André Racicot, Jr., (born June 9, 1969) is a Canadian former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

goaltender, most famous for his time with the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

with whom he won the 1993

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Career

Racicot started his

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL) career in 1989 with the Montreal Canadiens. He had been selected in the 4th round, 83rd overall, of the 1989 NHL Entry Draft following a successful career in the

Quebec Major Junior Hockey League The Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (french: Ligue de hockey junior majeur du Québec; abbreviated ''QMJHL'' in English, ''LHJMQ'' in French) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues that constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The l ...

with the

Granby Bisons The Granby Bisons were a Canadian junior ice hockey team based in Granby, Quebec, and played in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). They team was founded in 1981 in after the team moved from Sorel-Tracy, Quebec, where they had previousl ...

. Montreal already had established first team duo

Patrick Roy Patrick Jacques Roy (; born October 5, 1965) is a Canadian retired professional ice hockey goaltender and executive, who serves as the head coach for the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL). In 2017, Roy was named o ...

and

Brian Hayward Brian George Hayward (born June 25, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who currently serves as a color analyst for Anaheim Ducks broadcasts on Prime Ticket/Fox Sports West and KDOC. Playing career Hayward played coll ...

who had won three

William M. Jennings Trophy The William M. Jennings Trophy is an annual National Hockey League (NHL) award given to "the goaltender(s) having played a minimum of 25 games for the team with the fewest goals scored against it ... based on regular-season play." From 1946 until ...

in a row from 1986 to 1989. As a result, Racicot's first season was spent largely on the

Sherbrooke Canadiens The Sherbrooke Canadiens were a professional ice hockey team in Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada. They played their home games at the Palais des Sports. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1984 to 1990, and were a farm team of the M ...

farm team, but he finally made his NHL debut on December 9, 1989, against the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

, when he allowed three goals on six shots in just less than 13 minutes before being replaced. It was his only NHL appearance of the 1989–90 NHL season. He shared the Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award for fewest goals allowed in the AHL in 1990 with fellow understudy Jean-Claude Bergeron. The 1990–91 season saw regular understudy Hayward's traded to the

Minnesota North Stars The Minnesota North Stars were a professional ice hockey team in the National Hockey League (NHL) for 26 seasons, from 1967 to 1993. The North Stars played their home games at the Met Center in Bloomington, Minnesota, and the team's colors for ...

. As a result, Racicot split time with the

Fredericton Canadiens The Fredericton Canadiens, or the 'Baby Habs' were a professional ice hockey team in Fredericton, New Brunswick. The Canadiens played their home games at the Aitken Centre. They were a member of the American Hockey League from 1990 to 1999, and we ...

and Montreal, as he battled with Jean-Claude Bergeron and Frédéric Chabot for second string duties. The following 1991–92 season saw

Roland Melanson Roland "Rollie the Goalie" Joseph Melanson (born June 28, 1960) is a Canadian ice hockey coach and former goaltender in the National Hockey League (NHL). He most recently served as the goaltending coach for the New Jersey Devils, previously servin ...

brought in as an experienced backup, reducing Racicot's opportunities significantly as he again spent a large portion of the season with Federicton. In his 9 appearances for Montreal he was winless, while Roy appeared in 67 games to earn another Jennings Trophy. In 1992-93 Racicot had his most successful season for Montreal. While Roy appeared in the majority of games (62 of the 84 possible) Racicot saw action in 26 games, winning 17. The Canadiens made their way to the Stanley Cup Final. Racicot saw only 18 minutes of action in the playoffs as Roy backstopped the unfancied Montreal to their first Stanley Cup win since 1986. The following year Racicot again faced competition for his second string position, with

Ron Tugnutt Ronald Frederick Bradley Tugnutt (born October 22, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Tugnutt played several seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Quebec Nordiques, Edmonton Oilers, Mighty Ducks of Anahei ...

and

Les Kuntar Leslie Stephen Kuntar (born July 28, 1969) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He played in six NHL games with the Montreal Canadiens during the 1993–94 season. Prior to his professional career, Kuntar played for St. Lawrenc ...

splitting playing time. His performances dipped, and ultimately he was released at the end of the 1994 season. Racicot left the NHL after the

1994 File:1994 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway; The Kaiser Permanente building after the 1994 Northridge earthquake; A model of the MS Estonia, which Sinking of the MS Estonia, sank in ...

season, spending several seasons with various teams in the AHL, International Hockey League, and

East Coast Hockey League The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL). The E ...

. The 1999–2000 season saw Racicot move to

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, playing in 20 games with

HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk (russian: Нефтехимик Нижнекамск, en, Nizhnekamsk Petrochemist) is a professional ice hockey team based in Nizhnekamsk, in the Tatarstan, a federal subject of the Russian Federation. They are members ...

before returning to North America for another five seasons of minor-pro hockey. He retired as a player in 2004.

Nickname

Racicot earned the infamous nickname "Red Light" following early performances with Montreal. Claims as to its origin are disputed. Stories allege it was given by a journalist Red Fisher following his disappointing debut that saw him concede 3 in 6 shots before being pulled. Others have attributed it to

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Racicot, Andre 1969 births Living people Albany River Rats players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders Granby Bisons players HC Neftekhimik Nizhnekamsk players Sportspeople from Rouyn-Noranda Kansas City Blades players Longueuil Chevaliers players Montreal Canadiens draft picks Montreal Canadiens players Phoenix Roadrunners (IHL) players Stanley Cup champions Ice hockey people from Quebec Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia