Réjean Houle

Réjean Houle (born October 25, 1949, in Rouyn, Quebec) is a retired Canadian forward, most notably for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League, for whom he also served as general manager.
==Playing career==
Houle played junior hockey for the Montreal Junior Canadiens of the Ontario Hockey Association, with whom he won the Memorial Cup in 1968-69. He was then drafted first overall by the Montreal Canadiens in the 1969 NHL Amateur Draft under a rule that gave the Canadiens the first two French-Canadian players in the draft.
He split his first pro season (1969–70) between the Canadiens and the Montreal Voyageurs of the American Hockey League. Houle then made the NHL team in 1970-71 and stayed for three seasons. He, however, did not live up to the high expectations of s first overall draft choice,
Houle then jumped to the Quebec Nordiques of the World Hockey Association in 1973. For three seasons he played very well for the Nordiques which boosted his confidence. He also played for Team Canada in the 1974 Summit Series. He returned to the Canadiens in 1976 and spent seven more seasons before retiring in the middle of the 1982-83 season.
Houle was on five Stanley Cup championships with the Canadiens.
==Management career==
After retiring as a player, Houle became an executive with Molson, one of Canada's leading breweries. A disastrous start to the 1995-96 season resulted in Serge Savard being fired as Canadiens' general manager, and the team saw Houle's business background and history with the team as the right combination to get the team back on track. Houle was fired from his post two months into the 2000–01 NHL season and replaced by André Savard. He currently serves as an ambassador in the Canadiens' organization.
==Awards==
*1968–69: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy
==Career statistics==
 --- Regular season --- ---- Playoffs ----
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
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1967-68 Montreal Junior Canadiens OHA 45 27 38 65 102
1968-69 Montreal Junior Canadiens OHA 54 53 55 108 76
1969-70 Montreal Voyageurs AHL 27 9 16 25 23 8 3 2 5 4
1969-70 Montreal Canadiens NHL 9 0 1 1 0 -- -- -- -- --
1970-71* Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 10 9 19 28 20 2 5 7 20
1971-72 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 11 17 28 21 6 0 0 0 2
1972-73* Montreal Canadiens NHL 72 13 35 48 36 17 3 6 9 0
1973-74 Quebec Nordiques WHA 69 27 35 62 17 -- -- -- -- --
1974-75 Quebec Nordiques WHA 64 40 52 92 37 15 10 6 16 2
1975-76 Quebec Nordiques WHA 81 51 52 103 61 5 2 0 2 8
1976-77* Montreal Canadiens NHL 65 22 30 52 24 6 0 1 1 4
1977-78* Montreal Canadiens NHL 76 30 28 58 50 15 3 8 11 14
1978-79* Montreal Canadiens NHL 66 17 34 51 43 7 1 5 6 2
1979-80 Montreal Canadiens NHL 60 18 27 45 68 10 4 5 9 12
1980-81 Montreal Canadiens NHL 77 27 31 58 83 3 1 0 1 6
1981-82 Montreal Canadiens NHL 51 11 32 43 34 5 0 4 4 6
1982-83 Montreal Canadiens NHL 16 2 3 5 8 1 0 0 0 0
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 WHA totals 214 118 139 257 115 20 12 6 18 10
 NHL totals 635 161 247 408 395 90 14 34 48 66
 *Stanley Cup Champion
== External links ==
* Profile from Hockey Draft Central
*
Category:Born in 1949
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Montreal Canadiens players
Category:Montreal Junior Canadiens alumni
Category:NHL first overall draft picks
Category:National Hockey League first round draft picks
Category:Quebec Nordiques players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Montreal Voyageurs players
Category:Retired in 1983
Category:Canadian ice hockey general managers
Category:Memorial Cup winners
Category:Born in 1949
Category:Montreal Canadiens general managers
Category:1974 Team Canada