Patrice Brisebois

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Position	Defence
Shoots	Right
Nickname	Breezer
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 203 lb (92 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Colorado Avalanche Montreal Canadiens
Nationality	Canada
Born	January 27, 1971, Montreal, QC, CAN
NHL Draft	30th overall, 1989 Montreal Canadiens
Pro Career	1990 – present

Patrice Brisebois (born January 27, 1971 in Montreal, Quebec, Canada) is a French Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman.

[edit] Playing career

Patrice Brisebois was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft, 30th overall. His junior days saw him play for the AHL Fredericton Canadiens, QMJHL Drummondville Voltigeurs and Laval Titan. Brisebois's junior career was an unqualified success. In 1990-91, he captured the Emile "Butch" Bouchard Trophy awarded to the best defencemen in the QMJHL, was named to the QMJHL All-Star team, and took home the award for the CHL's Best Defencemen.

He played for the Canadiens for 14 seasons, winning one Stanley Cup with the franchise during the 1992-93 season. By 1999, Brisebois had become a staple of the Habs defence, specifically as their power play anchor. "Breeze" was rewarded for his strong play with a hefty $4 million/year contract.

Brisebois soon thereafter began to have a falling out with the general Montreal public. With his hefty contract came a plethora of expectations and the general consensus was that Brisebois was not living up to his pay. Furthermore, Brisebois's characteristic lackluster defensive play - blind cross ice passes, center-ice turnovers and often the inability to make the strong play - became dissected by everyone and anyone. By 2002, Brisebois had become the whipping boy of Montreal fans, with chants of 'Breeze-Bye' and 'Breeze-Boo' aplenty. He spent the major part of the 2002 season booed heavily by habs fans. Nevertheless, a small percentage of fans began to take a liking of Breezer's high-risk strategy. Brisebois remained in Montreal through 2004 but in the offseason of 2005, he signed a 2 year, $4.5 million US contract with the Colorado Avalanche, the team for which he currently plays. He is currently out for the season, having been placed on the injured reserve.