Eric Fichaud

Last updated

BIOGRAPHY

BORN: Montreal, Quebec, November 4, 1975.
HOME:
HEIGHT: 5'11"
WEIGHT: 165-171 lbs.
UNIFORM #: 41 (Montreal), 30 (Hamilton).
CATCHES: Left.
HIGH SCHOOL: CEGEP de Chicoutimi (Quebec).
JUNIOR TEAM: Chicoutimi QMJHL.
SALARY (1996-97): $550,000
STYLE:
STRENGTHS: Great quickness and mobility.
WEAKNESSES: Rebound control. Puckhandling. Consistency.

Name pronounced FEE-shoh.

OTHER ERIC FICHAUD SITES:

The Unofficial Eric Fichaud Homepage

WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING:

"The Leafs were so impressed with Fichaud's work in the pre-season that they signed the Potvin clone to a four-year contract before returning him to the Chicoutimi Sagueneens of the Quebec League. In his first preseason game, he played 30 minutes against the Montreal Canadiens and stopped 25 of 26 shots. As they did with Potvin, the Leafs will likely send Fichaud to St. John's after his junior career ends. "And if he plays like Potvin did, we've got a problem," said Leafs' assistant GM Bill Watters. "But it's a nice one."" (Ken Campbell, The Hockey News Future Watch 1995)

"Fichaud spent the first half of last season in the AHL; in the second half, he looked like the Islanders' goalie of the future. He has great poise and reflexes but must learn to control rebounds and play the puck better." (The Sporting News Hockey Yearbook 1996-97, p. 64)

"Quickness, and he's also oh-so-cool. Will the icewater still flow after this season?" (ESPN Hockey 96, p. 89)

"Fichaud is young but promising and Salo...may stand in the way of his starting too many games." (The Sports Forecaster Hockey '97-'98, p. 121)

"After an impressive first stint with the Fish Sticks in 1995-96, Fichaud stumbled during his official rookie season and seemed annoyed by [coach Rick] Bowness' choice to rely solely on Salo during the playoff run." (The Sports Forecaster Hockey '97-'98, p. 124)

"Shoulder surgery wiped out Fichaud's season and temporarily put his NHL career in limbo. When healthy, Fichaud was slowly getting acclimatized to the role of NHL backup. Only 22, Fichaud needs to settle into one NHL city after five organizations in four seasons. A classic butterfly goalie, he relies on technique more than anything else to get the job done. Fichaud needs to get healthy before he can challenge for playing time. Should be the goalie of the future for Carolina but will back up Irbe for now." (The Sports Forecaster 1999-2000, p. 131)

"Fichaud's game keeps heading south these days. Went from first-round pick to No. 4 backstop." (The Sports Forecaster 2001-02, p. 224)

TRANSACTIONS:

Selected by Toronto Maple Leafs in first round (first Maple Leafs pick, 16th overall) of NHL entry draft, June 28, 1994.
Traded by Maple Leafs to New York Islanders for C Benoit Hogue, third-round pick (RW Ryan Pepperall) in 1995 draft and fifth-round pick (D Brandon Sugden) in 1996 draft, April 6, 1995.
Traded by Islanders to Edmonton Oilers in exchange for LW Mike Watt, June 18, 1998.
Agreed to a two-year contract with Edmonton Oilers, September 8, 1998.
Traded by Edmonton (with D Drake Berehowsky and D Greg deVries) to Nashville Predators in exchange for G Mikhail Shtalenkov and C Jim Dowd, October 1, 1998.
Traded by Nashville to Carolina Hurricanes for fourth-round pick (C/RW Yevgeny Pavlov) in 1999 draft and future considerations, June 26, 1999.
Claimed off waivers by Montreal Canadiens, and assigned to AHL Quebec, February 11, 2000.
Announced retirement from professional hockey, October 29, 2001.
Signed as free agent by Montreal Canadiens, September 10, 2002.

ACCOLADES:

Named to Memorial Cup All-Star team, 1993-94.
Winner, Hap Emms Memorial Trophy, 1993-94.
Winner, Quebec Major Junior Hockey League Top Draft Prospect Award, 1993-94.
Winner, Guy Lafleur Award, 1993-94.
Named to Quebec Major Junior Hockey League All-Star first team, 1994-95.

