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Vincent Damphousse

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Vincent Damphousse
Damphousse in 2008
Born (1967-12-17) December 17, 1967 (age 58)
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Centre
Shot Left
Played for Toronto Maple Leafs
Edmonton Oilers
Montreal Canadiens
San Jose Sharks
National team  Canada
NHL draft 6th overall, 1986
Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career 1986–2004

Vincent François Damphousse (DAM-fus;[1] born December 17, 1967) is a Canadian former professional hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 18 seasons. He primarily played centre for the Toronto Maple Leafs, Edmonton Oilers, Montreal Canadiens, and San Jose Sharks.

Damphousse excelled as a junior hockey player with the Laval Voisins/Titan and was drafted as the sixth overall pick by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1986. Debuting in the NHL at nineteen in the 1986–87 season, he recorded 46 points in 80 games. In five seasons with Toronto, he had three 20-goal seasons before he was included as part of a blockbuster trade to the Edmonton Oilers in September 1991 and was traded again the following year to the Montreal Canadiens, where he had his most success. He recorded 23 points in 20 games of the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs as the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup Final for Damphousse's first and only championship. He recorded his only 40-goal season in the 1993–94 campaign. In March 1999, the team traded him to the San Jose Sharks for a couple of draft picks. He recorded his 1,000th career point in the 2000–01 season. After six years in San Jose, he signed a free agency deal with the Colorado Avalanche before the 2004–05 NHL lockout cancelled the season. In 2005, he announced his retirement; he recorded over 400 goals and 700 assists in 1,378 games.

Currently, Damphousse is a hockey analyst with the French language television network RDS in his native Quebec.[2]

Early life

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Damphousse with the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1987

Damphousse played three seasons in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League with the Laval Voisins (who later became the Laval Titan). In his rookie season, they won the President's Cup for the first time ever; he didn't record a statistic in the Memorial Cup. He recorded back-to-back 100-point seasons and was named a QMJHL Second Team All-Star at the end of the 1985–86 season.[3][4]

In 2011, he was inducted into the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Hall of Fame; he had been ranked 10th in scoring among all QMJHL alumni who played in the NHL at the time.[3]

Playing career

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Damphousse was drafted by the Toronto Maple Leafs as the 6th overall pick in the 1986 NHL entry draft, a fact that excited him as the first French-Canadian drafted by the Leafs in the first round.[5] He wound up leading his draft class in goals and points for a career.[6] In the 1989–90 season, he had 33 goals and 61 assists for a 94-point season. His 61 assists was the most by a winger for over 20 years before he was passed by Mitch Marner in the 2018–19 season.[7]

In 1991 he was named MVP of the NHL All Star Game, being one of only four players (at that time) to ever score 4 goals in a single All-Star matchup.[8] Damphousse spent five seasons in Toronto before being traded to the Edmonton Oilers in 1991 in a deal which sent future Hall of Famers Grant Fuhr and Glenn Anderson to Toronto, while Edmonton received Damphousse, Peter Ing, Luke Richardson, Scott Thornton, cash, and future considerations in return; Damphousse had recorded 118 goals and 211 assists for 329 total points in 394 games.[9] Oilers' general manager Glen Sather said of Damphousse at that time that among French-Canadian players, only Mario Lemieux was more skilled offensively.

Damphousse led the team in scoring that season with 89 points; he was later offered only $700,000 by the Oilers to re-sign with them. Sather contended that Damphousse didn't want to come back to the team due to having problems with his wife and said he offered $2.1 million over three years. On August 27, 1992, with free agency looming, the Oilers traded Damphousse (and a 4th round pick in the 1993 NHL entry draft) to the Montreal Canadiens in exchange for Shayne Corson, Brent Gilchrist and Vladimir Vujtek.[10][11] His success with Montreal was immediate, as he recorded 97 points (39 goals and 58 assists) during the regular season. In the 1993 Stanley Cup playoffs, he had 11 goals and 12 assists (which included the go-ahead goal in the series-clinching Game 5 of the Conference Finals); he had just one goal and three assists in the Stanley Cup Final as the Canadiens won in five games to give Damphousse his first Stanley Cup championship.[12] His 97 points were the most by a Canadiens player in the 1990s and no Montreal player would record more points in a season until Nick Suzuki in the 2025–26 season.[13] In the following 1993–94 season, he recorded 40 goals with 51 assists. No Canadien player would score 40 goals in a season for the next 30 years.[14] He spent six more seasons in Montreal. In the fall of 1996, prior to the 1996–97 season, Damphousse was selected to play for Team Canada for the World Cup of Hockey as an injury replacement; Canada lost in the final to the American team.[15]

