Benoît Brunet

Benoît Brunet
Born August 24, 1968
Pointe-Claire, QC, CAN
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Montreal Canadiens
Dallas Stars
Ottawa Senators
NHL Draft 27th overall, 1986
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 19882002

Joseph Jean Luc Benoît Brunet (born August 24, 1968) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, 27th overall, of the 1986 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

After playing three seasons for the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL, Brunet made his professional debut with the American Hockey League's Sherbrooke Canadiens in the 1988–89 season. He also made his NHL debut with Montreal that same season, appearing in two games and recording one assist.

Brunet became a fixture on the Canadiens' roster, playing with them until the 2001–02 season. He became a favorite of the hometown fans due to his local roots and path to the NHL as well as his work as a defensive forward which made him a constant on the team's penalty killing unit. During the 2001–02 season, he was traded to the Dallas Stars, along with Martin Ručínský, in exchange for Donald Audette and Shaun Van Allen. Brunet appeared in 32 games with the Stars before being traded again, this time to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a pick in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft. Brunet finished the season with Ottawa, and retired afterward.

In his NHL career, Brunet appeared in 539 games. He scored 101 goals and added 161 assists. He also appeared in 54 playoff games, scoring five goals and adding 20 assists. He was a member of the Canadiens team that won the Stanley Cup in 1993.

Color Commentator

A few years after his retirement, Brunet was hired as a colour commentator for the French-language sports network RDS for NHL games that didn't involve the Montreal Canadiens. For the 2008-09 season he was promoted as the main colour commentator alongside play-by-play man Pierre Houde for all Montreal Canadiens games, replacing longtime veteran Yvon Pedneault.

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1986–87Hull OlympiquesQMJHL604367110105675128
1987–88Hull OlympiquesQMJHL625489143131103101311
1988–89Sherbrooke CanadiensAHL7341761179562024
1988–89Montreal CanadiensNHL20110
1989–90Sherbrooke CanadiensAHL723235678212871520
1990–91Fredericton CanadiensAHL2413183116656112
1990–91Montreal CanadiensNHL171340
1991–92Fredericton CanadiensAHL6791627
1991–92Montreal CanadiensNHL18461014
1992–93Montreal CanadiensNHL47101525192028108
1993–94Montreal CanadiensNHL7110203020714516
1994–95Montreal CanadiensNHL457182516
1995–96Fredericton CanadiensAHL32136
1995–96Montreal CanadiensNHL2678151730220
1996–97Montreal CanadiensNHL391013231441344
1997–98Montreal CanadiensNHL681220326181014
1998–99Montreal CanadiensNHL6014173131
1999–00Montreal CanadiensNHL5014152913
2000–01Montreal CanadiensNHL353111412
2001–02Montreal CanadiensNHL160224
2001–02Dallas StarsNHL3249138
2001–02Utah GrizzliesAHL53146
2001–02Ottawa SenatorsNHL135380120330
NHL totals 539 101 161 262 229 54 5 20 25 32
AHL totals 183 98 140 238 232 24 15 13 28 26
QMJHL totals 193 130 193 323 317 16 10 15 25 19

External links