Réjean Houle

Réjean Houle (born October 25, 1949, in Rouyn, Quebec) is a retired Canadian forward, most notably for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, for whom he also served as general manager.

Playing career
Houle played junior hockey for the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association, with whom he won the Memorial Cup in 1968-69. He was then drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft under a rule that gave the Canadiens the first two French-Canadian players in the draft.

He split his first pro season (1969–70) between the Canadiens and the Montreal Voyageurs of the American Hockey League. Houle then made the NHL team in 1970-71 and stayed for three seasons. He, however, did not live up to the high expectations of s first overall draft choice,

Houle then jumped to the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association in 1973. For three seasons he played very well for the Nordiques which boosted his confidence. He also played for Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series. He returned to the Canadiens in 1976 and spent seven more seasons before retiring in the middle of the 1982-83 season.

Houle was on five Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens.

Management career
After retiring as a player, Houle became an executive with Molson, one of Canada's leading breweries. A disastrous start to the 1995-96 season resulted in Serge Savard being fired as Canadiens' general manager, and the team saw Houle's business background and history with the team as the right combination to get the team back on track. Houle was fired from his post two months into the 2000–01 NHL season and replaced by André Savard. He currently serves as an ambassador in the Canadiens' organization.

Awards

 * 1968–69: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy

Career statistics
--- Regular season ---  Playoffs Season  Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM -- 1967-68  Montreal Junior Canadiens   OHA    45   27   38   65  102 1968-69  Montreal Junior Canadiens   OHA    54   53   55  108   76 1969-70  Montreal Voyageurs          AHL    27    9   16   25   23   8   3   2   5   4 1969-70  Montreal Canadiens          NHL     9    0    1    1    0  --  --  --  --  -- 1970-71* Montreal Canadiens          NHL    66   10    9   19   28  20   2   5   7  20 1971-72  Montreal Canadiens          NHL    77   11   17   28   21   6   0   0   0   2 1972-73* Montreal Canadiens          NHL    72   13   35   48   36  17   3   6   9   0 1973-74  Quebec Nordiques            WHA    69   27   35   62   17  --  --  --  --  -- 1974-75  Quebec Nordiques            WHA    64   40   52   92   37  15  10   6  16   2 1975-76  Quebec Nordiques            WHA    81   51   52  103   61   5   2   0   2   8 1976-77* Montreal Canadiens          NHL    65   22   30   52   24   6   0   1   1   4 1977-78* Montreal Canadiens          NHL    76   30   28   58   50  15   3   8  11  14 1978-79* Montreal Canadiens          NHL    66   17   34   51   43   7   1   5   6   2 1979-80  Montreal Canadiens          NHL    60   18   27   45   68  10   4   5   9  12 1980-81  Montreal Canadiens          NHL    77   27   31   58   83   3   1   0   1   6 1981-82  Montreal Canadiens          NHL    51   11   32   43   34   5   0   4   4   6 1982-83  Montreal Canadiens          NHL    16    2    3    5    8   1   0   0   0   0 --        WHA totals                        214  118  139  257  115  20  12   6  18  10 NHL totals                       635  161  247  408  395  90  14  34  48  66 *Stanley Cup Champion