Michel Goulet: 1982-83 to 1987-88

[The Panther]

How do we all rate Goulet in the six years mentioned? His stats for Quebec are pretty mega in this period. His playoff stats are fine -- disappointing in '83 and '84 (two goals in 13 games), but very good from '85 to '87. He was selected for Team Canada at the Canada Cup twice in this period (Keenan liked him), winning at both.

His actual goal and points those six seasons:
1983: 57 G, 105 PTS
1984: 56 G, 122 PTS
1985: 55 G, 95 PTS (missed 11 games)
1986: 53 G, 104 PTS
1987: 49 G, 96 PTS
1988: 48 G, 106 PTS

There are only two full seasons in there, so his stats would have been even higher. Possible 60-goal season in 1984, definite 60-goal season in 1985 if not for injury. So, could have had back-to-back 60's.

Albeit it's somewhat era-dependent, he is only three goals in two seasons away from having had six straight 50-goal seasons (which is what Lafleur had; i.e., the third most in history behind Bossy and Gretzky). Narrowly missed that. (If you go by 'adjusted stats' on Hockey Ref., he still had six straight 40+ goal seasons here.)

Here's how Goulet's stats rank for this six-season period:

POINTS
6th (behind Gretzky, Kurri, Savard, Stastny, Hawerchuk)
EVEN STRENTH POINTS
5th
GOALS
3rd (behind Gretzky, Kurri)
ASSISTS
13th (he's in there with Trottier and Bobby Smith)
POINTS-PER-GAME
8th (he'd be sixth without Gretzky / Lemieux, but he still finishes ahead of Hawerchuk and Messier)
GOALS FINISHES
2, 4, 4, 5, 6, 9
POINTS FINISHES
3, 8, 8, 9

Seems like his absolute peak was definitely 1983-84 and 1984-85. He was at 62 goals / 80GP those two seasons. Five goals in 8GP at Canada Cup '84, too.

Seems a nice guy, btw...? Everyone seems to like him.

How did/do you rate Goulet at his best?
Who did he mainly play with in Quebec in these prime years?

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[Gorskyontario]

How did/do you rate Goulet at his best?
Who did he mainly play with in Quebec in these prime years?

I thought he was a very good winger, not sure how I would rank him among all the wingers in the 80s. There were a lot of good scoring wingers back then. I would need to think about it more( I might edit my post).

He mostly played with Dale Hunter at ES, Stastny on the PP probably.

 

[DitchMarner]

How come no one ever brings this guy up? I never hear about him.

He was one of the best wingers in the League during his prime. A good comparable from the last few years would be Rantanen or Marner.

 

[wetcoast]

How come no one ever brings this guy up? I never hear about him.

He was one of the best wingers in the League during his prime. A good comparable from the last few years would be Rantanen or Marner.

Sure maybe but then like now the best players tended to be playing center and to me Goulet is sorta like Luc robitaille in a way not really quite as impactful as his stats suggest.

He is also a bit like Lafleur as far as career arc goes, starts off okayish has a great 6 year run but then kinda average after 87-88 when injuries starting taking a toll.

 

[Dingo]

How come no one ever brings this guy up? I never hear about him.

He was one of the best wingers in the League during his prime. A good comparable from the last few years would be Rantanen or Marner.

not sure just how much Rantanen or Marner will be brought up in 40 years. If one wins a Ross, Smythe or Richard, much better chance that they will be remembered better than Goulet.

I THINK everyone knows Goulet's name, at least, which is something after all these years. I heard a lot about the Stastny's back then, but I knew who Goulet was. I would think maybe he was a bigger sell in Quebec?

 

[Hockey Outsider]

We all know that plus/minus has its limitations, but I was surprised to see a huge difference between Goulet and Stastny in several years:

• in 1982, Goulet was +35 while Stastny was -10. (Stastny outscored Goulet 139-84 overall, and 86-61 at even strength, so Stastny must have been on the ice for a ton of goals against)
• in 1984, Goulet was +62 (behind only Gretzky, Trottier and Bossy) while Stastny was +22.
• in 1988, it was the opposite story - Stastny was +2 while Goulet was -31 (4th worst in the NHL).

To get these types of results, they must have spent a fair amount of time playing apart.

 

[JianYang]

How come no one ever brings this guy up? I never hear about him.

He was one of the best wingers in the League during his prime. A good comparable from the last few years would be Rantanen or Marner.

The nordiques never really had much of a spotlight. Their appeal was more regional based than any other Canadian franchise.

I can't speak for the 80s, but I can't recall a nords game broadcast nationally in english in the 90s although there may have been incidental occasions. Even on French networks, it was almost always the Habs games being shown on the national hnic broadcasts.

