#99 - Michel Goulet

Michel Goulet (Murillo Pyramid Rank = #99)

Adjusted Stats

1979-1980   Que        79 GP   20 goals   29 assists   48 points     0.61 PPG
1980-1981   Que        78 GP   26 goals   32 assists   58 points     0.75 PPG
1981-1982   Que        82 GP   33 goals   33 assists   66 points     0.80 PPG
1982-1983   Que        82 GP   46 goals   39 assists   86 points     1.04 PPG
1983-1984   Que        77 GP   45 goals   52 assists   97 points     1.26 PPG
1984-1985   Que        71 GP   45 goals   32 assists   77 points     1.09 PPG
1985-1986   Que        77 GP   42 goals   40 assists   83 points     1.07 PPG
1986-1987   Que        77 GP   42 goals   40 assists   82 points     1.07 PPG
1987-1988   Que        82 GP   41 goals   49 assists   90 points     1.10 PPG
1988-1989   Que        71 GP   22 goals   32 assists   54 points     0.76 PPG
1989-1990   Que/Chi  67 GP   17 goals   26 assists   43 points     0.64 PPG
1990-1991   Chi         76 GP    25 goals   35 assists   59 points    0.78 PPG
1991-1992   Chi         77 GP    20 goals   37 assists   57 points    0.74 PPG
1992-1993   Chi         62 GP    19 goals   17 assists   36 points    0.59 PPG
1993-1994   Chi         55 GP    15 goals   13 assists   28 points    0.51 PPG

Adjusted Playoff Stats

1980-1981   Que        4 GP      2 goals      3 assists     5 points     1.24 PPG
1981-1982   Que        16 GP    6 goals      4 assists     10 points   0.63 PPG
1982-1983   Que        4 GP      0 goals      0 assists     0 points     0.00 PPG
1983-1984   Que        9 GP      2 goals      4 assists     5 points     0.59 PPG
1984-1985   Que        17 GP    8 goals      8 assists     16 points   0.93 PPG
1985-1986   Que        3 GP      1 goal       2 assists      3 points    0.86 PPG
1986-1987   Que        13 GP    8 goals      4 assists     13 points   0.96 PPG
1989-1990   Chi         14 GP    2 goals      3 assists      5 points    0.36 PPG
1991-1992   Chi         9 GP      3 goals      3 assists      6 points    0.68 PPG
1992-1993   Chi         3 GP      0 goals      1 assist       1 point      0.27 PPG

Career - 1113 GP, 458 goals, 506 assists, 964 points, 0.87 PPG
Career-Highs - 46 goals (82-83); 52 assists (83-84); 97 points (83-84); 1.26 PPG (83-84)
Avg. (15 seasons) - 74 GP, 31 goals, 34 assists, 64 points, 0.87 PPG
Peak Avg. (80-88) - 78 GP, 40 goals, 40 assists, 80 points, 1.02 PPG, 0 Cups

Playoff Career - 92 GP, 32 goals, 32 assists, 64 points, 0.70 PPG
Playoff-Highs - 8 goals (86-87); 8 assists (84-85); 16 points (84-85); 1.24 PPG (80-81)

Accolades - None
All-Star Teams - 3-time 1st-team, 2-time 2nd-team
Never Won Stanley Cup

Michel Goulet played at left-wing alongside Peter Stastny at center for the Quebec Nordiques in the 1980s. Their careers are extremely similar: they put up gaudy numbers but didn't achieve legendary status because of the Nordiques' lack of team success; they put up about six or seven elite years before leaving Quebec and hitting a massive wall in terms of production; and when adjusted for the high-scoring 1980s, their career numbers don't look quite as impressive.

Goulet's peak still earns him a spot on the Pyramid. For a six-year stretch from 1982 to 1988, Goulet scored 40+ goals each season and averaged 44 goals, 42 assists and 86 points. That's a remarkable stretch of consistent production for a left-winger, and during that time he was named the league's best left-winger three times and second-best twice.

Unfortunately, as discussed with Stastny, the Nordiques were unlucky enough to play in the Oilers' dynasty era. They made the Conference finals once, and Goulet put up 16 adjusted points in 17 games during that stretch. But other than that, unlike Stastny, who was productive come post-season time, Goulet's numbers dipped a bit. His real-life career adjusted PPG in the playoffs of 0.70 is noticeably lower than his 0.87 mark for the regular season.

That's one of the major reasons why I rank Goulet a good twenty-five spots lower than Stastny. The other is that, other than Goulet's elite six-year stretch, there really isn't much to talk about. Take away that run and you're left with career averages of 22 goals, 28 assists and 50 points. Quite brutal. So we'll remember Goulet for clicking with Stastny during the high-flying 1980s and wracking up gaudy numbers. Since left-wing is a thin position historically, Goulet cracks the top fifteen or so LWs. But he wasn't quite as elite as his numbers would suggest.