In the 1998–99 season, Damphousse was in the final season of his contract and sensed that his days in Montreal (where he wanted to finish his career) would be over soon.[16] On March 23, 1999, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for three draft picks (1st, 2nd, 5th).[17] He recorded 13 points in his first 12 games for the Sharks. In the first round of the playoffs against Colorado, he had three goals with two assists but the Sharks lost in six games. In 77 total games, he had 19 goals and 30 assists.[18] He soon found enjoyment with playing for the Sharks, who stated that he was their priority player to sign back next season and he agreed with that assessment, never hitting the free agent market.[16] While his scoring in San Jose never rose above 25 goals, his pairing on a line with Owen Nolan and Jeff Friesen in the 1999–2000 season saw Nolan score 44 goals. In the 2000–01 season, he played in just 45 games and recorded nine goals and 37 assists. He recorded his 1,000th career point on October 14 with an assist versus the Boston Bruins, doing so in his 1,090th game.[19]

He signed with the Colorado Avalanche on August 19, 2004 on a one-year contract for $2 million.[20] However, he never played for the team due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout that occurred the following month that took out the entire 2004–05 season. On September 7, 2005, he announced his retirement from the NHL.[21] He retired as one of 42 players with over 700 assists in NHL history.[22]

Damphousse was a member of the National Hockey League Players' Association (NHLPA) executive committee, serving as vice president under Trevor Linden. He was hired to be the NHLPA director of business relations in February 2006. In the summer of 2007, he announced his departure from the union to devote more time to his Le Scandinave Spa business.[23]

Retirement

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Damphousse announced his retirement on September 7, 2005. He currently lives in Montreal and serves as a hockey analyst with the French-language television network RDS.[2]

Personal

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On April 14, 2011, Damphousse was charged by Montreal police with six counts of assaulting his spouse after allegations made by his wife.[24] The incidents were alleged to have occurred between January 2008 and early 2011. Damphousse categorically denied the allegations brought against him and also filed a complaint against his wife for assault.[25] On June 19, 2013, the Crown dropped all charges against the ex-hockey player, though the Crown announced intentions to pursue its case against Allana Henderson, now Damphousse's ex-wife, for armed assault and theft under $5,000. Henderson was accused of committing assault with her vehicle and stealing a briefcase from her ex-husband. On January 14, 2015, the Crown dropped all charges against Henderson.[26]

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1982–83 Bourassa Angevins QMAAA 48 33 45 78 22 10 4 4 8 12
1983–84 Laval Voisins QMJHL 66 29 36 65 25 12 5 3 8 4
1983–84 Laval Voisins MC — — — — — 3 0 0 0 4
1984–85 Laval Voisins QMJHL 68 35 68 103 60 — — — — —
1985–86 Laval Titan QMJHL 69 45 110 155 72 14 9 28 37 12
1986–87 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 21 25 46 26 12 1 5 6 8
1987–88 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 75 12 36 48 40 6 0 1 1 10
1988–89 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 26 42 68 75 — — — — —
1989–90 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 80 33 61 94 56 5 0 2 2 2
1990–91 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 79 26 47 73 65 — — — — —
1991–92 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 38 51 89 53 16 6 8 14 8
1992–93 Montreal Canadiens NHL 84 39 58 97 98 20 11 12 23 16
1993–94 Montreal Canadiens NHL 84 40 51 91 75 7 1 2 3 8
1994–95 EC Ratingen DEL 11 5 6 11 24 — — — — —
1994–95 Montreal Canadiens NHL 48 10 30 40 42 — — — — —
1995–96 Montreal Canadiens NHL 80 38 56 94 158 6 4 4 8 0
1996–97 Montreal Canadiens NHL 82 27 54 81 82 5 0 0 0 2
1997–98 Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 18 41 59 58 10 3 6 9 22
1998–99 Montreal Canadiens NHL 65 12 24 36 46 — — — — —
1998–99 San Jose Sharks NHL 12 7 6 13 4 6 3 2 5 6
1999–2000 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 21 49 70 58 12 1 7 8 16
2000–01 San Jose Sharks NHL 45 9 37 46 62 6 2 1 3 14
2001–02 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 20 38 58 60 12 2 6 8 12
2002–03 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 23 38 61 66 — — — — —
2003–04 San Jose Sharks NHL 82 12 29 41 66 17 7 7 14 20
NHL totals 1,378 432 773 1,205 1,190 140 41 63 104 144

