Denis Herron

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Denis Herron bigraphy, stories - Canadian ice hockey player

Denis Herron : biography

June 18, 1952 –

Denis Bernard Herron (born June 18, 1952 in Chambly, Quebec) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who played for the Montreal Canadiens, Kansas City Scouts, and Pittsburgh Penguins in the National Hockey League.

Personal life

He is married to Debbie Pike, of St. Lambert Quebec and has two daughters, Elissa and Mandi. After retirement he worked in sales for a car dealership in Granby but then moved on to work as the director of sales and marketing the Airport Hilton in West Palm Beach Florida. Like all NHL players, his NHL pension kicked in at age 55, which was in 2007.

His brother Ronald was also a professional goalie, having played in France and his niece Catherine Herron tended nets for the women’s Marlet team at McGill University. She also won the 2012 Clarkson Cup as a backup goaltender for the Montreal Stars of the CWHL

Playing career

Herron played junior hockey with the Trois-Rivières Draveurs and the Trois-Rivières Ducs of the Quebec Junior Hockey League. He had a good junior career and in 1972, he was named to the Second All-Star Team with the Trois-Rivières Ducs. In 1972, Herron was drafted 40th overall by the Pittsburgh Penguins. In his first season, he split his time between the Penguins, and the Hershey Bears of the AHL. In 1974, Herron played for three different teams. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Hershey Bears and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Next season, Herron would play the first half of the season with the Pens and the Bears before being traded to the Kansas City Scouts. He played 22 games with them that season and spent another year in Kansas City before becoming a free agent.

He was signed by Pittsburgh again and played with them for the next three years. In 1978, Herron made an appearance with Team Canada in the World Championships where he won a bronze medal.

In 1979, the Penguins traded him to the Montreal Canadiens. He would remain with the Canadiens for the next three years where he would share goaltending duties. In 1981, Herron was awarded the Vezina Trophy with teammates Michel Larocque and Richard Sevigny. In 1982, Herron shared the William M. Jennings Trophy with fellow netminder Rick Wamsley.

In 1983, Herron would return to Pittsburgh for the third time in his career. He remained there until 1986, where he would retire.

Career statistics

Regular season

Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1969-70 Trois-Rivières Draveurs QJHL 2 0 1 0 96 10 0 6.25
1970-71 Trois-Rivières Draveurs QJHL 33 1980 136 0 4.12
1971-72 Trois-Rivières Ducs QMJHL 40 2400 160 2 4.00
1972-73 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 18 6 7 2 967 55 2 3.41
1972-73 Hershey Bears AHL 21 1185 63 0 3.19
1973-74 Salt Lake Golden Eagles WHL 9 6 2 1 530 32 0 3.62
1973-74 Hershey Bears AHL 17 10 4 1 967 52 0 3.22
1973-74 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 5 1 3 0 260 18 0 4.15
1974-75 Hershey Bears AHL 12 2 7 2 615 45 0 4.39
1974-75 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 3 1 1 0 108 11 0 6.11
1974-75 Kansas City Scouts NHL 22 4 13 4 1280 80 0 3.75
1975-76 Kansas City Scouts NHL 64 11 39 11 3620 243 0 4.03
1976-77 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 34 15 11 5 1920 94 1 2.94
1977-78 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 60 20 25 15 3534 210 0 3.57
1978-79 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 56 22 19 12 3208 180 0 3.37
1979-80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 34 25 3 3 1909 80 0 2.51
1980-81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 25 6 9 6 1147 67 1 3.50
1981-82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 27 12 6 8 1547 68 3 2.64
1982-83 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 31 5 18 5 1707 151 1 5.31
1983-84 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 38 8 24 2 2028 138 1 4.08
1984-85 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 42 10 22 3 2193 170 1 4.67
1985-86 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 3 0 3 0 180 14 0 4.67
1985-86 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 27 10 11 4 1510 86 0 3.42
NHL totals 462 146 203 76 25,608 1579 10 3.70