 9 11 20 39 5 1 0 1 4 1992–93 Ottawa Senators NHL 72 25 18 43 104 — — — — — 1993–94 Ottawa Senators NHL 47 11 15 26 52 — — — — — 1994–95 Ottawa Senators NHL 33 11 8 19 29 — — — — — 1995–96 Houston Aeros IHL 65 28 31 59 66 — — — — — 1996–97 HC Bolzano ITA 23 14 11 25 22 — — — — — 1996–97 Wedemark Scorpions DEL 12 5 8 13 12 8 5 2 7 41 1996–97 EHC Olten NLB 9 10 2 12 38 — — — — — 1997–98 Revier Löwen Oberhausen DEL 28 11 15 26 24 — — — — — 1997–98 SC Herisau NLA 14 9 2 11 26 — — — — — 1998–99 SC Langnau NLA 5 1 1 2 4 — — — — — 1998–99 Kassel Huskies DEL 34 20 8 28 32 — — — — — 1999–2000 Kassel Huskies DEL 49 32 13 45 49 8 2 2 4 10 2000–01 Kassel Huskies DEL 58 15 10 25 44 8 0 3 3 2 2001–02 HC Thurgau NLB 19 8 7 15 53 — — — — — NHL totals 669 269 226 495 691 36 4 7 11 22 DEL totals 181 83 54 137 161 24 7 7 14 53

International

Awards and honours Award Year QMJHL Michel Bergeron Trophy 1982 First All-Star Team 1983 Mike Bossy Trophy 1983 NHL All-Rookie Team 1984 DEL All-Star Team 2001