INJURIES:

Strained abdominal muscle; missed two games, October 12, 1996.
Injured shoulder; missed seven games, December 2, 1997.
Underwent shoulder surgery; missed remainder of season, January 20, 1998.
Partially dislocated left shoulder; missed five games, December 8, 1998.
Reinjured shoulder and underwent surgery; missed remainder of season, January 4, 1999.
Injured shoulder; missed fourteen games, February 11, 2000.

PENALTY SHOTS:

Stopped penalty shot (Shaun Van Allen), December 1, 1998.

SEASON RECORDS:

REGULAR SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   T    GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
91-92 Montreal Bourassa Can. QAAA 28   1678  12  15   1   110   3.95                    0
92-93 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL 43   2040  18  13   1   149   4.38    1104   .865     0   0   0     0    32.47  919.15
93-94 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL 63   3493  37  21   3   192   3.30                    4   0   0    18
      Chicoutimi Sagueneens M CUP  4    240   2   2   0    10   2.50                    1
94-95 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL 46   2637  21  19   4   151   3.44                    4   0   0    14
95-96 Worcester IceCats AHL       34   1988  13  15   6    97   2.93    1119   .913     1   0   2     6    33.77  969.60
      New York Islanders NHL      24   1233   7  12   2    68   3.31     659   .897     1   0   1     0    32.07  950.26
96-97 New York Islanders NHL      34   1759   9  14   4    91   3.10     897   .899     0   0   0     2    30.60  949.55
      Canada WORLD                SPARE GOALTENDER
97-98 New York Islanders NHL      17    806   3   8   3    40   2.98     422   .905     0   0   0     0    31.41  957.57
      Utah Grizzlies IHL           1     40   0   0   0     3   4.50      23   .897     0   0   0     0    34.50  927.07
98-99 Milwaukee Admirals IHL       8    480   5   2   1    25   3.13     263   .905     0   0   0     0    32.88  959.73
      Nashville Predators NHL      9    447   0   6   0    24   3.22     229   .895     0   0   0     0    30.74  946.63
99-00 Carolina Hurricanes NHL      9    490   3   5   1    24   2.94     206   .883     1   0   0     2    25.22  925.54
      Quebec Citadelles AHL        6    368   4   1   1    17   2.77     189   .910     0   0   0     0    30.82  961.41
00-01 Quebec Citadelles AHL       42   2441  19  19   2   127   3.12    1460   .913     1   0   2     6    35.89  972.83
      Montreal Canadiens NHL       2     62   0   2   0     4   3.87      32   .875     0   0   0     0    30.97  926.61
01-02 Manitoba Moose AHL           5    278   2   3   0    13   2.80     134   .903     1   0   0     0
02-03 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL       27   1446  14   7   3    55   2.28     736   .925     4   0   0     2
03-04 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL       31   1836  16  11   3    70   2.29     846   .917     1   0   1     6
04-05 Quebec Radio X LNAH         17                                                        0   0     2
SIX (6) NHL SEASONS               95   4799  22  47  10   251   3.14    2445  0.897     2   0   1     4    30.57  948.29

POST-SEASON
Year  Team                        GP    Min   W   L   GA    GAA   Shots    Sv%   ShO   G   A   PiM     S/60    PERS
93-94 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL 26   1560  16  10   86   3.31                    1
94-95 Chicoutimi Sagueneens QMJHL  7    430   2   5   20   2.79                    0   0   0     0
95-96 Worcester IceCats AHL        2    127   1   1    7   3.31                    0   0   0     0
99-00 Quebec Citadelles AHL        3    177   0   3   10   3.39                    0   0   0    10
00-01 Quebec Citadelles AHL        2     98   0   1    3   1.84                    0   0   0     0
02-03 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL        8    472   5   3   17   2.16     206   .917     0   0   0     2

NHL GAME DIRECTORY:

