Gary Croteau

Gary Croteau (born June 20, 1946) is a Canadian former ice hockey forward, most notably with the Colorado Rockies of the National Hockey League.

Gary Croteau
Born (1946-06-20) June 20, 1946
Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 205 lb (93 kg; 14 st 9 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Left
Played for NHL
Los Angeles Kings
Detroit Red Wings
California Golden Seals
Kansas City Scouts
Colorado Rockies
Playing career 19681981

Playing career

Croteau was born in Sudbury, Ontario. After a dominant collegiate hockey career at St. Lawrence University, capped by being selected to the ECAC First All-Star Team in 1968, Croteau was signed as a free agent by the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1968, which promptly dealt him to the Los Angeles Kings. He played two sound seasons with LA's American Hockey League Springfield Kings farm team, and in limited action with Los Angeles in 1968 scored a fine five goals in eleven games. On the strength of that performance, he played with the Kings in the playoffs that year, scoring five goals in eleven games as Los Angeles went to the semifinals. After only three further games for the Kings early in 1969-70, he was dealt to the Detroit Red Wings February 1970, seeing only limited action with Detroit before being claimed by the California Golden Seals in the 1970 waiver draft. With the talent-thin Golden Seals, he became a regular for four seasons, finishing among the team's leading scorers in his first and final seasons with the squad.

When the NHL expanded to Kansas City and Washington in 1974, Croteau was the seventh pick of the Scouts[1] and a key player for the weak franchise from the beginning. After a modest 1974-75 season, Croteau was one of the team's leading scorers and few decent players for four years thereafter, even after the franchise moved to Denver and became the Colorado Rockies in 1976. His best season came in 1976-77, when he scored 24 goals and 27 assists for 51 points, all career highs.

After an injury that cost him most of the 1979-80 season, Croteau retired from hockey, save for a brief stint in the minor leagues the following year.

Croteau finished his career with 144 goals and 175 assists in 688 games for 319 points, adding 143 penalty minutes.

Awards and honors

Award Year
All-ECAC Hockey First Team 1967–68

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1964–65 St. Lawrence University ECAC 14 18 13 31
1965–66 St. Lawrence University ECAC 24 20 11 31 12
1966–67 St. Lawrence University ECAC 27 21 17 38
1967–68 St. Lawrence University ECAC 19 21 19 40
1968–69 Los Angeles Kings NHL 11 5 1 6 6 11 3 2 5 8
1968–69 Springfield Kings AHL 53 24 20 44 27
1969–70 Los Angeles Kings NHL 3 0 0 0 0
1969–70 Springfield Kings AHL 52 23 21 44 22
1969–70 Detroit Red Wings NHL 10 0 2 2 2
1970–71 California Golden Seals NHL 74 15 28 43 12
1971–72 California Golden Seals NHL 73 12 12 24 11
1972–73 California Golden Seals NHL 47 6 15 21 8
1973–74 California Golden Seals NHL 76 14 21 35 16
1974–75 Kansas City Scouts NHL 77 8 11 19 16
1975–76 Kansas City Scouts NHL 79 19 14 33 12
1976–77 Colorado Rockies NHL 78 24 27 51 14
1977–78 Colorado Rockies NHL 62 17 22 39 24
1978–79 Colorado Rockies NHL 79 23 18 41 18
1979–80 Colorado Rockies NHL 15 1 4 5 4
1980–81 Fort Worth Texans CHL 4 1 1 2 2
NHL totals 684 144 175 319 143 11 3 2 5 8

References

Sporting positions
Preceded by
Wilf Paiement
Colorado Rockies captain
1979–80
Succeeded by
Mike Christie
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