Stéphane Fiset
A steadfast NHL goaltender whose career was a journey through the league's franchises, marked by flashes of brilliance and enduring resilience.
Born 1970 (age 56)·Canadian ice hockey player·Birthday: June 17·Generation X
Biography
Stéphane Fiset's path through professional hockey was one of nomadic consistency. Drafted by the Quebec Nordiques, he bore witness to the franchise's turbulent final years before its move to Colorado, where he briefly shared the net with Patrick Roy on a Stanley Cup-winning team. Traded to Los Angeles, he found his most sustained period as a number-one goalie, backstopping the Kings through several playoff runs with a calm, positional style. Injuries, however, became a recurring antagonist in his story, often halting his momentum just as he hit his stride. His final stops in Montreal and with the New York Islanders were shorter chapters, but he remained a respected veteran presence. Fiset's career stats tell the tale of a reliable workhorse who gave his teams a chance to win on most nights, navigating the pressures of the crease for over a decade.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Stéphane was born in 1970, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Stéphane Was Born
The biggest hits of 1970
#1 Movie
Love Story
Best Picture
Patton
#1 TV Show
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
Stéphane's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1970Born
First Earth Day; The Beatles break up
Gas: $0.36/galHome: $17,000Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Bridge over Troubled Water" — Simon & GarfunkelBest Picture: Patton
1975Started school
Fall of Saigon ends the Vietnam War
Gas: $0.57/galHome: $27,600Min wage: $2.10/hrPresident: Gerald Ford"Love Will Keep Us Together" — Captain & TennilleBest Picture: One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
1983Became a teenager
Internet adopts TCP/IP, creating the modern internet
Gas: $1.16/galHome: $57,700Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Every Breath You Take" — The PoliceBest Picture: Terms of Endearment
1986Could drive
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1988Could vote
Pan Am Flight 103 bombed over Lockerbie
Gas: $0.90/galHome: $74,800Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"Faith" — George MichaelBest Picture: Rain Man
1991Turned 21
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
2000Turned 30
Y2K passes without incident; contested Bush-Gore election
Gas: $1.51/galHome: $119,600Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"Breathe" — Faith HillBest Picture: Gladiator
2010Turned 40
Deepwater Horizon oil spill; iPad launched
Gas: $2.79/galHome: $147,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Tik Tok" — KeshaBest Picture: The King's Speech
2020Turned 50
COVID-19 pandemic shuts down the world
Gas: $2.17/galHome: $248,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Donald Trump"Blinding Lights" — The WeekndBest Picture: Nomadland
2026Age 56 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Played 390 regular-season NHL games across 13 seasons with five different franchises.
- Backstopped the Los Angeles Kings to two Stanley Cup playoff appearances in the early 2000s as their primary starter.
- Won a Stanley Cup as a member of the Colorado Avalanche in 1996, serving as Patrick Roy's backup.
- Recorded 19 career shutouts in the NHL.
- Represented Canada internationally, winning a silver medal at the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
Did You Know?
He was originally drafted by the Quebec Nordiques in the first round (24th overall) of the 1988 NHL Entry Draft.
Fiset allowed Wayne Gretzky's final NHL goal, scored while Gretzky was with the New York Rangers in 1999.
After retirement, he worked as a goaltending consultant for the Montreal Canadiens.
He wore the number 35 for most of his NHL career.
“My job was to stop the puck, not to write the headlines.”