Traded by Maple Leafs to New York Islanders.
01/30/96: W (62m19s, 22/26) 5-4 OT victory vs. Buffalo (Hasek).
02/04/96: W (60m, 38/41) 5-3 victory vs. Dallas (Bester).
02/06/96: L (60m, 31/35) 2-4 defeat vs. NY Rangers (Healy).
02/10/96: W (60m, 21/24) 4-3 victory vs. Anaheim (Shtalenkov).
02/12/96: L (20m, 8/11) 1-4 defeat vs. Ottawa (Rhodes) [Replaced by Soderstrom].
02/17/96: W (60m, 12/14) 4-2 victory vs. San Jose (Terreri).
02/23/96: L (64m45s, 40/43) 2-3 OT defeat vs. Tampa Bay (Puppa).
03/01/96: L (59m, 27/32) 2-6 defeat at New Jersey (Brodeur).
03/05/96: W (60m, 32/35) 5-3 victory vs. Boston (Ranford, Billington).
03/07/96: - (0m25s, 0/0) 3-4 defeat at Boston (Tallas) [Replaced Soderstrom].
03/09/96: W (60m, 38/40) 4-2 victory at Winnipeg (Khabibulin).
03/16/96: L (60m, 35/39) 2-4 defeat at Pittsburgh (Barrasso).
03/19/96: - (1m49s, 0/0) 1-4 defeat at Philadelphia (Hextall).
03/21/96: L (59m24s, 31/34) 2-3 defeat at Florida (Vanbiesbrouck) [Replaced by Soderstrom].
03/23/96: L (63m38s, 40/43) 2-3 OT defeat vs. New Jersey (Brodeur).
03/25/96: L (60m, 27/31) 1-4 defeat at Montreal (Thibault).
03/30/96: L (60m, 29/32) 1-3 defeat at Hartford (Burke).
03/31/96: L (59m50s, 25/28) 1-4 defeat vs. NY Rangers (Richter) [Replaced by Soderstrom, replaced Soderstrom].
04/02/96: - (27m43s, 10/12) 2-6 defeat vs. Philadelphia (Snow) [Replaced Soderstrom].
04/05/96: L (27m02s, 12/16) 2-4 defeat at Ottawa (Rhodes) [Replaced by Soderstrom].
04/06/96: W (60m, 20/20) 3-0 victory vs. Buffalo (Hasek, Trefilov).
04/08/96: L (60m, 25/29) 3-4 defeat at Tampa Bay (Puppa).
04/12/96: T (65m, 35/36) 1-1 OT tie vs. Florida (Fitzpatrick).
04/13/96: T (65m, 33/38) 5-5 OT tie at Montreal (Thibault).
10/04/96: L (59m04s, 38/39) 0-1 defeat at Los Angeles (Fiset) [Replaced by Salo, replaced Salo].
10/09/96: T (65m, 26/29) 3-3 OT tie at Ottawa (Rhodes).
10/12/96: W (60m, 29/30) 5-1 victory vs. Philadelphia (Snow).
10/22/96: L (20m, 8/12) 3-6 defeat vs. Tampa Bay (Schwab) [Replaced by Salo].
10/30/96: T (65m, 33/35) 2-2 OT tie at Hartford (Muzzatti).
11/02/96: W (60m, 28/29) 6-1 victory vs. Washington (Kolzig).
11/06/96: T (65m, 27/28) 1-1 OT tie vs. NY Rangers (Healy).
11/09/96: - (40m, 17/19) 0-4 defeat at New Jersey (Brodeur, Dunham, Brodeur) [Replaced Salo].
11/11/96: L (60m, 26/32) 2-6 defeat vs. Colorado (Roy).
11/16/96: L (60m, 24/28) 1-4 defeat vs. Ottawa (Rhodes).
11/23/96: T (65m, 37/40) 3-3 OT tie at Phoenix (Khabibulin, Wakaluk).
11/30/96: - (1m04s, 0/0) 2-3 defeat vs. Buffalo (Hasek) [Replaced Salo].
12/03/96: W (60m, 25/26) 3-1 victory vs. Calgary (Kidd).
12/05/96: L (60m, 32/36) 2-4 defeat at Florida (Fitzpatrick).
12/19/96: L (60m, 29/34) 0-5 defeat at Philadelphia (Snow).
12/23/96: L (47m18s, 15/17) 3-4 OT defeat vs. Florida (Fitzpatrick) [Replaced Salo].
12/26/96: W (60m, 25/26) 4-1 victory vs. New Jersey (Brodeur).
12/30/96: L (60m, 23/25) 0-2 defeat at Toronto (Cousineau).
01/04/97: L (60m, 28/31) 1-3 defeat at Montreal (Thibault).
01/10/97: L (60m, 29/34) 2-5 defeat at Pittsburgh (Lalime).
01/15/97: L (60m, 22/24) 1-2 defeat vs. Buffalo (Shields).
01/22/97: W (60m, 16/17) 8-1 victory vs. Edmonton (Joseph, Essensa).
01/24/97: W (60m, 34/36) 5-2 victory at Hartford (Burke).
01/25/97: W (60m, 47/49) 3-2 victory vs. Chicago (Hackett).
01/28/97: L (60m, 33/37) 3-4 defeat at Calgary (Kidd).
02/04/97: W (60m, 23/26) 4-3 victory vs. Anaheim (Shtalenkov).
