Jean Potvin
| Jean Potvin | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
March 25, 1949 Ottawa, ON, CAN |
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| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 188 lb (85 kg; 13 st 6 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for |
Los Angeles Kings Philadelphia Flyers New York Islanders Cleveland Barons Minnesota North Stars |
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| NHL Draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1969–1981 | ||
Jean Rene Potvin (born March 25, 1949) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Los Angeles Kings, Philadelphia Flyers, New York Islanders, Cleveland Barons and Minnesota North Stars.
During his 11-year career, Potvin scored 63 goals and 224 assists in 613 career NHL games. He also played on the New York Islanders’ first two Stanley Cup-winning teams, in 1980 and 1981.
In the 1975-1976 season, he was the second highest-scoring defenseman in the NHL with 72 points (17 goals and 55 assists). The only other defenseman to score more points that season was his brother Denis with 98 points (31 goals and 67 assists).
On January 22, 1976, in a game against the Detroit Red Wings at the Nassau Coliseum, Potvin scored three goals (two on the Power Play) and also added an assist while his brother Denis had two goals and two assists of his own. The Islanders have now played over 3,300 regular seasons in their history and only once has a defenseman not named "Denis Potvin" scored a hat trick. Potvin's final two goals came 45 seconds apart as he became the only defenseman in Islander history to ever score three goals in a period at the Coliseum. It was also the first time since 1947 that brothers had combined for at least five goals in an NHL game, and the first time in NHL history that it had been done by two defensemen.
Potvin was involved in the last Christmas Day fight in NHL history. Potvin, who played for the Los Angeles Kings at the time, fought Ernie Hicke, then with the California Golden Seals on 25 December 1971. The players were later teammates with the NY Islanders. The Kings were owned by Jack Kent Cooke at the time and the Seals were owned by Charlie O. Finley, whose General Manager was a young Bill Torrey.
Potvin began his professional hockey career in December 1969 with the Springfield Kings in the American Hockey League. The next season in 1970-1971, he led all defensemen on the team in scoring as he played on the Springfield Kings’ Calder Cup-winning team with teammates Butch Goring and Billy Smith. During that playoff season, Potvin scored two goals and 10 assists for 12 points in 12 games. Ten years later, Goring, Smith, and Potvin would play together again on the first two New York Islanders' Stanley Cup-winning teams, in 1980 and 1981.
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