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

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phil goyette montreal canadiens 1960-61 parkhurst hockey cardFour 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.


Phil Goyette Collection








 



 



 


 


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

 

1 thought on “Phil Goyette: Stanley Cup Champ 1st 4 Years In The NHL”

  1. Goyette was a favorite of mine as I grew up a Rangers fan in the 60s. He played on a line with Rod Gilbert and Camille Henry for awhile that was the Rangers’ best. Great memories.

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