Wednesday, 13.06.2012 / 8:54 AM /Montreal Canadiens
PRESS RELEASE
MONTREAL (June 13, 2012) – Montreal Canadiens Executive vice president and general manager, Marc Bergevin, announced today the appointment of Sylvain Lefebvre as head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League.
Clément Jodoin, who completed in 2011-12 his first season as the Hamilton Bulldogs Head Coach, will meet Michel Therrien for a position of assistant coach with the Canadiens.
A native of Richmond, Quebec, Sylvain Lefebvre enjoyed a 14-year career in the NHL, suiting up for five teams, including the Canadiens in his first three seasons from 1989 to 1992. Lefebvre played 945 career games totaling 184 points (30 goals, 154 assists) 674 penalty minutes, while displaying a +108 plus/minus differential. He also participated in 129 playoff contests, recording 18 points (4 goals, 14 assists) and 101 penalty minutes. The defenseman won the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.
Now 44, Sylvain Lefebvre spent the past five seasons with the Avalanche organization, including the last three (2009 to 2012) as an assistant to head coach Joe Sacco. He previously had similar duties with the AHL’s Lake Erie Monsters in 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Sylvain Lefebvre played his junior hockey with the Laval Titan in the QMJHL between 1984 and 1987. He then joined the Canadiens as a free agent and began his professional hockey career at age 19 with Montreal’s AHL farm team, the Sherbrooke Canadiens. He played two full seasons with Sherbrooke before making it to the NHL in 1989-90.
In three seasons with the Montreal Canadiens, Lefebvre played 200 regular season games, producing 53 points (11 goals, 42 assists) and serving 182 penalty minutes. He then appeared in 165 games with the Toronto Maple Leafs from 1992 to 1994. On March 28, 1994, Lefebvre was dealt to the Quebec Nordiques in a multi-player deal that included star forward Mats Sundin. After one season in Quebec City he followed the team when it was transferred to Colorado, playing four more seasons with the Avalanche from 1995 to 1999 (303 games), winning the Stanley Cup in 1996, his first season in Colorado. Lefebvre signed with the New York Rangers as a free agent, playing 229 games from 1999 to 2003. He spent his final season as a player with Bern of the Swiss National League in 2003-04, helping them win the league title.
Sylvain Lefebvre and his wife, Marie-Claire, have four children.