Pierre Larouche
Encyclopedia
Pierre "Lucky Pierre" Larouche (born November 16, 1955) is a retired professional
ice hockey
forward who played in the NHL
for the Pittsburgh Penguins
, Montreal Canadiens
, Hartford Whalers
, and New York Rangers
.
with the Sorel Éperviers
of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
. During the 1973–74 QMJHL season
, Larouche won the Jean Béliveau Trophy
as the league's top scorer, with 94 goals, 157 assists, for a total 251 points. Larouche set the Canadian Hockey League
record at the time, which is now second only to Mario Lemieux
's 282 points ten years later.
Larouche was drafted 8th overall by the Penguins in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft
. In 1976, he became the 16th player ever to reach the 50-goal mark. At the time he was the youngest player to hit the 50-goal and 100-points plateau. His record was broken by Wayne Gretzky
in 1980. He was first player to score 50 goals in a season with two different teams: he scored 53 with Pittsburgh in 1975–76 and 50 with Montreal in 1979–80. and is the only NHL player to have scored more than 45 goals with three separate teams, also scoring 48 with the New York Rangers.
Larouche is also one of the few players to score at least a point-per-game average in their final NHL
season. He scored 12 points in 10 games, during the 1987–88 NHL season, his last in the league. He won two Stanley Cup
s with Montreal in 1978 and 1979.
In the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons
, 2009) by Russ Cohen, John Halligan and Adam Raider, the authors ranked Larouche No. 94 on the all-time list of New York Rangers.
On December 31, 2010 he served as one of the coaches for the alumni game of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic
at Heinz Field
between the Penguins and Washington Capitals
.
. He was a winning player on the Celebrity Player Tour and he nearly qualified for the U. S. Open in 1993. He moved to New York
, where he became involved in charity works.
Professional
A professional is a person who is paid to undertake a specialised set of tasks and to complete them for a fee. The traditional professions were doctors, lawyers, clergymen, and commissioned military officers. Today, the term is applied to estate agents, surveyors , environmental scientists,...
ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
forward who played in the NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
for the Pittsburgh Penguins
Pittsburgh Penguins
The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original...
, Montreal Canadiens
Montreal Canadiens
The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ...
, Hartford Whalers
Hartford Whalers
The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
, and New York Rangers
New York Rangers
The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the...
.
Hockey career
Larouche played junior ice hockeyJunior ice hockey
Junior hockey is a catch-all term used to describe various levels of ice hockey competition for players generally between 16 and 20 years of age...
with the Sorel Éperviers
Sorel Éperviers
The Sorel Éperviers were a junior ice hockey team in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League from 1969 to 1981. The team was one of the founding members of the QMJHL. They mostly played at the Colisée Cardin in Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, but also spent a few seasons at the Verdun Auditorium in the...
of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
Quebec Major Junior Hockey League
The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League...
. During the 1973–74 QMJHL season
1973–74 QMJHL season
The 1973–74 QMJHL season was the fifth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. East and west divisions resumed with the addition of two new teams, the Hull Festivals and Chicoutimi Saguenéens...
, Larouche won the Jean Béliveau Trophy
Jean Béliveau Trophy
The Jean Béliveau Trophy is awarded to the top regular season scorer of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The award is named after Quebec native Jean Beliveau, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame.-Winners:-External links:* List of trophy winners....
as the league's top scorer, with 94 goals, 157 assists, for a total 251 points. Larouche set the Canadian Hockey League
Canadian Hockey League
The Canadian Hockey League is an umbrella organization that represents the three Canadian-based major junior ice hockey leagues for players 16 to 20 years of age. The CHL was founded in 1975 as the Canadian Major Junior Hockey League, and is composed of its three member leagues, the Western Hockey...
record at the time, which is now second only to Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux
Mario Lemieux, OC, CQ is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He is acknowledged to be one of the best players of all time. He played 17 seasons as a forward for the Pittsburgh Penguins of the National Hockey League between 1984 and 2006...
's 282 points ten years later.
Larouche was drafted 8th overall by the Penguins in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft
1974 NHL Amateur Draft
The 1974 NHL Amateur Draft was held via conference call at the NHL office in Montreal, Quebec. In an effort to prevent the WHA from poaching players, the draft was conducted early and in secret. This failed to prevent tampering as information leaked out via agents and other sources over the three...
. In 1976, he became the 16th player ever to reach the 50-goal mark. At the time he was the youngest player to hit the 50-goal and 100-points plateau. His record was broken by Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Gretzky
Wayne Douglas Gretzky, CC is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player and former head coach. Nicknamed "The Great One", he is generally regarded as the best player in the history of the National Hockey League , and has been called "the greatest hockey player ever" by many sportswriters,...
in 1980. He was first player to score 50 goals in a season with two different teams: he scored 53 with Pittsburgh in 1975–76 and 50 with Montreal in 1979–80. and is the only NHL player to have scored more than 45 goals with three separate teams, also scoring 48 with the New York Rangers.
Larouche is also one of the few players to score at least a point-per-game average in their final NHL
National Hockey League
The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States...
season. He scored 12 points in 10 games, during the 1987–88 NHL season, his last in the league. He won two Stanley Cup
Stanley Cup
The Stanley Cup is an ice hockey club trophy, awarded annually to the National Hockey League playoffs champion after the conclusion of the Stanley Cup Finals. It has been referred to as The Cup, Lord Stanley's Cup, The Holy Grail, or facetiously as Lord Stanley's Mug...
s with Montreal in 1978 and 1979.
In the book 100 Ranger Greats (John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons
John Wiley & Sons, Inc., also referred to as Wiley, is a global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and...
, 2009) by Russ Cohen, John Halligan and Adam Raider, the authors ranked Larouche No. 94 on the all-time list of New York Rangers.