It's easy to have certain guys off your radar when the exposure level is very low to begin with.

 

[The Pale King]

I can't speak for the 80s, but I can't recall a nords game broadcast nationally in english in the 90s although there may have been incidental occasions. Even on French networks, it was almost always the Habs games being shown on the national hnic broadcasts.

Carling O'Keefe Brewing owned the Nordiques while Molson Brewing owned the Canadiens. Molson was the top sponsor for Hockey Night in Canada on CBC and so Quebec was never shown on national broadcasts, which was unique to them amongst Canadian teams.

It's the classic long-game: Freeze out your rival until their team moves, taking your franchise goaltender with them, while hockey participation in your province wanes to the point that you're producing approximately as much NHL talent as Latvia or Norway.

Seems petty and bush-league to me, but it's the same kind of thinking that's preventing another team in the GTA.

 

[Staniowski]

Goulet was a really good player. Smart and tough (in the sense that he wasn't soft). And a very good goal-scorer. Good shooter, could score well from mid-range, off the rush, and excellent at darting in and otherwise scoring in close. Good skater and puck-carrier, but not outstanding.

His best years were on a line with Dale Hunter.

As a great goal-scorer, he probably could've scored 70 or even 80 in a season playing with Gretzky or Lemieux.

 

[BraveCanadian]

He was really good. Certainly one of the best during that time at what was largely a weak LW position. Good defensively too. Gritty for a top liner too. Quite underrated due to playing in Quebec.

I remember a quote of his that after playing with Gretzky at the Canada Cup in 84, he was amazed. Goulet said if he was normally on Gretzkys wing he would score 100 goals.

 

[Crosby2010]

Maybe overshadowed by Stastny perhaps. Or maybe playing LW which is by far the weakest position historically in hockey as far as name recognition goes. But yes he was a bona fide star.

Still effective in Chicago, had a 65 and 63 point season in Chicago at his best.

 

[MadLuke]

It feels like Stastny brothers and their story did overshadow him quite a bit star power wise (and the whole MTL Canadians).

He was not big on the media, unlike a Bossy who worked a lot in them or for them and became a much bigger household name in Quebec despite playing in the state (apparently a Bossy-Goulet trade got really close to happen in 1977 in the junior for a memorial cup run)

He went to work for the Avs, than flames-ducks post playing career, I do not remember ads with him or anything like that, he is a bit of a shy guy, I maybe heard the name Alain Cote more than Goulet growing up...

Playing good minute and scoring with Team Canada in best on best tournament tend to say a lot. Keenan was not big about playing empty calories numbers players.

That a player that grew up (quite rural place, MIstassini got an indoor rink when he was 15) playing hockey outside with his 7 brothers and was midget C before being draft in the Q and scoring like 70 goals there

 

[Stephen]

It feels like Stastny brothers and their story did overshadow him quite a bit star power wise (and the whole MTL Canadians).

He was not big on the media, unlike a Bossy who worked a lot in them or for them and became a much bigger household name in Quebec despite playing in the state (apparently a Bossy-Goulet trade got really close to happen in 1977 in the junior for a memorial cup run)

He went to work for the Avs, than flames-ducks post playing career, I do not remember ads with him or anything like that, he is a bit of a shy guy, I maybe heard the name Alain Cote more than Goulet growing up...

Playing good minute and scoring with Team Canada in best on best tournament tend to say a lot. Keenan was not big about playing empty calories numbers players.

That a player that grew up (quite rural place, MIstassini got an indoor rink when he was 15) playing hockey outside with his 7 brothers and was midget C before being draft in the Q and scoring like 70 goals there

I also assume there isn’t an intact Quebec Nordiques fanbase from that era that’s passing on the memory of those 80s teams and talking about those players with any current young generation. Would assume those hockey fans in QC would have moved on to another franchise after nearly 3 decades.

 

[The Panther]

Yeah, his first two full seasons in Chicago, he did all right. In 1991, the Blackhawks were 1st overall, and Goulet had 27 goals in 74 games, went +27. I think he mostly played with Roenick.

March 1994, had that brutal injury at the Montreal Forum where he flew head-first into the boards. Ended his career.

 

[JackSlater]

Playing good minute and scoring with Team Canada in best on best tournament tend to say a lot. Keenan was not big about playing empty calories numbers players.

I think that's a solid summation. Goulet was an elite scorer but not an "empty calories" scorer. Really good player.

 

[Davenport]

In this game from the 1982-83 season - Nords vs Flames - you can see Goulet and the Stastny trio doing what they did best.

