Don Beaupre

Donald William Beaupre (b. September 19 1961 in Waterloo, Ontario, Canada) is a former professional goaltender who played 17 seasons in the NHL, from 1981 to 1997, with the Minnesota North Stars, the Washington Capitals, the Ottawa Senators and the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Beaupre emerged in the Ontario Hockey Association in 1979-80 as he was protecting the Sudbury Wolves net. He won 28 times that season, which earned him a spot on the league's first All-Star Team. It also generated interests among NHL scouts - he entered the 1980 NHL Entry Draft as the top-ranked goaltender. The North Stars picked him 37th overall, and gave him a chance to enter the league's books in 1981, as he shared duties with Gilles Meloche. He did so well that he was choosen to play in the 1981 NHL All-Star Game and helped the North Stars reach the Stanley Cup finals for the first time of their history, a series they lost to the New York Islanders.

Beaupre would stay with the North Stars until 1989, where he was traded to the Washington Capitals on the November 1st for the rights to Claudio Scremin. He kept playing well there, and, helped by a strong defense brigade in the 1990's, he led the league in shutouts for the 1990-91 season with 5. With Olaf Kölzig emerging as a quality goaltender, Beaupre was traded to a weak Ottawa Senators team on January 18th 1995 in return of the Sens' 5th round choice at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, Benoit Gratton. One year later, on January 23rd 1996, he was traded to the Islanders along with Martin Straka and Bryan Berard for Wade Redden and Damian Rhodes. He would never play for the Isles; the same day, he was shipped to the Toronto Maple Leafs with Kirk Muller to complete the transaction of Damian Rhodes and Ken Belanger to New York. He only played 11 games over two seasons with the Leafs, spending most of the 1996-97 season with the AHL's St. John's Maple Leafs and the Utah Grizzlies of the International Hockey League. He retired after the season.