Caps Alumni Biographies: Michael Belhumeur

Michael Belhumeur was one of three goaltenders deployed during the Capitals' abysmal first season of 1974-75. The Caps drafted Belhumeur from the Philadelphia Flyers in the 1974 expansion draft. The native of Quebec went 9-7-3 with the Flyers as an NHL rookie in 1972-73 before spending the 1973-74 campaign with the AHL's Richmond Robins. Little did he or anyone else know at the time, Belhumeur would not win another game in the NHL.

He appeared in 35 games for the expansion Capitals in 1974-75 and seven more in the team's sophomor campaign of 1975-76. But the luckless Belhumeur posted a 0-24-3 mark in '74-75 and a 0-5-1 record the following season. Relegated to the minors thereafter, his pro career ended after he split the 1978-79 season between the Utica Mohawks and the Jersey-Hampton Aces of the Northeastern Hockey League.
Despite going winless (0-29-4) and posting a 5.32 goals against average during his Capitals career, Belhumeur did enjoy a few brief moments of glory with the Caps. In just the eighth game in Capitals history, he achieved the rare feat of stopping two penalty shots in the same game when he snuffed Chicago's Jim Pappin and Stan Mikita in a 3-2 loss to the Blackhawks on Oct. 23, 1974.
Belhumeur was also the first Capitals goaltender to record an assist; he had two helpers in 1974-75.