Canadiens Flashback Friday: Stephan Lebeau

Stephan Lebeau was a high scoring junior player who had 4 successful years for the Montreal Canadiens.

Every Friday we will profile the career of a player from the Canadiens past. Today, we look at a player who seemed destined to be an offensive star for the Canadiens, Stephan Lebeau.

Lebeau was a prolific scorer for the Shawinigan Cataractes of the QMJHL. While in Shawinigan, Lebeau teamed with Patrice Lefebvre and the duo set several team records while also putting their names in the QMJHL record books.

After 4 seasons in Shawinigan, Lebeau recorded a remarkable 580 points(281 G, 299 A) in just 270 games. When all was said and done, Lebeau was behind only Mike Bossy(309) in career goals and behind only Patrice Lefebvre in career points(595) in QMJHL history. In fact, Lebeau ranks 2nd and 3rd in CHL history for both categories.

More from A Winning Habit

• Montreal Canadiens: Biggest Questions Going Into 2023-24
• Montreal Canadiens: Quentin Miller’s Poise And Confidence Fuel His Game
• Montreal Canadiens: Laval Rocket Top Defence Pair Could Be Set
• Montreal Canadiens: Worst Move Of The Pierre Gauthier Era
• Montreal Canadiens: Could Casey DeSmith End Up In Colorado?

Yet, despite such a prolific scoring career, Lebeau was never drafted. It seemed as though scouts were put off by his lack of size(5-10, 175), his unwillingness to play defense and his below average speed. The Montreal Canadiens eventually came calling in 1988 and placed him in the AHL with the Sherbrooke Canadiens.

While in Sherbrooke, Lebeau joined a team that was full of future NHL players such as Benoit Brunet, Mark Pederson, Jocelyn Lemieux and Sylvain Lefebvre. Lebeau teamed with Brunet and took the AHL by storm. In his first and only season in Sherbrooke, Lebeau posted 70 goals and 64 assists in just 78 games. That was good enough for him to win the Red Garrett Award as AHL rookie of the year, the the John B. Sollenberger Trophy as AHL leading scorer and the Les Cunningham Award as AHL MVP.

That was all Lebeau needed to do to prove he belonged in the NHL. He played the 1989-90 season with the Montreal Canadiens as a 21 year old. He played sparingly, seeing most of his minutes on the power play. In 57 games as a rookie, Lebeau scored 35 points(15 G, 20 A).

Over the next two seasons, Lebeau would post solid numbers. He topped 20 goals and 50 points in both seasons but was not given a larger role on the team. At the time, Pat Burns was the Canadiens head coach and wanted the young forward to be a more complete player.

Burns eventually left the Canadiens in 1992 and Jacques Demers took over. Demers was also a defensive-minded coach though he knew how to work around a player’s defensive issues. As such, Lebeau truly blossomed under Demers.

Lebeau spent much of the 1993 season on the 2nd line but saw chances on the top line as well. Playing a more prominent offensive role, Lebeau flourished as he topped the 30 goal and 80 point plateau for the first and only time in his career. He ended up finishing 4th on the team in goals and points.

Playoff time came and Lebeau seemed primed to help lead the Canadiens to their 24th Cup. Unfortunately, Lebeau’s playoffs were interrupted by an ankle injury suffered in Game 5 of the Canadiens 1st round series against the Quebec Nordiques. The injury sidelined Lebeau for the Game 6 clincher as well as the entire 2nd round and Game 1 of the Conference Finals.

Lebeau came back for Game 2 against the New York Islanders and scored two goals, including the overtime winner. Despite the dramatic return, Lebeau was still hobbled by his ankle injury and was unable to produce like he did in the regular season. All told, he played 13 games and had 6 points(3 G, 3 A) and was part of the Canadiens Cup winning team.

Entering 1994, expectations were high for Lebeau. Unfortunately, he sputtered out of the gate and just could not get it going for the Canadiens. The Canadiens had plenty of depth up front but grew tired of Andre Racicot‘s inability to properly backup star Patrick Roy. And after scoring just 16 points in 34 games, Lebeau was deemed expendable and was dealt to the Anaheim Mighty Ducks for goalie Ron Tugnutt.

Lebeau played just 60 games with the Ducks due to the 1995 lockout and he scored just 34 points. With his contract up and the Ducks not qualifying his rights, Lebeau made the decision to go to Switzerland for the 1996 season.

Lebeau would end up becoming a star in the Swiss League. He would play 6 seasons for 3 teams in Switzerland before retiring in 2001 at just 33 years of age.

Since retiring, Lebeau had a two year stint as a head coach for the Victoriaville Tigres of the QMJHL. He also had a brief two year stint as an assistant coach for the Hamilton Bulldogs. Lebeau has also done some media work and has been a hockey program developer for Bishop College in Lennoxville, Quebec.