Yanic Perreault

Yanic Perreault
Perreault with the Los Angeles Kings in 1996
Born	(1971-04-04) April 4, 1971 (age 54) Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada
Height	5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight	185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs Los Angeles Kings Montreal Canadiens Nashville Predators Phoenix Coyotes Chicago Blackhawks
National team	Canada
NHL draft	47th overall, 1991 Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1991–2008
Medal record Representing   Canada Ice hockey World Championships 1996 Vienna

Yanic Jacques Perreault (born April 4, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre who played a total of fourteen seasons in the National Hockey League. He is often considered one of the best face-off men in league history and holds the NHL record for the highest face-off winning percentage in a career (62.86%) as of the conclusion of the 2023-24 NHL season. ^[1]

Playing career

As a youth, he played in the 1983 and 1984 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Sherbrooke, Quebec. ^[2]

Perreault started his hockey career for the Trois-Rivières Draveurs where he was one of the best offensive players in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, racking up a total of 185 points in his most productive season. He was drafted in the third round, 47th overall by the Toronto Maple Leafs in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft.^{[ citation needed ]}

Carrying a reputation as too slow a skater to succeed in the NHL, Perreault played three years for the St. John's Maple Leafs, Toronto's American Hockey League affiliate. Perreault led the St. John's Maple Leafs to a seventh game in the Calder Cup finals in the 1992 season and to first-place finishes the following two seasons; his 132 goals and 276 points became in that span, and remain, career records for the Leafs' American Hockey League franchise.^{[ citation needed ]}

Perreault made his NHL debut in that third season with the Leafs, showing some flash in spot duty, before being traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a fourth round pick in 1994. He spent most of that season with the Kings' minor league affiliate, the Phoenix Roadrunners, scoring 51 goals to lead the team.^{[ citation needed ]}

The following year was his breakout season, making the NHL for good with the Kings, where he became the team's lead centre after Wayne Gretzky was traded late in the year amidst a full-scale reorganization of the team; Perreault scored 25 goals to finish second on the squad. He played three more seasons in Los Angeles before being sent back to Toronto in 1999, for Jason Podollan and a third round selection. In 2001, Perreault signed with the Montreal Canadiens as a free agent, remaining three seasons before sitting out the lockout year of 2005, after which he signed with the Nashville Predators, with whom he scored 57 points, his NHL career high. ^{[3] [4]}

He signed after that single season with the Phoenix Coyotes and was selected to play in the 2007 NHL All-Star Game. On February 27, 2007, Perreault, packaged with a fifth round draft pick, was traded from the Coyotes to Toronto for defencemen Brendan Bell and a second round draft pick, marking his third round of duty with the Maple Leafs.^{[ citation needed ]}

Perreault signed with the Chicago Blackhawks as a free agent on July 1, 2007. However, with his scoring skills diminishing, he retired at the end of the 2007-08 season.^{[ citation needed ]}

Coaching career

On October 4, 2013 − one day ahead of the second game of the season - the Blackhawks announced they had hired Perreault to help the team improve its face-off success rate. ^[5]

Personal life

Perreault has four children, sons Jacob, Jeremy and Gabe, and a daughter Liliane. All of his children also play ice hockey. ^{[6] [7] [8]}

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1987–88	Cantons de L'Est Cantonniers	QMAAA		42	70	57	127	14		8	12	10	22	6
1988–89	Trois-Rivières Draveurs	QMJHL		70	53	55	108	48		4	0	0	0	7
1989–90	Trois-Rivières Draveurs	QMJHL		63	51	63	114	75		7	6	5	11	19
1990–91	Trois-Rivières Draveurs	QMJHL		67	87	98	185	103		6	4	7	11	6
1991–92	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		62	38	38	76	19		16	7	8	15	4
1992–93	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		79	49	46	95	56		9	4	5	9	2
1993–94	St. John's Maple Leafs	AHL		62	45	60	105	38		11	12	6	18	14
1993–94	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		13	3	3	6	0		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Phoenix Roadrunners	IHL		68	51	48	99	52		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		26	2	5	7	20		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		78	25	24	49	16		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		41	11	14	25	20		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		79	28	20	48	32		4	1	2	3	6
1998–99	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		64	10	17	27	30		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		12	7	8	15	12		17	3	6	9	6
1999–00	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		58	18	27	45	22		1	0	1	1	0
2000–01	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		76	24	28	52	52		11	2	3	5	4
2001–02	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		82	27	29	56	40		11	3	5	8	0
2002–03	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		73	24	22	46	30		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		69	16	15	31	40		9	2	2	4	0
2005–06	Nashville Predators	NHL		69	22	35	57	30		1	0	0	0	2
2006–07	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		49	19	14	33	30		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		17	2	3	5	4		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		53	9	5	14	24		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				859	247	269	516	402		54	11	19	30	18

International

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1996	Canada	WC			8	6	3	9	0
Senior totals					8	6	3	9	0

Awards and honours

Award	Year
QMJHL
Michel Bergeron Trophy (Offensive Rookie of the Year)	1989
Canadian Major Junior - Rookie of the Year	1989
First All-Star Team	1991
Frank J. Selke Memorial Trophy (Most Gentlemanly Player)	1991
Jean Beliveau Trophy (Leading scorer)	1991
Michel Briere Trophy (Most Valuable Player)	1991
World Championships
Best Forward	1996
NHL
NHL All-Star Game	2007

References

1. "Highest Face-off Winning Percentage, Career (Minimum: 500 Face-offs)". NHL.com. Retrieved March 8, 2024.
2. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2019-03-06. Retrieved 2019-01-19.
3. Wharnsby, Tim (July 5, 2001). "Perreault signs with Canadiens". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved March 6, 2023.
4. "Preds sign forward Yanic Perreault". Nashville Predators. October 3, 2005. Archived from the original on December 14, 2005. Retrieved December 11, 2023.
5. "Former Hawk Perreault Enlisted to Help Team with Draws".
6. Morreale, Mike G. (September 11, 2020). "2020 Draft: Perreault following dad's advice on path of reaching NHL". NHL.com. National Hockey League. Retrieved May 1, 2023.
7. Wheeler, Scott (April 27, 2023). "How Gabe Perreault made history and shot to the top of the 2023 NHL Draft". The Athletic . Retrieved May 1, 2023.
8. Ebisch, Breanna (June 24, 2025). "2025 PWHL Draft Spotlights: Abby Newhook, Liliane Perreault and Maddy Samoskevich". offsidenewsco.com. Retrieved July 31, 2025.

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com , or  Eliteprospects.com , or  Hockey-Reference.com , or  The Internet Hockey Database