Quick Facts
LibraBiography
Sylvain Jean Lefebvre (born October 14, 1967) is a retired ice hockey defenceman who played on five National Hockey League teams from 1989 to 2003. In 2012, he became the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs in the American Hockey League. He was also named head coach of the St. John's Icecaps, the new AHL affiliate of the Montreal Canadiens for the 2015-2016 season.
Playing career
Sylvain Lefebvre signed with the Montreal Canadiens in 1986 and made the team's roster in 1989–90 as an undrafted free agent. He played three seasons with the Habs before being traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for a third round draft pick prior to the start of the 1992–93 season. Lefebvre played two seasons with the Leafs before being traded to the Quebec Nordiques as part of the Wendel Clark-Mats Sundin trade on June 28, 1994. Lefebvre played the next five seasons with the Quebec Nordiques/Colorado Avalanche before signing a four-year, $10-million US contract with the New York Rangers that secured a club-option for him to play a fifth season at $3 million in the 1999 off-season. Lefebvre's productivity decreased after several injuries, including a shattered index finger which occurred while blocking a shot. The doctor compared the injury to taking a hammer and hitting his finger until the bone is shattered into little pieces. Lefebvre's career low came in the 2002–03 season. After four years with the Rangers, Lefebvre left the NHL and decided to join old friend Sebastien Bordeleau for one season to play for the Swiss team SC Bern where he and his team won the cup. He retired shortly thereafter.
After winning the Stanley Cup with the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, Lefebvre was involved in an incident that attracted media attention. As part of tradition, each player on the Stanley Cup winning team can take personal possession of the trophy for a day during the summer following the championship, a practice that has led to several misadventures. When it was his turn, Lefebvre decided to have his daughter baptized in it.
Retirement and coaching career
Lefebvre was named as assistant coach of the American Hockey League's Lake Erie Monsters. On June 4, 2009, the Colorado Avalanche announced that Lefebvre would serve as an assistant coach.
On June 13, 2012, Sylvain Lefebvre became the head coach of the Hamilton Bulldogs of the American Hockey League (Montreal Canadiens' affiliate).
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1984–85 | Laval Voisins | QMJHL | 66 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Laval Titan | QMJHL | 71 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 48 | 14 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 25 | ||
| 1986–87 | Laval Titan | QMJHL | 70 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 44 | 15 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 12 | ||
| 1986–87 | Sherbrooke Canadiens | AHL | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1987–88 | Sherbrooke Canadiens | AHL | 79 | 3 | 24 | 27 | 73 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1988–89 | Sherbrooke Canadiens | AHL | 77 | 15 | 32 | 47 | 119 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 1989–90 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 68 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 61 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1990–91 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 63 | 5 | 18 | 23 | 30 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 1991–92 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 69 | 3 | 14 | 17 | 91 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1992–93 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 81 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 90 | 21 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 20 | ||
| 1993–94 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 84 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 79 | 18 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | ||
| 1994–95 | Quebec Nordiques | NHL | 48 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 17 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 75 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 49 | 22 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 12 | ||
| 1996–97 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 71 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 30 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 25 | ||
| 1997–98 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 81 | 0 | 10 | 10 | 48 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1998–99 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 76 | 2 | 18 | 20 | 48 | 19 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 1999–00 | New York Rangers | NHL | 82 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 43 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | New York Rangers | NHL | 71 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Hartford Wolf Pack | AHL | 15 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 11 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | New York Rangers | NHL | 41 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | New York Rangers | NHL | 35 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | SC Bern | NLA | 11 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 14 | 15 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 44 | ||
| NHL totals | 945 | 30 | 154 | 184 | 674 | 129 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 101 | ||||