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| J. C. Tremblay | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Tremblay with theMontreal Canadiens in the 1960s | |||
| Born | (1939-01-22)January 22, 1939 Bagotville, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Died | December 7, 1994(1994-12-07) (aged 55) Montreal, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 170 lb (77 kg; 12 st 2 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Montreal Canadiens Quebec Nordiques | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| Playing career | 1958–1979 | ||
Joseph Henri Jean-Claude Tremblay (January 22, 1939 – December 7, 1994) was a Canadian professionalice hockeydefenceman for theMontreal Canadiens of theNational Hockey League (NHL) and theQuebec Nordiques of theWorld Hockey Association (WHA), notable for playmaking and defensive skills.
After an amateur and minor professional career that saw him move from playing asleft winger todefenceman and win the league most valuable player title in 1960, Tremblay began play for theMontreal Canadiens of theNational Hockey League (NHL) in the1959–60 season and became a regular player for Montreal in the1961–62 season, playing for fiveStanley Cup-winning teams. He became one of the NHL's preeminent stars on defence for both his offense and defensive work, playing in sevenNHL All-Star Games and setting the franchise record for points by a defenceman, and was recognized as afirst team All-Star in1970–71 and a second team All-Star in1967–68 seasons.
For the1972–73 season, Tremblay jumped to the upstartWorld Hockey Association (WHA) with theQuebec Nordiques, which had negotiated with theLos Angeles Sharks for his rights. He later considered the first season in the WHA the greatest thrill in his career.[1] He was the Nordiques franchise's first great star, as well as the league's first great defenceman, winning the league honours for best defenceman in 1972–73 and1974–75 seasons and being named to the WHA's Team Canada in1973–74, leading that club in defensive scoring. Tremblay also led his team to the 1977AVCO World Trophy championship. He was the only player to play for the Nordiques' all seven seasons in the WHA and retired after the1978–79 season. His number 3 jersey was retired by the Nordiques after that season just before the franchise's move into the NHL, thus gaining Tremblay the distinction of being one of only three players to have a number retired by an NHL team without ever actually playing for it (the other two beingJohnny McKenzie by theHartford Whalers andFrank Finnigan by the modern-dayOttawa Senators). He later scouted in Europe for the Montreal Canadiens.
In 1979, he donated a kidney to his daughter. Tremblay died of kidney cancer on December 7, 1994, at the age of 55.[2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1957–58 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | OHA-Jr. | 24 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EOHL | 34 | 5 | 17 | 22 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1957–58 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 13 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 1958–59 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EOHL | 26 | 4 | 13 | 17 | 22 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | ||
| 1958–59 | Buffalo Bisons | AHL | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1958–59 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | M-Cup | — | — | — | — | — | 9 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 1959–60 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1959–60 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 55 | 25 | 31 | 56 | 55 | 7 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 1960–61 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 29 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1960–61 | Hull-Ottawa Canadiens | EPHL | 37 | 7 | 33 | 40 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1961–62 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1962–63 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 1 | 17 | 18 | 10 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1963–64 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 70 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 24 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 9 | ||
| 1964–65 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 22 | 13 | 1 | 9 | 10 | 18 | ||
| 1965–66 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 59 | 6 | 29 | 35 | 8 | 10 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1966–67 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 60 | 8 | 26 | 34 | 14 | 10 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 1967–68 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 73 | 4 | 26 | 30 | 18 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 2 | ||
| 1968–69 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 75 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 18 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 6 | ||
| 1969–70 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 58 | 2 | 19 | 21 | 7 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1970–71 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 11 | 52 | 63 | 23 | 20 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 15 | ||
| 1971–72 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 6 | 51 | 57 | 24 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1972–73 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 75 | 14 | 75 | 89 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1973–74 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 68 | 9 | 44 | 53 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1974–75 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 68 | 16 | 56 | 72 | 18 | 11 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 1975–76 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 80 | 12 | 77 | 89 | 16 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 1976–77 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 53 | 4 | 31 | 35 | 16 | 17 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 2 | ||
| 1977–78 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 54 | 5 | 37 | 42 | 26 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1978–79 | Quebec Nordiques | WHA | 56 | 6 | 38 | 44 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 794 | 57 | 306 | 363 | 204 | 108 | 14 | 51 | 65 | 58 | ||||
| WHA totals | 454 | 66 | 358 | 424 | 126 | 34 | 2 | 23 | 25 | 4 | ||||