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

Michel Plasse
Plasse with the Pittsburgh Penguins during the 1975–76 season
Born (1948-06-01)June 1, 1948
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Died December 30, 2006(2006-12-30) (aged 58)
La Visitation-de-l'Île-Dupas, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for St. Louis Blues
Montreal Canadiens
Kansas City Scouts
Pittsburgh Penguins
Colorado Rockies
Quebec Nordiques
NHL draft 1st overall, 1968
Montreal Canadiens
Playing career 1968–1982

Playing career

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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 (1973–74), 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

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

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1965–66 Drummondville Rangers QJHL
1966–67 Drummondville Rangers QJHL
1967–68 Drummondville Rangers QJHL 30 1800 63 3 2.10 10 8 2 600 32 1 3.20
1967–68 Drummondville Rangers M-Cup 4 1 3 250 19 0 4.56
1968–69 Cleveland Barons AHL 7 2 4 0 320 27 0 5.40
1969–70 Jacksonville Rockets EHL 61 3660 297 0 4.87 4 0 4 240 35 0 8.75
1970–71 St. Louis Blues NHL 1 1 0 0 60 3 0 3.00 .917
1970–71 Kansas City Blues CHL 16 960 42 0 2.63
1971–72 Nova Scotia Voyageurs AHL 36 2036 94 1 2.77 15 12 3 912 19 3 1.25
1972–73 Montreal Canadiens NHL 17 11 2 3 932 40 0 2.58 .912
1973–74 Montreal Canadiens NHL 15 7 4 2 839 57 0 4.08 .861
1974–75 Kansas City Scouts NHL 24 4 16 3 1420 96 0 4.06 .878
1974–75 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 20 9 5 4 1094 73 0 4.00 .890
1975–76 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 55 24 19 10 3096 178 2 3.45 .890 3 1 2 180 8 1 2.67 .914
1975–76 Hershey Bears AHL 5 0 4 0 278 25 0 5.40
1976–77 Colorado Rockies NHL 54 12 29 10 2986 190 0 3.82 .889
1977–78 Colorado Rockies NHL 25 3 12 8 1383 90 0 3.90 .871
1977–78 Hampton Gulls AHL 2 0 1 1 124 5 0 2.42
1978–79 Colorado Rockies NHL 41 9 29 2 2302 152 0 3.96 .873
1978–79 Philadelphia Firebirds AHL 7 0 6 1 423 31 0 4.39 .854
1979–80 Colorado Rockies NHL 6 0 3 2 327 26 0 4.77 .838
1979–80 Fort Worth Texans CHL 32 9 13 3 1632 113 0 4.15 14 8 5 827 41 1 2.97
1980–81 Quebec Nordiques NHL 33 10 14 9 1933 118 0 3.66 .876 1 0 0 15 1 0 4.00 .833
1981–82 Quebec Nordiques NHL 8 2 3 1 388 35 0 5.41 .820
1981–82 Binghamton Whalers AHL 8 3 3 1 444 32 0 4.32
NHL totals 299 92 136 54 16,760 1058 2 3.79 .881 4 1 2 195 9 1 2.77 .909

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

References

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  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.
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Preceded by NHL first overall draft pick
1968
Succeeded by
Preceded by Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick
1968
Succeeded by