| Joé Juneau | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Juneau in 2009 | |||
| Born | (1968-01-05)January 5, 1968 (age 57) Pont-Rouge,Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Boston Bruins Washington Capitals Buffalo Sabres Ottawa Senators Phoenix Coyotes Montreal Canadiens | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 81st overall,1988 Boston Bruins | ||
| Playing career | 1991–2004 | ||
Medal record | |||
Joseph Juneau (French pronunciation:[ʒoeʒyno]) (born January 5, 1968) is aCanadian former professionalhockey player and engineer, born inPont-Rouge,Quebec. He played in theNational Hockey League for theBoston Bruins,Washington Capitals,Buffalo Sabres,Ottawa Senators,Phoenix Coyotes and theMontreal Canadiens.
As a youth, Juneau played in the 1979, 1980 and 1981Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with aminor ice hockey team fromPont-Rouge.[1]
Originally drafted by the Bruins in the fourth round of the1988 NHL Entry Draft, Juneau was a starcollege hockey player atRensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he scored 71goals in fourregular seasons and was a two-time All-American selection. He was well known for having a 4.0grade point average and earning adegree in just three years inaeronautical engineering, despite the fact that he did not speakEnglish when he first arrived inNew York.[citation needed]
After college, Juneau spent a year with theCanadian Olympic team while disputing his contract offer from the Bruins. The sticking point was Juneau's insistence on being paid full salary even if he was sent to the minors - a demand Boston refused, having been burned in a nearly identical situation withWes Walz the previous year. Then-general managerHarry Sinden was famously quoted in response to Juneau's threat to play in Switzerland instead "Well, I hope he learns to yodel." In the meantime, Juneau led Canada to a silver medal at the1992 Albertville Games, and was the tournament's leading scorer.[citation needed]
Juneau would eventually sign with Boston on the team's terms, and Sinden's fears proved groundless. Juneau joined the Bruins' NHL roster right after the Olympics, and never spent a day in theminor leagues during his career. He had an impressive nineteen points in fourteen regular season games at the end of the 1992 season before a strong playoff.[citation needed]
His best season was his rookie year of1992–93 with the Bruins, when, as the left winger on a powerful line withAdam Oates andCam Neely, he had 32 goals and 102 points and set the NHL record for assists in a season by a left wing with 70, a mark Juneau held until 2022, when it was passed byJonathan Huberdeau of theFlorida Panthers. As a reward, he was named to theNHL All-Rookie Team.[citation needed]Legend has it while with the Bruins, Juneau approached Bruins legendJohnny Bucyk asking if he could wear his No. 9 in Boston. Bucyk responded "Score 557 goals first, and then come talk to me."
During the1993–94 season, the Bruins traded Juneau to the Capitals forAl Iafrate (who played only twelve games for Boston). In 1996, he became the first player ever to be awarded a penalty shot in overtime in a Stanley Cup playoff game (although he failed to score) during the second overtime of the Capitals' four-overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Juneau was also a member of the 1997–98 Capitals squad that reached the1998 Stanley Cup Finals, scoring seventeen points in twenty-one playoff games. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals that sent the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals. The next season, 1998–99, with the Capitals plagued by injuries and missing the playoffs, Juneau was traded to the Sabres, who reached the1999 Stanley Cup Finals.[citation needed]
Juneau spent the1999–2000 season with theOttawa Senators, who signed him largely to fill the offensive gap created whenAlexei Yashin was suspended for failing to honor his contract.[citation needed]
Juneau's offensive numbers steadily declined, largely due to chronic injuries. He became a journeyman, playing for five teams in four seasons before settling with theMontreal Canadiens as a third-liner for the final three seasons of his career. He announced his retirement after the2003–04 NHL season. Juneau finished with 156 goals and 416 assists for 572 points over thirteen seasons.[citation needed]
Juneau wore No. 90 for the majority of his career, and later admitted that his reason for choosing No. 90 was a result of his preferred No. 9 was either retired or worn by different players. The lone exception was during his stint with the Ottawa Senators when he wore No. 39. This was done as then general managerPierre Gauthier had a policy in place where no player could wear a number higher than the goaltender. AsPatrick Lalime wore No. 40, Juneau was unable to wear his customary No. 90, which he reverted to following a trade to the Phoenix Coyotes.[citation needed]
After his playing career, Juneau became a partner and account manager atQuebec City-based Harfan Technologies. Rensselaer awarded Juneau an honorary degree at the school's 2005 commencement ceremonies, then named him as the second inductee into the Rensselaer "Ring of Honor" in November. Between 2005-2007, Juneau moved toFairbanks, Alaska, where he helped promote hockey to the youth in the area before moving toKuujjuaq, Quebec, on a permanent basis, where he heads a hockey program forInuit youth in northern Quebec focused on encouraging academic progress, a contribution for which he received the 2007La Presse/Radio-CanadaPersonality of the Year Award.[citation needed] His involvement with the Nunavik hockey program ended in 2017.[2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985–86 | Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon | CEGEP | — | 21 | 47 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon | CEGEP | 38 | 27 | 57 | 84 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | R.P.I. Engineers | ECAC | 31 | 16 | 29 | 45 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | R.P.I. Engineers | ECAC | 30 | 12 | 23 | 35 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | R.P.I. Engineers | ECAC | 34 | 18 | 52 | 70 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Canada | Intl | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | R.P.I. Engineers | ECAC | 29 | 23 | 40 | 63 | 68 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Canada | Intl | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Canada | Intl | 60 | 20 | 49 | 69 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 14 | 5 | 14 | 19 | 4 | 15 | 4 | 8 | 12 | 21 | ||
| 1992–93 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 84 | 32 | 70 | 102 | 33 | 4 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 1993–94 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 63 | 14 | 58 | 72 | 35 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 11 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 6 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 44 | 5 | 38 | 43 | 8 | 7 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 14 | 50 | 64 | 30 | 5 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 58 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 56 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 26 | 21 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 8 | ||
| 1998–99 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 63 | 14 | 27 | 41 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 9 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 10 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Ottawa Senators | NHL | 65 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 69 | 10 | 23 | 33 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 8 | 28 | 36 | 10 | 12 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 72 | 6 | 16 | 22 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 20 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| NHL totals | 828 | 156 | 416 | 572 | 272 | 112 | 25 | 54 | 79 | 69 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Canada | OG | 8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 4 | |
| Senior totals | 8 | 6 | 9 | 15 | 4 | |||
