Carbonneau reinvented himself from a high-scoring center in junior hockey to a three-time Selke Trophy winner as the best defensive forward in the NHL, as well as a three-time Stanley Cup champion and ultimately a Hockey Hall of Famer.
The Montreal Canadiens selected the native of Sept-Iles, Quebec, in the third round (No. 44) of the 1979 NHL Draft after he had 141 points (62 goals, 79 assists) for Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He returned to Chicoutimi for the 1979-80 season and was even better, finishing with 182 points (72 goals, 110 assists) before turning pro.
Carbonneau reinvented himself from a high-scoring center in junior hockey to a three-time Selke Trophy winner as the best defensive forward in the NHL, as well as a three-time Stanley Cup champion and ultimately a Hockey Hall of Famer.
The Montreal Canadiens selected the native of Sept-Iles, Quebec, in the third round (No. 44) of the 1979 NHL Draft after he had 141 points (62 goals, 79 assists) for Chicoutimi of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League. He returned to Chicoutimi for the 1979-80 season and was even better, finishing with 182 points (72 goals, 110 assists) before turning pro.
Carbonneau was told he needed to improve his defensive play. He spent most of the next two seasons with Nova Scotia of the American Hockey League, though he did get into two NHL games in 1980-81 and had his first point, an assist, against the Vancouver Canucks on March 21, 1981. Carbonneau made the Canadiens out of training camp in 1982, finishing his first NHL season with 47 points (18 goals, 27 assists) and a plus-18 rating.
For the next 11 seasons with Montreal, Carbonneau was among the NHL's best two-way centers. He was voted winner of the Selke Trophy in 1988, 1989 and 1992 and finished among the top four in seven consecutive seasons (1985-92). But Carbonneau was more than a checker; he finished with at least 17 goals in 10 consecutive seasons (1982-92).
Carbonneau had 12 points (seven goals, five assists) when the Canadiens won the Stanley Cup in 1986 and scored two overtime goals in Montreal's run to the Cup in 1993. He was named Montreal captain before the 1990-91 season.
The Canadiens traded Carbonneau to the St. Louis Blues on Aug. 19, 1994, and the Blues traded him to the Dallas Stars on Oct. 2, 1995. He played his final five NHL seasons with the Stars, helping Dallas win the Presidents' Trophy in 1997-98 and 1998-99 and the Stanley Cup in 1999. The Stars made it back to the Stanley Cup Final in 2000 but lost to the New Jersey Devils in six games.
Carbonneau retired after the 1999-2000 season, finishing with 663 points (260 goals, 403 assists) in 1,318 NHL games, as well as 93 points (38 goals, 55 assists) in 231 Stanley Cup Playoff games.
NOTES & TRANSACTIONS
- QMJHL Second All-Star Team (1980)
- Traded to St. Louis by Montreal for Jim Montgomery, August 19, 1994.
- Traded to Dallas by St. Louis for Paul Broten, October 2, 1995.
- Officially announced his retirement, June 29, 2000.
