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Denis Herron

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Denis Herron
Herron in 1973
Born (1952-06-18) June 18, 1952 (age 72)
Chambly, Quebec, Canada
Height 5 ft 11 in (180 cm)
Weight 165 lb (75 kg; 11 st 11 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Pittsburgh Penguins
Kansas City Scouts
Montreal Canadiens
National team  Canada
NHL draft 40th overall, 1972
Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career 1972–1986
Denis Herron with the Team Canada in 1979

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

Playing career

Herron played junior hockey with 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 teams. He played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Hershey Bears and the Salt Lake Golden Eagles. Next season, Herron played 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.

While playing for Kansas City, Herron put himself on a diet consisting of high-protein milkshakes in an effort to gain size and strength. In January of 1976, he was taken to Baptist Hospital in Kansas City after suffering a kidney stone believed to have been a result of the milkshakes. (Icing on the Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City's NHL Scouts, pp. 193-194)

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 remained with the Canadiens for the next three years where he shared 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.

Denis Herron
Medal record
Representing  Canada
Men's ice hockey
World Championships
Bronze medal – third place 1978 Czechoslovakia Ice hockey

In 1983, Herron returned to Pittsburgh for the third time in his career. He remained there until 1986, when he retired.

Personal life

Herron is the third of six children born to a mechanic with the Imperial Tobacco Company and a stay-at-home mother.

He is married to Debbie Pike, of St. Lambert Quebec and has two daughters, Elissa and Mandi.

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

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1969–70 Trois-Rivières Ducs QMJHL 2 0 1 0 96 10 0 6.25 .853
1970–71 Trois-Rivières Ducs QMJHL 33 1,980 136 0 4.12 .886 7 420 23 1 3.29 .898
1971–72 Trois-Rivières Ducs QMJHL 40 2,400 160 2 4.00 .898 4 200 19 0 5.70 .886
1972–73 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 18 6 7 2 967 55 2 3.41 .879
1972–73 Hershey Bears AHL 21 1,185 63 0 3.19 4 240 16 0 4.00
1973–74 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 5 1 3 0 260 18 0 4.15 .885
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 4 4 0 242 7 0 1.73
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 .859
1974–75 Kansas City Scouts NHL 22 4 13 4 1,280 80 0 3.75 .896
1975–76 Kansas City Scouts NHL 64 11 39 11 3,620 243 0 4.03 .889
1976–77 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 34 15 11 5 1,920 94 1 2.94 .910 3 1 2 180 11 0 3.67 .903
1977–78 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 60 20 25 15 3,534 210 0 3.57 .901
1978–79 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 56 22 19 12 3,208 180 0 3.37 .892 7 2 5 421 24 0 3.42 .891
1979–80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 34 25 3 3 1,909 80 0 2.51 .907 5 2 3 300 15 0 3.00 .891
1980–81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 25 6 9 6 1,147 67 1 3.50 .878
1981–82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 27 12 6 8 1,547 68 3 2.64 .912
1982–83 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 31 5 18 5 1,707 151 1 5.31 .838
1983–84 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 38 8 24 2 2,028 138 1 4.08 .885
1984–85 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 42 10 22 3 2,193 170 1 4.67 .875
1985–86 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 3 0 3 0 180 14 0 4.67 .848
1985–86 Baltimore Skipjacks AHL 27 10 11 4 1,510 86 0 3.42 .892
NHL totals 462 146 203 76 25,608 1579 10 3.70 .889 15 5 10 901 50 0 3.33 .894

International

Year Team Event GP W L T MIN GA SO GAA
1978 Canada WC 5 3 1 0 255 12 0 2.82

"Herron's stats". The Goaltender Home Page. Retrieved 2017-08-08.

References

Herron finds room at the inn; Ian MacDonald. The Gazette. Montreal, Que.: Dec 23, 2004. pg. C.3

Icing on the Plains: The Rough Ride of Kansas City's NHL Scouts, Troy Treasure, 2018, Balboa Press

Preceded by Winner of the Vezina Trophy
with Michel Larocque and Richard Sevigny

1981
Succeeded by
Preceded by
first winner
Winner of the William M. Jennings Trophy
with Rick Wamsley

1982
Succeeded by