Pierre Larouche | |||
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Born |
Taschereau, QC, CAN |
November 16, 1955 ||
Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
Position | Centre | ||
Shot | Right | ||
Played for |
NHL New York Rangers Hartford Whalers Montreal Canadiens Pittsburgh Penguins AHL Hershey Bears |
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National team | Canada | ||
NHL Draft | 8th overall, 1974 Pittsburgh Penguins |
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WHA Draft | 30th overall, 1974 Houston Aeros |
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Playing career | 1974–1988 |
Pierre Roland "Lucky Pierre" Larouche (born November 16, 1955) is a retired professional ice hockey forward who played in the NHL for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers, and New York Rangers.
Larouche played junior ice hockey with the Sorel Éperviers of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. During the 1973–74 QMJHL season, Larouche won the Jean Béliveau Trophy as the league's top scorer, with 94 goals, 157 assists, for a total 251 points. Larouche set the Canadian Hockey League record at the time, which is now second only to Mario Lemieux's 282 points ten years later.
Larouche was drafted 8th overall by the Penguins in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. In 1976, he became the 16th player ever to reach the 50-goal mark. At the time he was the youngest player to hit the 50-goal and 100-points plateau. His record was broken by Wayne Gretzky in 1980. He was first player to score 50 goals in a season with two different teams: he scored 53 with Pittsburgh in 1975–76 and 50 with Montreal in 1979–80. and is the only NHL player to have scored more than 45 goals with three separate teams, also scoring 48 with the New York Rangers.
Larouche is also one of the few players to score at least a point-per-game average in their final NHL season. He scored 12 points in 10 games, during the 1987–88 NHL season, his last in the league. He won two Stanley Cups with Montreal in 1978 and 1979.