Alexandre Daigle
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| Position | Right Wing |
| Shoots | Left |
| Height Weight |
6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 200 lb (91 kg/14 st 4 lb) |
| Nationalliga A Team F. teams |
HC Davos Ottawa Senators Philadelphia Flyers Tampa Bay Lightning New York Rangers Pittsburgh Penguins Minnesota Wild |
| Nationality |  Canada |
| Born | February 7, 1975 , Laval, PQ, CA |
| NHL Draft | 1st overall, 1993 Ottawa Senators |
| Pro career | 1993 – present |
Alexandre Daigle (born February 7, 1975 in Laval, Quebec) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was drafted first overall by the Ottawa Senators in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. He is often listed among the all time draft busts in sports history.[1]
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[edit] NHL career
Leading up to the 1993 NHL Entry Draft, Alexandre Daigle was considered a promising prospect. The Senators were even accused of deliberately losing late in the season to draft him, which prompted an investigation by the league. When the expansion team finished last, it drafted Daigle over future NHL superstars Chris Pronger and Paul Kariya, who were picked second and fourth, respectively. Regarding his draft position, Daigle uttered the infamous comment "I'm glad I got drafted first, because no one remembers number two." (Ironically, the Senators had drafted Alexei Yashin second overall in 1992.) Daigle also received the largest starting salary in league history (five-year, $12.25 million), which led to the introduction of a rookie salary cap a few years later.
Daigle never measured up to his potential, nor expectations throughout his stints. He was frequently criticized for lack of effort and motivation, partially because of his lucrative and long-term contract. Rumors began circulating in Ottawa of late night partying and possible drug use. He was interested in the limelight, appearing in a full-page ad dressed in a nurse's uniform.[2] Daigle was outplayed by Russian centre Alexei Yashin in every season that they were teammates. Ironically, management continued to support Daigle over Yashin, touting him over Yashin for the Calder Trophy (though Yashin ending up receiving a nomination instead of Daigle). After management continued to support Daigle despite his under-performance, an angered Yashin was a hold out in the 1995-96 season unless his contract was raised to a level similar to Daigle's. Coach Rick Bowness and assistant Alain Vigneault were fired in November 1995, after demoting Daigle to the fourth line.
Early in 1998, after 4.5 years and only 74 goals, the Senators gave up on Daigle and traded him to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for prospect Vaclav Prospal and another first-round bust Pat Falloon. Daigle played a total of 68 games with the Flyers, scoring just 12 goals, before they gave up on him being a late bloomer. In January 1999, the Flyers traded Daigle to the Edmonton Oilers, who later that same day traded him to Tampa Bay for Alexander Selivanov. Daigle played only 32 games for the Lightning, collecting six goals and six assists for 12 points. The New York Rangers then acquired Daigle as a reclamation project, sending cash to the Lightning, but they, too, realized this one-time junior superstar was not living up to expectations and waived him at the end of the season. In 58 games with the Rangers, Daigle recorded just 8 goals and 18 assists in 26 points.
Daigle was out of hockey by the age of 25. No one was willing to take a chance on him, and in fact, by his own admission said he had no desire to play the game anymore. In an interview to national television broadcaster Radio-Canada, Daigle said he never wanted to play hockey, but stuck to the game because of his talent. Instead, he became interested in the entertainment business and the opportunity to be a celebrity. In 1998, Daigle briefly dated actress Pamela Anderson. He played hockey in a small league in Los Angeles with Cuba Gooding Jr. in Jerry Bruckheimer's team, the Bad Boys. He created an event promotion company, Impostor Entertainment, with former Montreal Expos pitcher Derek Aucoin. Their first project was a concert featuring Sheryl Crow during a Canadian Grand Prix in Montreal.
Following after a two-year absence from hockey, Daigle decided to give hockey another opportunity. In the summer of 2002 Daigle contacted numerous teams looking for an invitation to training camp, and ultimately signed with the Pittsburgh Penguins. Daigle would lead the Penguins in pre-season scoring and had earned himself a spot on the Pittsburgh roster to start the season. Despite his impressive training camp, Daigle was unable to continue his success into the regular season, and spent the better part of the season with the team's AHL affiliate in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. After being released by the Penguins, Daigle signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild in the summer of 2003.
