After retiring as a player, Houle became an executive with Molson, one of Canada's leading breweries and the then-owner of the Montreal Canadiens organization. A disastrous start to the 1995–96 season resulted in then-general manager Serge Savard's termination, and the team saw Houle, with his business background and history with the team, as the most viable replacement candidate.
Houle then served as GM of the Canadiens from 1995 to 2000, though his tenure was largely viewed as a disaster by many fans. He initiated the infamous trade that sent Patrick Roy and Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault, Martin Ručinský and Andrei Kovalenko just six weeks into the job. Following this trade, he dealt-away marquee players including Mark Recchi, Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon in exchange for players of little value to the team. He was also criticized for frequently trading with non-contending teams, being unable to land widely coveted free agents and for signing marginal players to inflated contracts.
Houle's drafting was considered even worse, however, as he was criticized for selecting players such as Matt Higgins, Jason Ward, Eric Chouinard and Marcel Hossa, the younger brother of then-rising talent Marián Hossa, with his first round selections, as well as trading away a top ten pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for an underachieving Trevor Linden. Houle was fired from his post two months into the 2000–01 season and replaced by André Savard. He currently serves as an ambassador to the Canadiens organization.
Personal lifeedit
Houle and his wife Micheline have three children; two sons Jean-François, who is the head coach of the AHL's Laval Rocket and Sylvain, and a daughter, Annie.[1]
réjean, houle, this, biography, living, person, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, adding, reliable, sources, contentious, material, about, living, persons, that, unsourced, poorly, sourced, must, removed, immediately, from, article, tal. This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification Please help by adding reliable sources Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page especially if potentially libelous Find sources Rejean Houle news newspapers books scholar JSTOR January 2010 Learn how and when to remove this template message Rejean Houle born October 25 1949 is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward who played the majority of his career with the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League NHL also serving in a controversial stint as general manager for the Canadiens Rejean HouleBorn 1949 10 25 October 25 1949 age 74 Rouyn Quebec CanadaHeight5 ft 11 in 180 cm Weight165 lb 75 kg 11 st 11 lb PositionRight wingShotLeftPlayed forMontreal Canadiens NHL Quebec Nordiques WHA National team CanadaNHL Draft1st overall 1969Montreal CanadiensPlaying career1969 1983 Contents 1 Playing career 2 Management career 3 Personal life 4 Awards 5 Career statistics 5 1 Regular season and playoffs 5 2 International 6 References 7 External linksPlaying career editDrafted as the first pick overall in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft by the Montreal Canadiens Houle played for the Habs from 1970 to 1973 and from 1976 to 1983 He won five Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens In between his NHL stints he played for the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association WHA Management career editAfter retiring as a player Houle became an executive with Molson one of Canada s leading breweries and the then owner of the Montreal Canadiens organization A disastrous start to the 1995 96 season resulted in then general manager Serge Savard s termination and the team saw Houle with his business background and history with the team as the most viable replacement candidate Houle then served as GM of the Canadiens from 1995 to 2000 though his tenure was largely viewed as a disaster by many fans He initiated the infamous trade that sent Patrick Roy and Mike Keane to the Colorado Avalanche in exchange for Jocelyn Thibault Martin Rucinsky and Andrei Kovalenko just six weeks into the job Following this trade he dealt away marquee players including Mark Recchi Vincent Damphousse and Pierre Turgeon in exchange for players of little value to the team He was also criticized for frequently trading with non contending teams being unable to land widely coveted free agents and for signing marginal players to inflated contracts Houle s drafting was considered even worse however as he was criticized for selecting players such as Matt Higgins Jason Ward Eric Chouinard and Marcel Hossa the younger brother of then rising talent Marian Hossa with his first round selections as well as trading away a top ten pick in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft for an underachieving Trevor Linden Houle was fired from his post two months into the 2000 01 season and replaced by Andre Savard He currently serves as an ambassador to the Canadiens organization Personal life editHoule and his wife Micheline have three children two sons Jean Francois who is the head coach of the AHL s Laval Rocket and Sylvain and a daughter Annie 1 Awards edit1968 69 Eddie Powers Memorial TrophyCareer statistics editRegular season and playoffs edit Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1966 67 Thetford Mines Canadiens QJHL 43 30 30 60 80 11 10 12 22 27 1966 67 Thetford Mines Canadiens MC 19 14 16 30 12 1967 68 Montreal Jr Canadiens OHA Jr 45 27 38 65 102 11 12 8 20 10 1968 69 Montreal Jr Canadiens OHA Jr 54 53 55 108 76 14 13 10 23 13 1968 69 Montreal Jr Canadiens MC 8 6 2 8 20 1969 70 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 0 1 1 0 1969 70 Montreal Voyageurs AHL 27 9 16 25 23 8 3 2 5 4 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 NHL totals 635 161 247 408 395 90 14 34 48 66 WHA totals 214 118 139 257 115 20 12 6 18 10 International edit Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM 1974 Canada SS 7 1 1 2 2References edit Jean Francois Houle named head coach Retrieved July 23 2014 External links editBiographical information and career statistics from NHL com or Hockey Reference com or The Internet Hockey Database Profile from Hockey Draft Central Preceded byMichel Plasse NHL first overall draft pick1969 Succeeded byGilbert Perreault Preceded byMichel Plasse Montreal Canadiens first round draft pick1969 Succeeded byMarc Tardif Preceded bySerge Savard General Manager of the Montreal Canadiens1995 2000 Succeeded byAndre Savard Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Rejean Houle amp oldid 1206405608, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
