Nordiques 1979-1980: a bitterness still alive for Real Cloutier

Offensive pillar adored at the time of the Nordiques of the AMH, Real Cloutier savored the accession of the team to the National League in 1979.

The moments of celebration will however have been brief and to this day, the one nicknamed "Buddy" is still hard to come back on this period without evoking the rancor that still lives there.

Forty years ago, Cloutier proved to be one of the favorites in Quebec City and one of the players who began the most shocking transition between the cursed circuit and the NHL.

Facing the Atlanta Flames at the Coliseum, for the very first Nordic match in the big league, Buddy completed a hat trick in the third period, in a 5-3 setback. It was the first stroke of a productive 42-goal season.

"For us it was the big deal. The AMH was not very recognized and we were several players to want to prove things. In Quebec, we have always lived with the Canadiens and for the people, it was important to integrate the NHL.

"This first night was amazing! I dropped the record book by leaving, in addition against Daniel Bouchard and my boyfriend Guy Chouinard on the other side! It was hell, it was screaming. People finally realized that in Quebec, it was not true that we were born for a roll. Personally, this first season in the NHL with 42 goals, I'm still very proud, "said the former explosive striker today.

The beginning of the end

As much as these memories are precious, the moments that followed fueled his misunderstanding four decades later.

After his second season mortgaged by an injury suffered during a mundane summer softball game, Cloutier continued to produce offensively before being traded to Buffalo for the 1983-84 season.

He has always associated the arrival of the Stastny brothers with the decline of the "old guard" of the Nordiques and considers that the accession of Michel Bergeron behind the bench in 1980 changed drastically the portrait.

"I have nothing against the Stastny, we would have scored tons of points playing with them. But Bergeron had other plans. Before his arrival, he had said that Cloutier, (Marc) Tardif and (Serge) Bernier, it was going to rise. He gradually crammed us into pretending to be troublemakers. I quickly understood that when you are the valet, you're not the king, "he pictures with disgust.

Always difficult

Today, however, Cloutier is proud to have defended the fleur-de-lis uniform. The years of the AMH and the first season in the NHL remain rooted in his memory and heart.

It is rather the end of the association with the team that he still does not digest.

"People will never have had the chance to see Tardif, Stastny and Cloutier play on the same line. In my mind, it deprived Quebec of a Stanley Cup, nothing less. Guys like Marc and I took the franchise out of their early days. It's players like us who brought him into the NHL. The beginnings were magical, but the end is sad, "he summarizes.

Real Cloutier today

Real Cloutier has worked in the photocopy field for many years, as well as touring the ice with the Hockey Legends. He savored his full retirement for a few years.