After arriving in Minnesota, Daigle impressed the Wild coaching staff enough to earn a roster spot for opening night. Over the course of the 2003-2004 regular season, Daigle managed to match his career high point total, finishing the campaign with 51 points (20-31-51), leading the team in scoring. During this season, he was also the Wild's nominee for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy, given annually to an NHL player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey. On March 6, 2006, Daigle was waived by Minnesota and reassigned to its AHL affiliate, the Houston Aeros. Daigle did not play a game for the Aeros, and was subsequently loaned to the Manchester Monarchs of the AHL on March 13, 2006, in exchange for forward Brendan Bernakevitch.
On May 5, 2006, Daigle signed a 2-year contract with Swiss top team HC Davos. He later signed a 2-year contract extension with the squad in December 2006.
[edit] Transactions
- January 17, 1998 - Traded by the Ottawa Senators to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for Vaclav Prospal, Pat Falloon and Dallas' 1998 2nd round draft choice.
- January 29, 1999 - Traded by the Philadelphia Flyers to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Andrei Kovalenko.
- January 29, 1999 - Traded by the Edmonton Oilers to the Tampa Bay Lightning in exchange for Alexander Selivanov.
- October 3, 1999 - Traded by the Tampa Bay Lightning to the New York Rangers in exchange for cash.
- August 13, 2002 - Signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- September 30, 2003- Signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild.
[edit] Career statistics
Regular Season Playoffs
Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1990-91 Laval-Laurentides QAAA 42 50 60 110 98 13 5 9 14 23
1991-92 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 66 35 75 110 63 -- -- -- -- --
1992-93 Victoriaville Tigres QMJHL 53 45 92 137 85 6 5 6 11 4
1993-94 Ottawa Senators NHL 84 20 31 51 40 -- -- -- -- --
1995 Ottawa Senators NHL 47 16 21 37 14 -- -- -- -- --
1995-96 Ottawa Senators NHL 50 5 12 17 24 -- -- -- -- --
1996-97 Ottawa Senators NHL 82 26 25 51 33 7 0 0 0 2
1997-98 Ottawa/Philadelphia NHL 75 16 26 42 14 -- -- -- -- --
1998-99 Philadelphia/Tampa Bay NHL 63 9 8 17 8 5 0 2 2 0
1999-00 New York Rangers NHL 58 8 18 26 23 -- -- -- -- --
Hartford Wolf Pack AHL 16 6 13 19 4 -- -- -- -- --
2002-03 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 33 4 3 7 8 -- -- -- -- --
WB/Scranton Penguins AHL 40 9 29 38 18 4 0 1 1 0
2003-04 Minnesota Wild NHL 78 20 31 51 14 -- -- -- -- --
2004-05 HC Forward Morges SWI-2 -- -- -- -- -- 2 1 1 2 0
2005-06 Minnesota Wild NHL 46 5 23 28 12 -- -- -- -- --
2006-07 HC Davos SWI 44 22 39 61 44 18 4 9 13 6
2007-08 HC Davos SWI 45 13 30 43 59 -- -- -- -- --
NHL Totals 616 129 198 327 190
[edit] Awards
- CHL - Top Draft Prospect (Canadian Major Junior)(1992-93)
- QMJHL - Michael Bossy Trophy (Top Draft Prospect)(1992-93)
- QMJHL - First All-Star Team (1992-93)
- CHL - Rookie of the Year (Canadian Major Junior) (1991-92)
- QMJHL - Michel Bergeron Trophy (Top Rookie Forward) (1991-92)
- QMJHL - Second All-Star Team (1991-92)
[edit] References
- ^ "Being No .1 pick no guarantee of success", Canadian Press, 2007-06-22. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
- ^ Stevenson, Chris. "Daigle doomed by huge contract", Ottawa Sun, 2002-10-30. Retrieved on 2007-06-22.
[edit] External links
- Alexandre Daigle's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
- Alexandre Daigle's biography at Legends of Hockey
- IMDb listing
| Preceded by Roman Hamrlik |
1st Overall Pick in NHL Entry Draft 1993 |
Succeeded by Ed Jovanovski |
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