1973-74 QMJHL: 5 Players With 200+ Points

We’re now living in times when it’s a rarity for a player to total more than 100 points in a season. Back in the 1973-74 QMJHL, it was simply a different game. The top five players in the race for the Jean Beliveau Trophy had over 200 points. These five individual performances are among the top nine single season point productions in Canadian Hockey League history.

These five 200+ point men were all members of one of just two teams. In fact, seven of the top ten in the QMJHL in 1973-74 either played for the Sorel Eperviers or the Quebec Remparts. The two teams finished one-two in the regular season standings with Sorel getting the edge by 11 points. The two met again in the playoff finals with Quebec exacting revenge by winning the series four games to two.

·         Pierre Larouche set the current CHL record of 157 assists

·         Larouche’s 251 points in 1973-74 still stands as the 2^nd most, behind Mario Lemieux

·         1973-74 QMJHL dominated by Sorel Eperviers and Quebec Remparts

·         Just Larouche and Real Cloutier went on to star in pro hockey

Pierre Larouche – Sorel Eperviers

Pierre Larouche of Sorel led the way with 251 points on 94 goals and 157 assists over 67 games, earning the Jean Beliveau Trophy. The 157 assists stands today as a QMJHL and CHL record for most assists in a single season. The point total is the second most in a QMJHL and CHL season behind Mario Lemieux’s 282 points in 1983-84 with Laval Voisins.

It was the third of three seasons in the QMJHL for Larouche. He started in 1972-73 with the Quebec Remparts before moving to Sorel for his final two seasons. The Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL liked what they saw and drafted Pierre eighth overall at the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. The Houston Aeros of the WHA also drafted him but he chose the NHL route.

Larouche played over 800 regular season games in the NHL from 1974-75 to 1987-88 with the Penguins, Montreal Canadiens, Hartford Whalers and New York Rangers. He twice reached the 50 goal plateau in the NHL with 53 goals in 1975-76 with Pittsburgh and 50 in 1979-80 with Montreal.

Michel Deziel – Sorel Eperviers

Michel Deziel finished second behind Larouche with 227 points on 92 goals and 135 assists in 69 games with Sorel. It was his fourth and final year with the club and his highest offensive output by far. Deziel’s 122 points in the previous year were respectable by today’s standards but a far cry from what he would do in his final season.

The Buffalo Sabres selected Michel in the third round in 1974. The New England Whalers of the WHA also drafted him. Deziel played just one NHL game during his career, a playoff game with Buffalo in 1974-75. He split time between the AHL and IHL until calling it quits after the 1979-80 season.

Real Cloutier – Quebec Remparts

Real Cloutier of the Quebec Remparts finished third with 216 points on 93 goals and 123 assists in 69 games. It was the second of two seasons in the QMJHL for Real. Before he was eligible for the NHL draft, the Quebec Nordiques of the WHA picked him ninth overall in 1974. Cloutier was playing for the Nordiques in 1974-75.

Real played with Quebec until the WHA ceased to exist after the 1978-79 season. He stayed with the club as they were swallowed up by the NHL and remained until the end of the 1982-83 season. After two more seasons with the Buffalo Sabres, Cloutier retired after 1984-85.

In the WHA, Cloutier totaled 566 points in 369 regular season games. He surpassed 100 points in four of his five seasons. In 1976-77 and 1978-79, Real was awarded the Bill Hunter Trophy as the WHA’s leading scorer.

Jacques Cossette – Sorel Eperviers

Jacques Cossette finished fourth, two points behind Cloutier with 214 points on 97 goals and 117 assists over 68 games with Sorel. Cossette began his junior career in 1971-72 with the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the OHA and moved to Sorel for the following season. In his first season with the Eperviers, he scored 61 goals and totaled 127 points.

Jacques was selected by the Pittsburgh Penguins of the NHL and the Vancouver Blazers of the WHA in 1974. He played a total of 64 regular season and three playoff games in the NHL, all with Pittsburgh. He retired after the 1979-80 season.

Jacques Locas – Quebec Remparts

Jacques Locas rounded out the top five with 206 points on 99 goals and 107 assists in just 63 games with the Remparts. 1973-74 was his fifth season in the QMJHL after starting out with the St. Jerome Alouettes in 1969-70. He was traded to Quebec midway through his second season. In 1972-73, he finished second in the league with 143 points, eight behind teammate Andre Savard.

Despite his offensive success in junior, it took until the eleventh round of the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft before the Los Angeles Kings picked him. Locas never played in the NHL but did appear in 187 games in the WHA between 1974-75 and 1977-78 with the Michigan Stags, Baltimore Blades, Indianapolis Racers, Cincinnati Stingers and Calgary Cowboys.