02/08/97: L (60m, 22/27) 2-5 defeat vs. NY Rangers (Richter).
02/11/97: - (40m, 16/21) 5-5 OT tie vs. Ottawa (Rhodes) [Replaced by Salo].
02/21/97: - (28m04s, 10/11) 2-5 defeat at Buffalo (Hasek) [Replaced Salo, replaced by Salo, replaced Salo].
02/26/97: - (20m, 7/10) 3-5 defeat vs. New Jersey (Brodeur) [Replaced by Salo].
03/04/97: - (29m15s, 9/10) 3-6 defeat vs. Tampa Bay (Tabaracci) [Replaced Salo].
03/29/97: - (20m12s, 10/11) 8-2 victory vs. Boston (Carey, Schafer) [Replaced Salo].
04/11/97: W (60m, 28/32) 6-4 victory vs. Hartford (Burke, Muzzatti).
04/12/97: L (60m, 32/38) 2-6 defeat at Washington (Ranford)
10/13/97: T (65m, 25/27) 2-2 OT tie at Florida (Vanbiesbrouck).
10/21/97: L (53m09s, 32/35) 2-3 defeat at Los Angeles (Chabot) [Replaced by Salo].
10/29/97: W (60m, 21/23) 5-2 victory at Montreal (Thibault).
11/01/97: W (60m, 31/33) 4-2 victory vs. Los Angeles (Chabot).
11/05/97: T (45m, 16/17) 4-4 OT tie vs. Edmonton (Joseph) [Replaced Salo].
11/08/97: L (20m, 14/17) 2-4 defeat vs. Chicago (Terreri) [Replaced by Salo].
11/12/97: T (65m, 37/39) 2-2 OT tie at Florida (Vanbiesbrouck).
11/15/97: L (60m, 22/23) 0-1 defeat vs. Florida (Fitzpatrick).
11/20/97: L (60m, 38/43) 1-5 defeat at New Jersey (Brodeur).
11/29/97: W (60m, 34/36) 4-2 victory vs. St. Louis (McLennan).
12/02/97: L (36m51s, 14/17) 2-4 defeat vs. Ottawa (Rhodes) [Replaced by Salo].
12/27/97: - (6m24s, 3/5) 2-6 defeat vs. Florida (Vanbiesbrouck) [Replaced Salo, replaced by Salo].
12/29/97: - (29m35s, 22/23) 1-5 defeat at Pittsburgh (Barrasso, Skudra) [Replaced Salo].
12/31/97: L (60m, 26/29) 1-3 defeat at Colorado (Roy).
01/02/98: L (60m, 31/33) 1-2 defeat at Dallas (Turek).
01/06/98: L (59m, 13/16) 2-4 defeat vs. Pittsburgh (Skudra).
01/08/98: - (8m53s, 3/6) 2-8 defeat vs. Montreal (Moog) [Replaced Salo, replaced by Salo].
Traded by Islanders to Edmonton Oilers; traded by Edmonton to Nashville Predators.
10/24/98: L (60m, 20/25) 4-5 defeat at Chicago (Hackett, Fitzpatrick).
11/24/98: L (60m, 37/41) 0-4 defeat at St. Louis (McLennan).
11/29/98: - (40m, 20/22) 1-5 defeat at NY Rangers (Richter) [Replaced Dunham].
12/01/98: L (60m, 32/35) 1-3 defeat vs. Ottawa (Tugnutt).
12/05/98: L (58m, 25/27) 1-3 defeat vs. Buffalo (Hasek).
12/08/98: - (17m36s, 10/10) 3-3 OT tie vs. Edmonton (Shtalenkov) [Replaced by Vokoun].
12/28/98: L (60m, 20/21) 0-1 defeat at Dallas (Belfour).
12/30/98: - (31m25s, 10/11) 2-5 defeat vs. Boston (Tallas) [Replaced Vokoun].
01/01/99: L (60m, 31/37) 5-6 defeat vs. St. Louis (Fuhr, McLennan).
Traded by Nashville to Carolina Hurricanes.
10/15/99: W (60m, 15/16) 4-1 victory at Vancouver (Weekes).
10/22/99: L (40m, 11/15) 3-7 defeat at Buffalo (Biron) [Replaced Irbe].
10/30/99: W (60m, 24/24) 4-0 victory at NY Islanders (Potvin).
11/03/99: L (60m, 20/26) 0-6 defeat vs. Toronto (Joseph).
12/04/99: L (60m, 24/27) 1-3 defeat at Colorado (Roy).
12/18/99: W (54m16s, 23/23) 4-2 victory vs. Atlanta (Maracle) [Replaced Irbe].
12/23/99: L (60m, 31/35) 3-4 defeat at Ottawa (Tugnutt).
01/07/00: T (29m14s, 7/8) 4-4 OT tie vs. Anaheim (Hebert) [Replaced Irbe].
01/17/00: L (60m, 27/32) 2-5 defeat at New Jersey (Brodeur).
Claimed off waivers by Montreal Canadiens.
11/17/00: L (39m06s, 18/19) 3-4 defeat at Washington (Kolzig) [Replaced Theodore].
11/18/00: L (23m44s, 10/13) 1-6 defeat vs. Toronto (Joseph) [Replaced by Theodore].

