Vincent Joseph Riendeau (born April 20, 1966) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. During his time in the National Hockey League, which lasted from 1987 to 1995, Riendeau played for the Montreal Canadiens, St. Louis Blues, Detroit Red Wings, and the Boston Bruins. Riendeau was the first Canadian and former NHL player to sign with a professional hockey team in the Russian Superleague. As of January 2019) he has been the director of goalie development for the Canadiens.
Playing career
Amateur career
Riendeau was born in Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec. As a youth, he played in the 1978 and 1979 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournaments with a minor ice hockey team from Drummondville.
He played junior ice hockey with the Verdun Juniors in the QMJHL during the 1983–84 season, posting a 22-13-2 record with 2 shutouts and a 4.14 goals against average. He also played 15 games for the Des Moines Buccaneers of the USHL during the same season.
The following season, Riendeau left the junior leagues to play Canadian college hockey for Sherbrooke College of the CEGEP.
Riendeau returned to the juniors for the 1985–86 season, suiting up for the Drummondville Voltigeurs of the QMJHL. With a record of 33-20-3, Riendeau was able to sign as an undrafted free agent with the Montreal Canadiens before his season ended in the juniors.
Career with Montreal
Riendeau would spend the 1986–87 and 1987–88 seasons playing for Montreal's minor league affiliate, the Sherbrooke Canadiens of the AHL. In his first professional season, Riendeau was awarded the Harry "Hap" Holmes Trophy for allowing the fewest goals-against in the AHL. Despite posting winning records in the minors, Riendeau suffered in his only appearance for Montreal during the 1987–88 season, in which he allowed 5 goals in 36 minutes. With Montreal already having excellent goaltending from Patrick Roy and Brian Hayward, Riendeau was traded to St. Louis on 9 August 1988 with Sergio Momesso for Jocelyn Lemieux, Darrell May and St. Louis's 2nd choice (which became Patrice Brisebois) in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft.
Career with St. Louis
Riendeau was excited for his debut with the St. Louis Blues during the 1988–89 season. His first game was set to be on the road in Hartford, a game in which his parents traveled from his native Quebec to watch their son's opening night. However, teammate Dave Lowry hit Riendeau's shoulder with a hard shot during the pre-game warm-up, putting him out of action for the night. Despite this, Riendeau was able to establish himself as a solid member of the Blues, backing up Greg Millen for that season without seeing any time in the playoffs.
Riendeau would establish himself as the starting goaltender for the 1989–90 season, in which he would be supported by Millen and Curtis Joseph. He was able to make his first playoff appearance with the Blues that season as well. While Joseph was the goaltender who led St. Louis in the opening round of the playoffs, Riendeau took over during the second round, in which they were eliminated by the Chicago Blackhawks.
Riendeau's most successful season in the NHL was the 1990–91 season, in which he posted a 29-9-6 record in 44 games, with Joseph serving as his backup. Riendeau would once again lead St. Louis into the playoffs. While they eliminated Detroit in the opening round, they lost to the Minnesota North Stars in the next round. In the playoffs, Bob Probert punched Riendeau after Riendeau pointed Probert's actions out to a referee in an unsuccessful attempt to draw a penalty.
Career with Detroit
For the start of the 1991–92 season, St. Louis opted to go with Joseph as their starting goaltender and prospects Guy Hebert and Pat Jablonski in the backup role. On 18 October 1991, Riendeau was traded to Detroit for Rick Zombo. Riendeau would make his first appearance for Detroit on 25 October 1991 against the Toronto Maple Leafs, in which he would suffer a knee injury 27 minutes into the game, during a shared shutout with Tim Cheveldae, and sideline him for most of the season. When Riendeau recovered, he went on to backup Cheveldae for the remainder of the season and into the playoffs, where they were eliminated by Chicago in the second round.
Riendeau continued to support Cheveldae during the 1992–93 season, appearing in 22 regular season games. Riendeau did not appear in any playoff games that season, where Detroit was eliminated in the opening round by the Toronto Maple Leafs.