Jocelyn Thibault

Jocelyn Thibault

Born	(1975-01-12) January 12, 1975 Montreal, QC, CAN
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Quebec Nordiques Colorado Avalanche Montreal Canadiens Chicago Blackhawks Pittsburgh Penguins Buffalo Sabres
NHL Draft	10th overall, 1993 Quebec Nordiques
Playing career	1993–2008

Joseph Regis Jocelyn Thibault (born January 12, 1975) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played 14 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Quebec Nordiques, Colorado Avalanche, Montreal Canadiens, Chicago Blackhawks, Pittsburgh Penguins and Buffalo Sabres. Thibault was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in Laval, Quebec.

He led a group out of Sherbrooke, Quebec to create an expansion team in the QMJHL.^[1]^[2] The new team, Sherbrooke Phoenix, started playing in the 2012–13 season.

Playing career

He was drafted by the Quebec Nordiques 10th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He went on to play for the Nordiques, continuing for a short time after they moved to Denver and became the Colorado Avalanche. In 1995, midway through the Avalanche's first season in Denver, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens in the trade that moved Patrick Roy to the Avalanche. Thibault played two seasons with the Canadiens before being traded to the Chicago Blackhawks in November 1998.

Thibault played his longest stretch with any one team with the Blackhawks—five seasons. His best season was the 2002–03 season when he recorded eight shutouts and made an appearance in the 2003 NHL All-Star Game. He recorded his career best GAA of 2.37 and a save percentage of .915.

After the lockout, Thibault was acquired by the Pittsburgh Penguins in August 2005, for a fourth round pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft on a two-year contract worth $3 million. However, a hip injury contributed to a bad beginning, with the veteran losing twelve of thirteen starts. He was replaced as the starter by Marc-André Fleury in late November and put on waivers. In January 2006, he underwent surgery to repair torn cartilage in his left hip.

He was signed as an unrestricted free agent on July 5, 2007, by the Buffalo Sabres. He played one season with Buffalo as the backup to Ryan Miller and was not re-signed.

He has the distinction of being the winning goaltender of the last game at the Montreal Forum, Maple Leaf Gardens and the Capital Centre.

Personal

Thibault has three daughters, Noemie, Zoe and Annabel. They currently reside in Sherbrooke, Quebec.

Career statistics

			Regular season									Playoffs
Season	Team	League	GP	W	L	T	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%	GP	W	L	MIN	GA	SO	GAA	SV%
1990–91	Laurentides	QAAA	20	14	5	0	1178	78	1	3.94		5	1	4	300	20	0	4.00
1991–92	Trois-Rivières Draveurs	QMJHL	30	14	7	1	1496	77	0	3.94		3	1	1	110	4	0	2.19
1992–93	Sherbrooke Faucons	QMJHL	56	34	14	5	1497	159	3	2.99	.904	15	9	6	882	57	0	3.87
1993–94	Cornwall Aces	AHL	4	4	0	0	240	9	1	2.25	.930	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	29	8	13	3	1504	83	0	3.31	.892	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Sherbrooke Faucons	QMJHL	13	6	6	1	776	38	1	2.94	.903	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Quebec Nordiques	NHL	18	12	2	2	898	35	1	2.34	.917	3	1	2	148	8	0	3.24	.895
1995–96	Colorado Avalanche	NHL	10	3	4	2	558	28	0	3.01	.874	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	40	23	13	3	2334	110	3	2.83	.913	6	2	4	310	18	0	3.47	.904
1996–97	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	61	22	24	11	3397	164	1	2.90	.910	3	0	3	179	13	0	4.36	.871
1997–98	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	47	19	15	8	2652	109	2	2.47	.902	2	0	0	43	4	0	5.53	.750
1998–99	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	10	3	4	2	529	23	1	2.61	.908	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	52	21	26	5	3015	136	4	2.69	.905	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	60	25	26	7	3438	158	3	2.76	.906	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	66	27	32	7	3844	180	6	2.81	.895	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	67	33	23	9	3838	159	6	2.49	.902	3	1	2	158	7	0	2.65	.909
2002–03	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	62	26	28	7	3650	144	8	2.37	.915	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL	14	5	7	2	821	39	1	2.85	.913	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	16	1	9	3	807	60	0	4.46	.876	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL	22	7	8	2	1101	52	1	2.83	.909	1	0	0	8	0	0	0.00	1.000
2007–08	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	12	3	4	2	507	28	2	3.31	.869	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals			586	238	238	68	32,893	1,508	39	2.75	.904	18	4	11	847	50	0	3.54	.891

Transactions

June 26, 1993 – Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the first round (10th overall) in 1993 draft.
June 21, 1995 – Rights transferred to the Colorado Avalanche after the Nordiques franchise relocated.
December 6, 1995 – Montreal Canadiens traded Patrick Roy and Mike Keane to the Avalanche for Andrei Kovalenko, Martin Ručínský and Thibault.
November 16, 1998 – Chicago Blackhawks traded Jeff Hackett, Eric Weinrich, Alain Nasreddine and fourth-round selection (previously acquired from the Tampa Bay Lightning – Chris Dyment) in 1999 draft to the Canadiens for Thibault, Dave Manson and Brad Brown.
August 10, 2005 – Traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a fourth-round selection in 2006 draft.
July 5, 2007 – Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Buffalo Sabres.

References

↑ "QMJHL buys Maineiacs, prepares to dissolve team". CBC.ca. The Canadian Press. May 31, 2011. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved November 2, 2014.
↑ "QMJHL buys Maineiacs, dissolves team". Sun Journal. 2011-12-01. Retrieved 2012-05-06. (Subscription required.)

External links

Awards and achievements
Preceded by Todd Warriner	Quebec Nordiques first round draft pick 1993	Succeeded by Adam Deadmarsh

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