AHL GAME DIRECTORY:

Started 2003-04 season with Hamilton Bulldogs
10/10/03: L (59m08s, 40/42) 1-2 defeat at Rochester (Askey).
10/13/03: L (60m, 14/19) 3-5 defeat vs. Toronto (Valiquette).
10/19/03: L (64m16s, 15/19) 3-4 OT defeat vs. Grand Rapids (MacDonald).
10/22/03: W (60m, 25/26) 2-1 victory at Manitoba (Auld).
10/31/03: W (60m, 29/32) 4-3 victory at Rochester (Askey).
11/01/03: W (60m38s, 23/25) 3-2 OT victory vs. Cleveland (Patzold).
11/07/03: W (64m46s, 25/29) 5-4 OT victory vs. St. John's (Hodson).
11/09/03: W (62m44s, 25/29) 5-4 OT victory vs. Chicago (Lehtonen).
11/15/03: W (60m, 29/29) 2-0 victory vs. Rochester (Miller).
11/18/03: W (60m, 33/35) 5-2 victory at St. John's (Centomo).
11/19/03: L (59m19s, 23/26) 1-3 defeat at St. John's (Centomo).
11/22/03: W (60m, 27/29) 3-2 victory vs. Milwaukee (Finley).
11/23/03: L (58m58s, 23/25) 1-2 defeat at Rochester (Askey).
11/26/03: L (59m42s, 26/28) 1-3 defeat at Toronto (Morrison).
11/29/03: W (60m, 26/27) 3-1 victory vs. Rochester (Miller).
12/05/03: W (59m57s, 28/30) 4-2 victory vs. Binghamton (Thompson).
12/07/03: L (60m, 25/27) 0-2 defeat vs. Toronto (Valiquette).
12/12/03: W (60m, 30/32) 4-2 victory vs. Cleveland (Kotyk).
12/17/03: T (64m57s, 29/33) 4-4 OT tie vs. Cincinnati (Bryzgalov).
12/23/03: L (58m29s, 16/17) 0-1 defeat vs. Philadelphia (Little).
12/26/03: T (64m53s, 25/27) 2-2 OT tie at Syracuse (Goehring, Leclaire, Goehring).
01/24/04: W (60m, 27/29) 3-2 victory at Cincinnati (Bryzgalov).
01/27/04: W (60m, 29/30) 2-1 victory at St. John's (Tellqvist).
01/30/04: L (59m00s, 28/31) 2-3 defeat at Toronto (Valiquette).
02/04/04: W (60m, 18/19) 4-1 victory vs. Rochester (Miller).
02/07/04: W (60m, 18/19) 4-1 victory vs. St. John's (Tellqvist).
02/11/04: - (12m42s, 12/15) 7-6 OT victory vs. St. John's (Centomo, Minard) [Replaced by Michaud].
02/13/04: L (58m39s, 27/30) 2-3 defeat vs. Toronto (Belitski).
02/15/04: W (60m, 20/22) 4-2 victory vs. Manitoba (Moss).
02/20/04: L (62m40s, 35/37) 1-2 OT defeat at Grand Rapids (MacDonald).
02/22/04: T (65m, 26/28) 2-2 OT tie vs. Albany (Ahonen).

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