Joseph Jean Luc Benoît Brunet (; born August 24, 1968) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in the second round, 27th overall, of the 1986 NHL entry draft. Brunet has also played for the Dallas Stars and Ottawa Senators.
Playing career After playing three seasons for the Hull Olympiques of the QMJHL, Brunet made his professional debut with the American Hockey League's Sherbrooke Canadiens in the 1988–89 season. He also made his NHL debut with Montreal that same season, appearing in two games and recording one assist.
Brunet became a fixture on the Canadiens' roster, playing with them until the 2001–02 season. He became a favorite of the hometown fans due to his local roots and path to the NHL as well as his work as a defensive forward which made him a constant on the team's penalty killing unit. During the 2001–02 season, he was traded to the Dallas Stars, along with Martin Ručinský, in exchange for Donald Audette and Shaun Van Allen. Brunet appeared in 32 games with the Stars before being traded again, this time to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for a pick in the 2003 NHL entry draft. Brunet finished the season with Ottawa, and retired afterward.
In his NHL career, Brunet appeared in 539 games. He scored 101 goals and added 161 assists. He also appeared in 54 playoff games, scoring five goals and adding 20 assists. He was a member of the Canadiens team that won the Stanley Cup in 1993.
Colour commentator A few years after his retirement, Brunet was hired as a colour commentator for the French-language sports network RDS for NHL games that did not involve the Montreal Canadiens. For the 2008-09 season he was promoted as the main colour commentator alongside play-by-play man Pierre Houde for all Montreal Canadiens games, replacing longtime veteran Yvon Pedneault.
Career statistics Regular season Playoffs Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM 1984–85Lac St-Louis LionsQMAAA425767123 1985–86Hull OlympiquesQMJHL7133377081155141933 1986–87Hull OlympiquesQMJHL604367110105675128 1987–88Hull OlympiquesQMJHL625489143131103101311 1988–89Sherbrooke CanadiensAHL7341761179562024 1988–89Montreal CanadiensNHL20110————— 1989–90Sherbrooke CanadiensAHL723235678212871520 1990–91Fredericton CanadiensAHL2413183116656112 1990–91Montreal CanadiensNHL171340————— 1991–92Fredericton CanadiensAHL6791627————— 1991–92Montreal CanadiensNHL18461014————— 1992–93Montreal CanadiensNHL47101525192028108 1993–94Montreal CanadiensNHL7110203020714516 1994–95Montreal CanadiensNHL457182516————— 1995–96Fredericton CanadiensAHL32136————— 1995–96Montreal CanadiensNHL2678151730220 1996–97Montreal CanadiensNHL391013231441344 1997–98Montreal CanadiensNHL681220326181014 1998–99Montreal CanadiensNHL6014173131————— 1999–2000Montreal CanadiensNHL5014152913————— 2000–01Montreal CanadiensNHL353111412————— 2001–02Montreal CanadiensNHL160224————— 2001–02Dallas StarsNHL3249138————— 2001–02Utah GrizzliesAHL53146————— 2001–02Ottawa SenatorsNHL135380120330 AHL totals 183 98 140 238 232 24 15 13 28 26 NHL totals 539 101 161 262 229 54 5 20 25 32
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