On December 31, 2010 he served as one of the coaches for the alumni game of the 2011 NHL Winter Classic
2011 NHL Winter Classic
The 2011 NHL Winter Classic was the fourth edition of the annual outdoor ice hockey game held by the National Hockey League as a regular season game. The Pittsburgh Penguins hosted the Washington Capitals at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA on January 1, 2011 at 8:00 p.m...
at Heinz Field
Heinz Field
Heinz Field is a stadium located in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It primarily serves as the home to the Pittsburgh Steelers and University of Pittsburgh Panthers American football teams, members of the National Football League and National Collegiate Athletic Association respectively...
between the Penguins and Washington Capitals
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Since their founding in 1974, "The Caps" have won one conference championship to reach the 1998 Stanley Cup...
.
Golf career
After retiring from hockey, Larouche took up golfGolf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
. He was a winning player on the Celebrity Player Tour and he nearly qualified for the U. S. Open in 1993. He moved to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, where he became involved in charity works.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season Season (sports) In an organized sports league, a season is the portion of one year in which regulated games of the sport are in session. For example, in Major League Baseball, one season lasts approximately from April 1 through October 1; in Association football, it is generally from August until May In an... |
Team | League | GP | G Goal (ice hockey) In ice hockey, a goal is scored when the puck completely crosses the goal line between the two goal posts and below the goal crossbar. A goal awards one point to the team attacking the goal scored upon, regardless of which team the player who actually deflected the puck into the goal belongs to... |
A Assist (ice hockey) In ice hockey, an assist is attributed to up to two players of the scoring team who shot, passed or deflected the puck towards the scoring teammate, or touched it in any other way which enabled the goal, meaning that they were "assisting" in the goal. There can be a maximum of two assists per goal... |
Pts Point (ice hockey) Point in ice hockey has three official meanings:* A point is awarded to a player for each goal scored or assist earned. The total number of goals plus assists equals total points. In some European leagues, a goal counts as two points, and an assist counts as one... |
PIM Penalty (ice hockey) A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for inappropriate behavior. Most penalties are enforced by detaining the offending player within a penalty box for a set number of minutes, during which, the player can not participate in play. The offending team usually may not replace the player on the ice,... |
GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1972–73 1972–73 QMJHL season The 1972–73 QMJHL season was the fourth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The summer of 1972 saw the departure of the Saint-Jérôme Alouettes and the Verdun Maple Leafs from the league, reducing the circuit to eight teams... |
Quebec Remparts Québec Remparts There have been two junior ice hockey franchises known as the Quebec Remparts that played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. The first franchise played from 1969 to 1985; the current franchise has played since 1997. Both franchises were based out of Quebec City, Quebec... |
QMJHL Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League... |
20 | 6 | 7 | 13 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1972–73 | Sorel Black Hawks | QMJHL | 43 | 47 | 54 | 101 | 24 | 10 | 7 | 6 | 13 | 2 | ||
| 1973–74 1973–74 QMJHL season The 1973–74 QMJHL season was the fifth season in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. East and west divisions resumed with the addition of two new teams, the Hull Festivals and Chicoutimi Saguenéens... |
Sorel Black Hawks | QMJHL | 67 | 94 | 157 | 251 | 53 | 13 | 15 | 18 | 33 | 20 | ||
| 1974–75 | Pittsburgh Penguins Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The franchise was founded in 1967 as one of the first expansion teams during the league's original... |
NHL National Hockey League The National Hockey League is an unincorporated not-for-profit association which operates a major professional ice hockey league of 30 franchised member clubs, of which 7 are currently located in Canada and 23 in the United States... |
79 | 31 | 37 | 68 | 52 | 9 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 2 | ||
| 1975–76 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 76 | 53 | 58 | 111 | 33 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 65 | 29 | 34 | 63 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1977–78 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 20 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Montreal Canadiens Montreal Canadiens The Montreal Canadiens are a professional ice hockey team based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The club is officially known as ... |
NHL | 44 | 17 | 32 | 49 | 11 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1978–79 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 36 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 1979–80 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 50 | 41 | 91 | 16 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1980–81 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 61 | 25 | 28 | 53 | 28 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1981–82 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 22 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Hartford Whalers Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97... |
NHL | 45 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 38 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | New York Rangers New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the borough of Manhattan in New York, New York, USA. They are members of the Atlantic Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . Playing their home games at Madison Square Garden, the Rangers are one of the... |
NHL | 77 | 48 | 33 | 81 | 22 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1984–85 | New York Rangers | NHL | 65 | 24 | 36 | 60 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 1985–86 AHL season The 1985–86 AHL season was the 50th season of the American Hockey League. Thirteen teams played 80 games each in the schedule. The Hershey Bears finished first overall in the regular season... |
Hershey Bears Hershey Bears The Hershey Bears Hockey Club is a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League, and is currently the top affiliate of the NHL Washington Capitals. The hockey club is based in the unincorporated town of Hershey, Pennsylvania, located within Derry Township some 14 miles east of... |
AHL American Hockey League The American Hockey League is a 30-team professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental circuit for the National Hockey League... |
32 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | New York Rangers | NHL | 28 | 20 | 7 | 27 | 4 | 16 | 8 | 9 | 17 | 2 | ||
| 1986–87 | New York Rangers | NHL | 73 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 12 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1987–88 | New York Rangers | NHL | 10 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 812 | 395 | 427 | 822 | 237 | 64 | 20 | 34 | 54 | 16 | ||||
| AHL totals | 32 | 22 | 17 | 39 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||||
| QMJHL totals | 130 | 147 | 218 | 365 | 97 | 23 | 22 | 24 | 46 | 22 | ||||