Phil Goyette: Stanley Cup Champ 1st 4 Years In The NHL

Four Stanley Cup championships in his first four years in the National Hockey League. Three times among the top ten scorers in the NHL. A Lady Byng Memorial Trophy winner. The first ever head coach of the New York Islanders. These are the highlights of Phil Goyette’s NHL career that lasted a decade and a half.

Phil Goyette – Junior and Minor Pro

For a player that came to the might Montreal Canadiens near the start of their five year dynasty in the 1950’s, Goyette played little time in the minors. He was a junior in the QJHL for four years from 1950-51 to 1953-54 with the Montreal Nationale and Montreal Junior Canadiens. His best year was his last with 43 goals and 47 assists for 90 points over 50 games with the Junior Canadiens.

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Phil Goyette Collection

 

 

 

 

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Phil made a statement in his first year of pro hockey, 1954-55, with the Cincinnati Mohawks of the IHL. Over 57 games, he score 41 and assisted on 51 for 92 points. He led the league in goals and points and was second for assists. Hardware included the George H. Wilkinson Trophy as leading scorer and the James Gatschene Memorial Trophy as MVP.

The Mohawks finished first overall in the six team league. In the playoffs, Cincinnati won the championship, beating the Troy Bruins in the finals in a series that went the full seven games. Goyette contributed 14 points in ten playoff games.

In 1955-56, Phil moved to the Montreal Royals of the QHL and had an average season. The following year was his last in the minors. In 1956-57, he started the year with 47 games with the Royals but ended up in the NHL with the Canadiens, including ten games in his first Stanley Cup run.

Phil Goyette – NHL

Between 1956-57 and 1971-72, Goyette played 941 regular season games in the National Hockey League with the Canadiens, New York Rangers, St. Louis Blues and Buffalo Sabres. Over that time, he scored 207 and assisted on 467 for 674 points while sitting just 131 minutes in the penalty box. In the Stanley Cup playoffs, Phil played another 94 games and added 46 points.

As mentioned, he was part of four Stanley Cup championship teams with Montreal from 1956-57 to 1959-60. He would not win another but he did play in two more finals. In 1969-70 with the St. Louis Blues, Goyette met up with the Boston Bruins and Bobby Orr in the finals with Boston coming out on top in a sweep. Over 16 playoff games, he added 14 points.

In his final season in the NHL, 1971-72, he found himself back with the New York Rangers. After starting the year with the Buffalo Sabres, Goyette played just eight games with the Rangers in the regular season. In the playoffs, he appeared in 13 more with New York reaching the finals before falling to those same Boston Bruins.

Four times over his career, Goyette scored 20 or more goals in a season, once with Montreal, twice with New York and once with St. Louis. Known more as a setup man, Phil did crack the top ten for goal scoring in 1963-64, tying for ninth with 24.

Despite appearing in the 1956-57 playoffs, Goyette was still considered a rookie in 1957-58. Playing the full 70 game schedule for the Habs, Phil scored nine and set up 37 for 46 points. According to his 1958-59 Parkhurst hockey card, he finished third in voting for the Calder Trophy as rookie of the year. It gave the balloting results as 120 for Frank Mahovlich of the Toronto Maple Leafs, 116 for Bobby Hull of the Chicago Blackhawks and 43 for Goyette.

In June, 1963, he was traded to the Rangers with Don Marshall and Jacques Plante for Gump Worsley, Dave Balon, Leon Rochefort and Len Ronson. Goyette’s numbers had been diminishing with the Habs but the traded boosted his performance.

In 1963-64, the year directly after the trade, Phil finished tied for ninth with Dave Balon, Rod Gilbert of the Rangers and Murray Oliver of the Boston Bruins, all with 24 goals. Goyette finished eighth in the NHL with 41 assists and eighth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 65 points. The Rangers finished fifth and out of the post season.

In 1966-67 with New York, Phil’s 49 assists placed him second in the NHL behind just Stan Mikita of the Blackhawks. He also tied for seventh with Phil Esposito of Chicago with 61 points each. The following year, Goyette’s 40 assists placed him tenth in the NHL.

Now, with the Rangers, Goyette’s numbers were diminishing. A trade in June, 1969 sent him to the St. Louis Blues in exchange for Andre Dupont. With the 1969-70 Blues, Phil finished fifth in the NHL with 49 assists and fourth in the race for the Art Ross Trophy with 78 points.

Also in 1969-70, Goyette was honoured with his one and only Lady Byng Trophy. Ironically, his 16 penalty minutes that year represented his second highest single season total in his NHL career.

The Buffalo Sabres selected Phil 13th overall in the 1970 NHL Expansion Draft to stock the Sabres and Vancouver Canucks. He would see two more years before his NHL career came to an end.

In 1972-73, fresh off his visit to the Stanley Cup finals with the New York Rangers, Goyette became the first ever head coach of the expansion New York Islanders. He coached the team for 48 games before being let go. In those 48 games, the Islanders won just six games. Phil would never coach again.

Phil Goyette – Rookie Card

The Phil Goyette rookie card appears as number 11 in the 1957-58 Parkhurst set. His is, of course, shown with the Montreal Canadiens. The card is valued at twice that of a common card.

Phil Goyette Career Stats

Season	Team	Lge	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1950-51	Montreal Nationale	QJHL	44	10	19	29	26
1951-52	Montreal Nationale	QJHL	45	23	28	51	11
1952-53	Montreal Junior Canadiens	QJHL	44	23	36	59	13
1953-54	Montreal Junior Canadiens	QJHL	50	43	47	90	19
1954-55	Cincinnati Mohawks	IHL	57	41	51	92	17
1955-56	Montreal Royals	QHL	58	19	15	34	4
1956-57	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	14	3	4	7	0
1956-57	Montreal Royals	QHL	47	13	18	31	10
1957-58	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	70	9	37	46	8
1958-59	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	63	10	18	28	8
1959-60	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	65	21	22	43	4
1960-61	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	62	7	4	11	4
1961-62	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	69	7	27	34	18
1962-63	Montreal Canadiens	NHL	32	5	8	13	2
1963-64	New York Rangers	NHL	67	24	41	65	15
1964-65	New York Rangers	NHL	52	12	34	46	6
1965-66	New York Rangers	NHL	60	11	31	42	6
1966-67	New York Rangers	NHL	70	12	49	61	6
1967-68	New York Rangers	NHL	73	25	40	65	10
1968-69	New York Rangers	NHL	67	13	32	45	8
1969-70	St. Louis Blues	NHL	72	29	49	78	16
1970-71	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	60	15	46	61	6
1971-72	Buffalo Sabres	NHL	37	3	21	24	14
1971-72	New York Rangers	NHL	8	1	4	5	0
	NHL Totals		941	207	467	674	131