Michel Plasse
PositionGoaltender
CatchesLeft
Height5 ft
Height in11
Weight lb175
Played forSt. Louis Blues
Montreal Canadiens
Kansas City Scouts
Pittsburgh Penguins
Colorado Rockies
Quebec Nordiques
Birth dateJune 1, 1948
Birth placeMontreal, Quebec, Canada
Death dateDecember 30, 2006 (aged 58)
Death placeLa Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas, Quebec, Canada
Career start1968
Career end1982
Draft (1968)1st overall
Draft teamMontreal Canadiens

Michel Pierre Plasse (June 1, 1948 – December 30, 2006) was a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender. He played in the National Hockey League from 1970 to 1982. He was selected first overall in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens.

Playing career

Born in Montreal, Quebec, Plasse played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1970 to 1982 after being the first overall draft pick in the 1968 NHL Amateur Draft. During his NHL career, he played for the St. Louis Blues (1970–71), Montreal Canadiens (1972–74), Kansas City Scouts (1974–75), Pittsburgh Penguins (1975–76), Colorado Rockies (1976–80), and Quebec Nordiques (1981–1982).

Despite being a first draft pick, Plasse played just sixty minutes in goal for his first club, St. Louis, playing mainly for their affiliate, the Kansas City Blues of the Central Hockey League. On February 21, 1971, the Oklahoma City Blazers were trailing the Blues 2–1 and decided to pull their goaltender. Plasse scored on the open net and became the first professional goalie in the history of the game to score a goal.[1][2]

Plasse returned to Kansas City as the first pick of the NHL Scouts in the 1974 expansion draft. Plasse attended the draft at Montreal's Queen Elizabeth Hotel.

"All year long, I said I was going to Kansas City. I used to sing that in the locker room to my teammates, 'Kansas City, here I come,'" Plasse told Jay Greenberg of the Kansas City Star. (Icing on the Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City's NHL Scouts, pp. 41-42)

In total, Plasse clocked up 16,760 regular season minutes on ice in 299 games, conceding 1,058 goals with an average of 3.79 goals per game. He earned two shutouts, both for Pittsburgh in 1975–76. He played four Stanley Cup playoff games, conceding nine goals in 195 minutes at a rate of 2.77, including one shutout. Plasse won the Stanley Cup with Montreal in 1973.

Death

Plasse died in La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas, Quebec of a heart attack on December 30, 2006.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPWLTMINGASOGAASV%GPWLMINGASOGAASV%
1965–66Drummondville RangersQJHL—————————————————
1966–67Drummondville RangersQJHL—————————————————
1967–68Drummondville RangersQJHL30———18006332.10—10826003213.20—
1967–68Drummondville RangersM-Cup—————————4132501904.56—
1968–69Cleveland BaronsAHL72403202705.40—————————
1969–70Jacksonville RocketsEHL61———366029704.87—4042403508.75—
1970–71St. Louis BluesNHL110060303.00.917————————
1970–71Kansas City BluesCHL16———9604202.63—————————
1971–72Nova Scotia VoyageursAHL36———20369412.77—151239121931.25—
1972–73Montreal CanadiensNHL1711239324002.58.912————————
1973–74Montreal CanadiensNHL157428395704.08.861————————
1974–75Kansas City ScoutsNHL24416314209604.06.878————————
1974–75Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL2095410947304.00.890————————
1975–76Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL55241910309617823.45.890312180812.67.914
1975–76Hershey BearsAHL50402782505.40—————————
1976–77Colorado RockiesNHL54122910298619003.82.889————————
1977–78Colorado RockiesNHL25312813839003.90.871————————
1977–78Hampton GullsAHL2011124502.42—————————
1978–79Colorado RockiesNHL419292230215203.96.873————————
1978–79Philadelphia FirebirdsAHL70614233104.39.854————————
1979–80Colorado RockiesNHL60323272604.77.838————————
1979–80Fort Worth TexansCHL329133163211304.15—14858274112.97—
1980–81Quebec NordiquesNHL3310149193311803.66.87610015104.00.833
1981–82Quebec NordiquesNHL82313883505.41.820————————
1981–82Binghamton WhalersAHL83314443204.32————————
NHL totals299921365416,760105823.79.881412195912.77.909

"Plasse's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-08-07.

References

  1. ^ Hockey’s Book of Firsts, p.10, James Duplacey, JG Press, ISBN 978-1-57215-037-9
  2. ^ Klein, Jeff Z. (6 January 2012). "He Shoots. He Scores?". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 March 2017.