 

[The Panther]

In case anyone never saw it, here's the fairly strange fall that ended Michel Goulet's career (right beside Patrick Roy, who calls for a trainer right away):

 

[FerrisRox]

How come no one ever brings this guy up? I never hear about him.

He was one of the best wingers in the League during his prime. A good comparable from the last few years would be Rantanen or Marner.

Marner is a very odd comparison.

Right out of the gate, Michel Goulet was an elite goal scorer and Mitch Marner certainly is not, but also, Goulet went to areas on the ice in order to score goals that Marner avoids.

I wouldn't trade prime Goulet for two Mitch Marner's.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

There's a good argument to be made that he was the best left wing between Hull and Ovechkin. Robitaille is the only comparable, but Goulet was almost as talented, put up similar numbers doing second line duty and played a much better two-way game. I take him over Kariya easily.

And he was absolutely incredible during the Nords' storied 85 playoff run.

 

[Overrated]

There's a good argument to be made that he was the best left wing between Hull and Ovechkin. Robitaille is the only comparable, but Goulet was almost as talented, put up similar numbers doing second line duty and played a much better two-way game. I take him over Kariya easily.

And he was absolutely incredible during the Nords' storied 85 playoff run.

I am picking all Firsov Kharlamov Yakushev and Krutov over him.

 

[BraveCanadian]

There's a good argument to be made that he was the best left wing between Hull and Ovechkin. Robitaille is the only comparable, but Goulet was almost as talented, put up similar numbers doing second line duty and played a much better two-way game. I take him over Kariya easily.

And he was absolutely incredible during the Nords' storied 85 playoff run.

I hadn’t thought about this, but for me I don’t think Goulet’s defense and grit is enough to beat out how dynamic Kariya was because of his vision and speed. Kariya just had ”it” before the injuries.

 

[Iron Mike Sharpe]

I am picking all Firsov Kharlamov Yakushev and Krutov over him.

Fair enough, I meant the NHL.

I hadn’t thought about this, but for me I don’t think Goulet’s defense and grit is enough to beat out how dynamic Kariya was because of his vision and speed. Kariya just had ”it” before the injuries.

Kariya was a supreme talent, for sure, but was ultimately not as impactful or consistent. Goulet's goal-scoring prowess is severely underrated: he clocks in at number 3 in goals behind Gretzky and Kurri for the 80s, tied for number one in PPG with Ciccarelli, 4th in ESG, 9th in GWG. From 80-88, he scored 32, 42, 57, 56, 55, 53, 49, 48; the consistency of his goal-scoring totals over a six-year period is an extraordinarily impressive and rare feat. He had a high IQ, a diverse skillset and a high compete level, and was elite defensively, really a complete winger like Kurri. He was an offensive driver and, like Dionne, he could put the puck in the net in a number of ways. In 83-84 he even managed to outscore Stastny 122-119 in 5 less games, primarily playing on a line with Hunter & Paiement, and . And, heck, if you're going out on the ice to face the Nords, do you realy want to face that line? He finished 2nd in goals, 3rd in points and 4th in +/- that year.

Ulf Samuelsson wrecked Goulet's knee to kick off the 88-89 season, and it noticeably impacted his skating for the rest of his career. He was 28 when it happened, and was just hitting the time when he would be expected to start to decline. He never put up thois kind of numbers again, but he produced decently enough, brought the same consistency and fit in well with Keenan's Hawks.

 

[Jumptheshark]

I thought he was a very good winger, not sure how I would rank him among all the wingers in the 80s. There were a lot of good scoring wingers back then. I would need to think about it more( I might edit my post).

He mostly played with Dale Hunter at ES, Stastny on the PP probably.

My mind must be shot. I remember watching games where it Stastney was the guy who he mainly played with

 

[The Panther]

I think Kariya was the best player (and captain) of his NHL club in Anaheim for several years, and then was captain and best player on a very good Nashville club for two years post-Lock out. The Hockey News even (if foolishly) contemplated Kariya's being the best player in hockey c.1997-98.

I personally don't think Goulet could have been the best player on a competitive NHL club (1983-84, his peak season, notwithstanding) for years, nor when he was older as Kariya was with Nashville. And he certainly never flirted with being the best player in the NHL (even if Gretzky hadn't existed).

So, I'd rate Kariya over Goulet for sure. However, I do appreciate the idea of Goulet's year-by-year consistency being a big factor in his personal greatness. I always think people underrate this facet of a player's game -- the ability to bring it at all-star level consistently, month after month, season after season, without any big lapses due to personal problems, coaching change, line-up shuffles, off-ice distractions, even injuries.