Remembering Flames great Guy Chouinard

A product of Quebec City, Chouinard played his major junior hockey with his hometown Quebec Remparts. He impressed and was selected by the Atlanta Flames in the second round, 28th overall, in the 1974 NHL Amateur Draft. He spent two seasons primarily in the Flames’ minor league system – 1974-75 with the CHL’s Omaha Knights and 1975-76 with the AHL’s Nova Scotia Voyageurs – and had cups of coffee with Atlanta before joining the Flames full-time in 1976-77.

Chouinard spent seven full seasons with the Flames – four in Atlanta and three in Calgary – and was a big part of early franchise history.

• He scored the final goal in Atlanta Flames history, beating John Davidson in a 5-2 Flames loss to the New York Rangers in the 1980 playoffs. (This was also the final Flames goal in the Omni.)
• He scored the first goal in Calgary Flames history, beating Michel Dion in a 5-5 Flames tie with the Quebec Nordiques to start the 1980-81 season. (This was also the first Flames goal in the Corral.)
• He was the first player in franchise history to score 50 goals, scoring 50 in 1978-79.
• He was one of the first two players in franchise history to record 100 points (along with teammate Bob MacMillan, posting 107 points in 1978-79.
• He assisted on 24 of Lanny McDonald’s franchise record 66 goals in 1982-83.

Chouinard was the Flames franchise’s all-time leader in points from Apr. 1, 1982, when he passed Eric Vail, through Jan. 28, 1985, when he was passed by Kent Nilsson. Chouinard was a really productive player until late in his Flames run, when he became a power play specialist – he led the team in power play points in 1982-83 but was ninth in even strength points. He played 578 games for the Flames, posting 529 points.

He was traded to the St. Louis Blues for future considerations prior to the 1983-84 season. After one more season with the Blues, he retired as an NHL player. He remained involved in the game pretty heavily, though, serving as head coach in the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League with Longueuil, Victoriaville, Verdun, Trois-Rivieres, Sherbrooke, Laval, Quebec and Prince Edward Island. His son, Eric, was a first-round pick by Montreal in 1998 and played 90 NHL games during a pretty lengthy pro career in North America and Europe. Since retiring as a player, Eric’s also been involved in coaching in high-level minor hockey in Quebec.

Chouinard was a really important player in the early history of the Flames franchise, and provided the Flames with their first real offensive star at a time where they really needed one. Our condolences to his friends, family, and all who knew him.