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Felix Potvin
Born	(1971-06-23)June 23, 1971 (age 54) Anjou,Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight	191 lb (87 kg; 13 st 9 lb)
Position	Goaltender
Caught	Left
Played for	Toronto Maple Leafs New York Islanders Vancouver Canucks Los Angeles Kings Boston Bruins
National team	Canada
NHL draft	31st overall,1990 Toronto Maple Leafs
Playing career	1991–2004

Felix "The Cat" Potvin (born June 23, 1971) is aCanadian former professionalice hockeygoaltender who played 14 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL).

As a youth, Potvin played in the 1983 and 1984Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with aminor ice hockey team fromMercier, Quebec.^[1]

From 1988 through to 1991 Potvin played with theChicoutimi Saguenéens, aQuebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) team. In the 1990–91 season Potvin was awarded theGuy Lafleur Trophy as Playoff MVP.^[2]

Potvin was drafted in the second round, 31st overall, by theToronto Maple Leafs in the 1990National Hockey League entry draft on June 16, 1990. In the 1991–92 season, Potvin played 35 games for theSt. John's Maple Leafs, compiling a 2.93 GAA. For his efforts, Potvin was awarded theDudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award (rookie of the year), theBaz Bastien Memorial Trophy as the top goaltender in the AHL and selected to the AHL First All-Star Team. During that season, Potvin was called up to the NHL and saw brief action in 4 games, compiling a 2.28 GAA and a .933 save percentage.^{[citation needed]}

It wasn't until the 1992–93 season that Potvin became a regular in the NHL. That season he played 48 games, compiling a 2.50 GAA (1st in the NHL) and a solid .910 save %. The rapid acceleration of his development led the coaching staff to establish him as their #1 goaltender and prompted the trade ofGrant Fuhr to theBuffalo Sabres on February 2, 1993. That season, Potvin also backstopped the Maple Leafs to theStanley Cup conference finals, only to lose to theLos Angeles Kings in a grueling seven-game series. His dynamic performance made him a finalist for theCalder Memorial Trophy.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1993–94 season, Potvin silenced any doubts of a sophomore jinx. He posted 34 wins and a solid 2.89 GAA, including tyingKirk McLean's then NHL record for most wins in October with nine.^[3] He was also voted to his first NHL All-Star Game in which his mask art was voted leagues best. In the 1993–94 playoffs, Potvin recorded 3 shutouts in the first-round series against theChicago Blackhawks, all by a 1–0 margin, including the final NHL game ever played at the illustriousChicago Stadium. He also became the first Maple Leafs goaltender to stop a penalty shot in aStanley Cup Playoff game, when he stopped Chicago'sPatrick Poulin. Potvin again brought his team to the conference finals, this time losing to theVancouver Canucks in five games.^{[citation needed]}

In the 1995–96 season, Potvin was selected to his 2nd NHL All-Star Game. However, the Toronto Maple Leafs exited in the first round of the playoffs. The following season, with the aging of the defense corps in front of him, Potvin and the Maple Leafs would miss the playoffs. He would set an NHL record for most shots faced in a season, 2,438, later broken byRoberto Luongo during his stint with theFlorida Panthers. On July 15, 1998, Toronto signed free agentCurtis Joseph, leaving Potvin expendable. He would play in only 5 games due to a knee injury, before he and a sixth-round pick (Fedor Fedorov) were traded to theNew York Islanders for defencemanBryan Berard and a sixth-round pick, on January 9, 1999. Despite the new surroundings, Potvin was unable to reclaim the success he had in Toronto.^{[citation needed]}

The next season, on December 19, 1999, Potvin, and second and third-round draft picks were traded to theVancouver Canucks forKevin Weekes,Dave Scatchard, andBill Muckalt. Potvin struggled with the Canucks and in the 2000–01 season he was dealt to the Los Angeles Kings for future considerations on February 15, 2001. Immediately, Potvin made an impact leading the Kings to the 7th seed, recording 13 wins and 5 losses. He had a remarkable 1.96 GAA and a .919 save %. Potvin led the Kings to a first-round upset of theDetroit Red Wings, and pushed the eventual Stanley Cup ChampionColorado Avalanche to a 7th game in the second round, recording 2 shutouts in that series. Game 6 of that series was a memorable duel between Potvin and Colorado goaliePatrick Roy, which the Kings and Potvin won 1–0 in double overtime.^{[citation needed]}

Potvin again led the Kings to the 2002 playoffs, where they pushed the Colorado Avalanche to 7 games (rallying from a 3–1 series deficit) in the 1st round.^{[citation needed]}

On September 3, 2003, Potvin was signed to a one-year contract by theBoston Bruins. He backed-up Calder Memorial Trophy WinnerAndrew Raycroft during the 2003–04 season. Coincidentally, Raycroft broke Potvin's record for consecutive games played by a Maple Leafs goalie during the 2006–07 season. Early in the 2005–06 season, theAtlanta Thrashers were in talks with Potvin in hopes of signing him after starting goaltenderKari Lehtonen and backup goaltenderMike Dunham went down with injuries. However, Potvin did not have equipment that conformed to the new NHL standards, nor did he wish to accept the two-way contract that was being offered to him, so the Thrashers instead decided to signSteve Shields.^{[citation needed]}

Potvin played at the1991 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, as a member of the Canadian team, where he won a gold medal. He served as a backup toTrevor Kidd.^[4]

Felix would also play for Canada at the1998 IIHF World Championship.^[5]

Potvin currently lives with his wife Sabrina Tardif, and his three children Noemie, Xavier, and Felicia inMagog, Quebec, where he is the head coach for the midget AAAMagog Cantonniers who placed second at both the2018 and 2019Telus Cup.^[6][7]

• 1995–96 NHL All-Star Game
• 1993–94 NHL All-Star Game
• 1992–93 NHL All-Rookie Team
• 1991–92 AHL Dudley "Red" Garret Memorial Trophy
• 1991–92 AHL Baz Bastien Memorial Trophy
• 1990–91 CHL Goaltender of the Year
• 1990–91 QMJHL Jacques Plante Trophy
• 1990–91 QMJHL Guy Lafleur Trophy
• 1990–91 QMJHL Hap Emms Trophy

• Biographical information and career statistics fromNHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• Felix Potvin's biography at The Goaltender Home Page

• 1971 births
• Boston Bruins players
• Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States
• Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
• Chicoutimi Saguenéens (QMJHL) players
• Ice hockey people from Montreal
• Living people
• Los Angeles Kings players
• National Hockey League All-Stars
• New York Islanders players
• People from Anjou, Quebec
• St. John's Maple Leafs players
• Toronto Maple Leafs draft picks
• Toronto Maple Leafs players
• Vancouver Canucks players

• CS1 Canadian French-language sources (fr-ca)
• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• BLP articles lacking sources from October 2008
• All BLP articles lacking sources
• All articles with unsourced statements
• Articles with unsourced statements from January 2019