Joé Juneau

This article is about the ice hockey player, Joé Juneau. For the prospector and co-founder of Juneau, Alaska, United States, see Joe Juneau (prospector).

Joseph Juneau (French pronunciation: [ʒoe ʒyno]) (born January 5, 1968) is a Canadian former professional hockey player and engineer, born in Pont-Rouge, Quebec. He played in the National Hockey League for the Boston Bruins, Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres, Ottawa Senators, Phoenix Coyotes and the Montreal Canadiens.

Joé Juneau
Juneau in 2009
Born	(1968-01-05) January 5, 1968 Pont-Rouge, Quebec, Canada
Height	6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Left
Played for	Boston Bruins Washington Capitals Buffalo Sabres Ottawa Senators Phoenix Coyotes Montreal Canadiens
National team	Canada
NHL draft	81st overall, 1988 Boston Bruins
Playing career	1991–2004
Medal record Men's Ice hockey 1992 Albertville Ice hockey

Playing career

As a youth, Juneau played in the 1979, 1980 and 1981 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Pont-Rouge.

Originally drafted by the Bruins in the fourth round of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft, Juneau was a star college hockey player at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, where he scored 71 goals in four regular seasons and was a two-time All-American selection. He was well known for having a 4.0 grade point average and earning a degree in just three years in aeronautical engineering, despite the fact that he did not speak English when he first arrived in New York.

After college, Juneau spent a year with the Canadian Olympic team while disputing his contract offer from the Bruins. The sticking point was Juneau's insistence on being paid full salary even if he was sent to the minors - a demand Boston refused, having been burned in a nearly identical situation with Wes Walz the previous year. Then-general manager Harry Sinden was famously quoted in response to Juneau's threat to play in Switzerland instead "Well, I hope he learns to yodel." In the meantime, Juneau led Canada to a silver medal at the 1992 Albertville Games, and was the tournament's leading scorer.

Juneau would eventually sign with Boston on the team's terms, and Sinden's fears proved groundless. Juneau joined the Bruins' NHL roster right after the Olympics, and never spent a day in the minor leagues during his career. He had an impressive nineteen points in fourteen regular season games at the end of the 1992 season before a strong playoff.

His best season was his rookie year of 1992–93 with the Bruins, when, as the left winger on a powerful line with Adam Oates and Cam Neely, he had 32 goals and 102 points and set the NHL record for assists in a season by a left wing with 70, a mark Juneau held until 2022, when it was passed by Jonathan Huberdeau of the Florida Panthers. As a reward, he was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team. Legend has it while with the Bruins, Juneau approached Bruins legend Johnny Bucyk asking if he could wear his No. 9 in Boston. Bucyk responded "Score 557 goals first, and then come talk to me."

During the 1993–94 season, the Bruins traded Juneau to the Capitals for Al Iafrate (who played only twelve games for Boston). In 1996, he became the first player ever to be awarded a penalty shot in overtime in a Stanley Cup playoff game (although he failed to score) during the second overtime of the Capitals' four-overtime loss to Pittsburgh. Juneau was also a member of the 1997–98 Capitals squad that reached the 1998 Stanley Cup Finals, scoring seventeen points in twenty-one playoff games. He scored the game-winning goal in overtime against the Buffalo Sabres in the 1998 Eastern Conference Finals that sent the Capitals to the Stanley Cup Finals. The next season, 1998–99, with the Capitals plagued by injuries and missing the playoffs, Juneau was traded to the Sabres, who reached the 1999 Stanley Cup Finals.

Juneau spent the 1999–2000 season with the Ottawa Senators, who signed him largely to fill the offensive gap created when Alexei Yashin was suspended for failing to honor his contract.

Juneau's offensive numbers steadily declined, largely due to chronic injuries. He became a journeyman, playing for five teams in four seasons before settling with the Montreal Canadiens as a third-liner for the final three seasons of his career. He announced his retirement after the 2003–04 NHL season. Juneau finished with 156 goals and 416 assists for 572 points over thirteen seasons.

Juneau wore No. 90 for the majority of his career, and later admitted that his reason for choosing No. 90 was a result of his preferred No. 9 was either retired or worn by different players. The lone exception was during his stint with the Ottawa Senators when he wore No. 39. This was done as then general manager Pierre Gauthier had a policy in place where no player could wear a number higher than the goaltender. As Patrick Lalime wore No. 40, Juneau was unable to wear his customary No. 90, which he reverted to following a trade to the Phoenix Coyotes.

Post-retirement

After his playing career, Juneau became a partner and account manager at Quebec City-based Harfan Technologies. Rensselaer awarded Juneau an honorary degree at the school's 2005 commencement ceremonies, then named him as the second inductee into the Rensselaer "Ring of Honor" in November. Between 2005-2007, Juneau moved to Fairbanks, Alaska, where he helped promote hockey to the youth in the area before moving to Kuujjuaq, Quebec, on a permanent basis, where he heads a hockey program for Inuit youth in northern Quebec focused on encouraging academic progress, a contribution for which he received the 2007 La Presse/Radio-Canada Personality of the Year Award. His involvement with the Nunavik hockey program ended in 2017.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1985–86	Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon	CEGEP		—	21	47	68	—		—	—	—	—	—
1986–87	Cégep de Lévis-Lauzon	CEGEP		38	27	57	84	—		—	—	—	—	—
1987–88	R.P.I. Engineers	ECAC		31	16	29	45	18		—	—	—	—	—
1988–89	R.P.I. Engineers	ECAC		30	12	23	35	40		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	R.P.I. Engineers	ECAC		34	18	52	70	31		—	—	—	—	—
1989–90	Canada	Intl		3	0	2	2	4		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	R.P.I. Engineers	ECAC		29	23	40	63	68		—	—	—	—	—
1990–91	Canada	Intl		7	2	3	5	0		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Canada	Intl		60	20	49	69	35		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Boston Bruins	NHL		14	5	14	19	4		15	4	8	12	21
1992–93	Boston Bruins	NHL		84	32	70	102	33		4	2	4	6	6
1993–94	Boston Bruins	NHL		63	14	58	72	35		—	—	—	—	—
1993–94	Washington Capitals	NHL		11	5	8	13	6		11	4	5	9	6
1994–95	Washington Capitals	NHL		44	5	38	43	8		7	2	6	8	2
1995–96	Washington Capitals	NHL		80	14	50	64	30		5	0	7	7	6
1996–97	Washington Capitals	NHL		58	15	27	42	8		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Washington Capitals	NHL		56	9	22	31	26		21	7	10	17	8
1998–99	Washington Capitals	NHL		63	14	27	41	20		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Buffalo Sabres	NHL		9	1	1	2	2		20	3	8	11	10
1999–2000	Ottawa Senators	NHL		65	13	24	37	22		6	2	1	3	0
2000–01	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		69	10	23	33	28		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		70	8	28	36	10		12	1	4	5	6
2002–03	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		72	6	16	22	20		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		70	5	10	15	20		11	0	1	1	4
NHL totals				828	156	416	572	272		112	25	54	79	69

International

Year	Team	Event		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992	Canada	OG		8	6	9	15	4
Senior totals				8	6	9	15	4

See also

• List of NHL players with 100-point seasons

Awards and honors

Award	Year
All-ECAC Hockey Rookie Team	1987–88
All-ECAC Hockey First Team	1989–90
AHCA East First-Team All-American	1989–90
All-ECAC Hockey Second Team	1990–91
AHCA East Second-Team All-American	1990–91
Knight of the National Order of Quebec	2014
NCAA Silver Anniversary Award	2016

External links

• Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database
• No Average Joé
• Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute News