NHL Playing Career
Brisebois was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, 30th overall, of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft. He played junior hockey for the Laval Titan and Drummondville Voltigeurs of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), and for the Fredericton Canadiens of the American Hockey League (AHL) during his first year of professional ice hockey. Brisebois's junior career was an unqualified success. In 1990–91, he captured the Emile Bouchard Trophy awarded to the best defencemen in the QMJHL, was named to the QMJHL All-Star team, and took home the award for the Canadian Hockey League (CHL)'s Best Defencemen.
He has played for the Canadiens for 14 seasons, winning one Stanley Cup with the franchise during the 1992–93 season. By 1999, Brisebois had become a staple of the Habs defence, specifically as their power play anchor. Brisebois was rewarded for his strong play with a hefty $12 millions/3 years contract.
Brisebois soon thereafter began to have a falling out with the general Montreal public. With his hefty contract came a plethora of expectations and the general consensus was that Brisebois was not living up to his pay. Furthermore, Brisebois's risky style of offensive defence became a heated topic of interest.
As a free agent following the NHL lockout in 2004–05, Brisebois left the Canadiens to sign with the Colorado Avalanche in a two-year deal on August 3, 2005. Away from the previous pressures, Brisebois then enjoyed a career year statistically scoring a career-high 38 points with the Avalanche in the 2005–06 season.
On August 3, 2007, Brisebois, again a free agent, returned to the Montreal Canadiens accepting a one-year incentive laden deal for the 2007–08 season. At the end of the 2008 season the Habs extended Brisebois to further one-year deal.
Brisebois played his 1000th Career NHL game for the Montreal Canadiens on March 14, 2009 at the Bell Centre against the New Jersey Devils. This feat was not really acknowledged during the night because Martin Brodeur reached Patrick Roy's 551 victories. However, he was awarded a prize from the vice-president of the NHL as well as a silver stick given to him by Henri Richard.
On September 24, 2009, Brisebois announced his retirement after an 18-year career in the National Hockey League. On the same day, he also received the Jean-Béliveau Trophy awarded annually to a Canadiens player for his contribution in the community. Brisebois ranks third all-time in games played for the Canadiens as a defenceman, lacing up 896 times.
Read more about this topic: Patrice Brisebois
Famous quotes containing the words playing and/or career:
“There exists, between people in love, a kind of capital held by each. This is not just a stock of affects or pleasure, but also the possibility of playing double or quits with the share you hold in the other’s heart.”
—Jean Baudrillard (b. 1929)
“What exacerbates the strain in the working class is the absence of money to pay for services they need, economic insecurity, poor daycare, and lack of dignity and boredom in each partner’s job. What exacerbates it in upper-middle class is the instability of paid help and the enormous demands of the career system in which both partners become willing believers. But the tug between traditional and egalitarian models of marriage runs from top to bottom of the class ladder.”
—Arlie Hochschild (20th century)