Carol Vadnais facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Carol Vadnais |
|||
|---|---|---|---|
Vadnais with the New York Rangers in 1978
|
|||
| Born | September 25, 1945 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
||
| Died | August 31, 2014 (aged 68) Laval, Quebec, Canada |
||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Montreal Canadiens Oakland Seals California Golden Seals Boston Bruins New York Rangers New Jersey Devils |
||
| National team | .svg){kind=small} Canada |
||
| Playing career | 1966–1983 | ||
Carol Marcel Vadnais (September 25, 1945 – August 31, 2014) was a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1966–67 until 1982–83. Vadnais won the Stanley Cup twice during his career, in 1968 with the Montreal Canadiens and again in 1972 with the Boston Bruins.
Contents
Playing career
Originally a forward, Vadnais was shifted to defence in his final year of junior hockey with the Montreal Jr. Canadiens. In his first NHL training camp, he made the Montreal Canadiens lineup for the 1966-67 season. While the Canadiens were initially successful in not exposing Vadnais to the 1967 expansion draft, he was left unprotected after the 1967-68 season and would be claimed by the expansion Oakland Seals in the June 1968 intra-league draft. He became the Seals' captain at the beginning of the 1971-72 season but was traded mid-season.
On February 23, 1972, Vadnais was acquired by the Boston Bruins in an attempt to bolster their blueline for a Stanley Cup run. The Bruins outbid Vadnais' old club, the Canadiens, to secure his services. The move paid off and Vadnais headed the Bruins' second defence pairing behind Bobby Orr's first unit, which helped the Bruins capture the 1972 Stanley Cup.
Vadnais was involved in the November 7, 1975 blockbuster trade that sent him along with star forward Phil Esposito to the New York Rangers for Jean Ratelle and Brad Park. Vadnais went on to play seven seasons for the Rangers and one for the New Jersey Devils before retiring in 1983. Along with Wayne Cashman of the Bruins and Serge Savard of the Winnipeg Jets, he was one of the final NHL players to participate in the pre-expansion Original Six era (the Bruins and Jets both made the playoffs, extending Cashman's and Savard's careers by that long).
Vadnais played 1,087 career NHL games, scoring 169 goals and 418 assists for 587 points, as well as adding 1,813 penalty minutes. In his best statistical season (1974–75), he scored 18 goals and set career highs with 56 assists and 74 points. Vadnais participated in six NHL All-Star Games and was a member of Team Canada at the 1976 Canada Cup (but didn't play in the tournament) and 1977 World Ice Hockey Championships.
Coaching career
Vadnais joined the Rangers' coaching staff as an assistant for the 1983–84 and 1984-85 seasons. This was followed by one season as the head coach of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Verdun Junior Canadiens, after which Vadnais left hockey for good.
Personal
After hockey, Vadnais worked as a real estate agent in the Montreal area. His wife, Raymonde, died of cancer in 2004; they had one daughter, Michele.
Vadnais died of cancer on August 31, 2014, at the age of 68.
Achievements
- In the 2009 book 100 Ranger Greats, was ranked No. 52 all-time of the 901 New York Rangers who had played during the team's first 82 seasons
- Stanley Cup champion (1968, 1972)
- Selected to National Hockey League All-Star Game (1969, 1970, 1972, 1975, 1976, 1978)
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1963–64 | Montreal NDG Monarchs | MMJHL | 44 | 39 | 49 | 88 | 90 | 17 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 34 | ||
| 1963–64 | Montreal NDG Monarchs | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 13 | 11 | 24 | 12 | ||
| 1964–65 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | OHA | 56 | 9 | 16 | 25 | 74 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 13 | ||
| 1965–66 | Montreal Jr. Canadiens | OHA | 48 | 9 | 14 | 23 | 184 | 10 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 24 | ||
| 1966–67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 11 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 35 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1966–67 | Houston Apollos | CPHL | 21 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1967–68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 31 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 31 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1967–68 | Houston Apollos | CPHL | 36 | 5 | 21 | 26 | 178 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1968–69 | Oakland Seals | NHL | 76 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 151 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 | ||
| 1969–70 | Oakland Seals | NHL | 76 | 24 | 20 | 44 | 212 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 15 | ||
| 1970–71 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 42 | 10 | 16 | 26 | 91 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | California Golden Seals | NHL | 52 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 106 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1971–72 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 16 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 37 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 43 | ||
| 1972–73 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 7 | 24 | 31 | 127 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | ||
| 1973–74 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 16 | 43 | 59 | 123 | 16 | 1 | 12 | 13 | 42 | ||
| 1974–75 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 79 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 129 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 0 | |||
| 1975–76 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 17 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | New York Rangers | NHL | 64 | 20 | 30 | 50 | 104 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1976–77 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 11 | 37 | 48 | 131 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | New York Rangers | NHL | 80 | 6 | 40 | 46 | 115 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 1978–79 | New York Rangers | NHL | 77 | 8 | 37 | 45 | 86 | 18 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 13 | ||
| 1979–80 | New York Rangers | NHL | 66 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 118 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1980–81 | New York Rangers | NHL | 74 | 3 | 20 | 23 | 91 | 14 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 | ||
| 1981–82 | New York Rangers | NHL | 50 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 45 | 10 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1982–83 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 51 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 1,087 | 169 | 418 | 587 | 1,813 | 106 | 10 | 40 | 50 | 185 | ||||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Canada | WC | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 33 | |
| Senior totals | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 33 | |||
See also
- List of NHL players with 1000 games played