International

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Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1996 Canada WCH 8 2 0 2 8

See also

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References

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  1. ↑ "The One Hundred - Number 61: Vincent Damphousse". YouTube. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  2. 1 2 The Canadian Press (June 20, 2013). "Assault charges dropped against Vincent Damphousse". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  3. 1 2 "Vincent Damphousse, Robert Desjardins, Harold MacKay and Martin Lapointe enshrined into Quebec Major Junior Hockey League's Hall of Fame presented by RDS". CHL.ca. April 6, 2011. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  4. ↑ "QMJHL Hall of Fame". CHL.ca. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  5. ↑ Cowan, Stu (May 20, 2021). "Former Hab Damphousse's keys to success under playoff glare". Montreal Gazette.
  6. ↑ "They Could'a been Legends Vol 1: Vincent Damphousse". Fox Sports. March 4, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  7. ↑ "For single seasons, playing skater, playing for the Toronto Maple Leafs, in the regular season, sorted by descending Assists". Stathead. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  8. ↑ "Sports: Former UW Hockey standout named NHL All-Star Game MVP". Sports. The Badger Herald. Archived from the original on 2012-03-09. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  9. ↑ "Oilers Trade Fuhr, Anderson to Toronto". Los Angeles Times. September 20, 1991. Archived from the original on December 1, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  10. ↑ "SPORTS PEOPLE: HOCKEY; Oilers Trade Damphousse to Canadiens". The New York Times. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  11. ↑ "Oilers deal Damphousse to Canadiens". UPI. August 27, 1992. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Vincent Damphousse 1992-93 Game Log". Hockey Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  13. ↑ "For single seasons, playing skater, playing for the Montreal Canadiens, in the regular season, sorted by descending Points". Stathead. Retrieved May 3, 2026.
  14. ↑ Zurkowsky, Herb. "Vincent Damphousse ready to pass 40-goal torch to Canadiens' Cole Caufield". Montreal Gazette. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  15. ↑ "Damphousse and Graves Added to Team Canada Roster". Hockey Canada. August 7, 1996. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  16. 1 2 Cowley, Ryan (March 30, 2021). "30 Sharks: Vincent Damphousse Wouldn't Trade His Sharks Years for Anything". San Jose Hockey Now. Archived from the original on April 14, 2026.
  17. ↑ Hickey, Pat. "Worst trades in Canadiens history: Damphousse deal a disaster for CH". Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  18. ↑ "Vincent Damphousse 1998-99 Game Log". Hockey Reference. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  19. ↑ "1,000th Points - Milestones". NHL Records. Retrieved July 13, 2026.
  20. ↑ "Colorado signs Vincent Damphousse". UPI. August 19, 2004. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  21. ↑ "Damphousse retires after 18 NHL seasons". CBC.ca. September 7, 2005.
  22. ↑ "For combined seasons, up to 2003-04, playing skater, in the regular season, requiring Assists >= 700, sorted by descending Assists". Stathead. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  23. ↑ "Vincent Damphousse leaves job at NHLPA to focus on spa business". The Hockey News. The Canadian Press. June 25, 2007. Retrieved July 14, 2026.
  24. ↑ "Damphousse charged with six counts of assaulting his spouse". Tsn.ca. 2011-04-14. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  25. ↑ Brian Daly, Qmi Agency (2011-04-15). "Damphousse fires back against wife | Hockey | Sports". Toronto Sun. Archived from the original on 2011-04-19. Retrieved 2011-10-31.
  26. ↑ The Canadian Press (January 14, 2015). "Criminal charges dropped against Vincent Damphousse's ex-wife". The Canadian Press. Retrieved January 14, 2015.
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