Val Fonteyne
# Val Fonteyne

Valere Ronald Fonteyne (born December 2, 1933) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey left winger. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1959 to 1972, serving the Detroit Red Wings (on two tours of duty), New York Rangers and Pittsburgh Penguins, and in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 to 1974 with the Alberta/Edmonton Oilers.

## Playing career

While not an offensive star, Fonteyne was a hard-working and effective defensive forward. He is regarded as one of the cleanest players in National Hockey League history. In 820 NHL games spanning 13 seasons, he served a remarkable total of just 26 minutes in the penalty box. He went completely unpenalized in five different seasons, including three in a row from 1965–1968. In a further 149 World Hockey Association games he was assessed only two minor penalties. In his entire professional career, Fonteyne only received a single fighting penalty.

In his NHL career, Fonteyne scored 75 goals and 154 assists for 229 points in 820 games. He also played in 59 playoff games, scoring 3 goals and 10 assists. He made it to the Stanley Cup finals with the Detroit Red Wings in 1961, 1963 and 1966 but lost each time.

The Alberta native was the first player chosen by the then-Alberta Oilers in the 1972 WHA General Player Draft; he played two seasons in the WHA before ending his career. He was one of 130 former Oilers to appear in a post-game ceremony when the Edmonton Oilers played their final game at Rexall Place in April 2016 before moving to a new arena.

## Career statistics

### Regular season and playoffs

| | | | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Regular season | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs | Playoffs |
| - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - |
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1951–52 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WCHL | 41 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 5 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1952–53 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WCHL | 31 | 7 | 14 | 21 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 0 |
| 1953–54 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WCHL | 36 | 14 | 14 | 28 | 18 | 10 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 12 |
| 1954–55 | New Westminster Royals | WHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1954–55 | Kelowna Packers | OSHL | 41 | 9 | 10 | 19 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1955–56 | Seattle Americans | WHL | 70 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1956–57 | Seattle Americans | WHL | 70 | 24 | 40 | 64 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 6 | 2 |
| 1957–58 | Seattle Americans | WHL | 70 | 34 | 41 | 75 | 11 | 9 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 0 |
| 1958–59 | Seattle Totems | WHL | 64 | 32 | 49 | 81 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 5 | 11 | 0 |
| 1959–60 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 69 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 |
| 1960–61 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 66 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 4 | 11 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 0 |
| 1961–62 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 70 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1962–63 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 67 | 6 | 14 | 20 | 2 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1963–64 | New York Rangers | NHL | 69 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1964–65 | Baltimore Clippers | AHL | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1964–65 | New York Rangers | NHL | 27 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1964–65 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| 1965–66 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 59 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 0 | 12 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1965–66 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 12 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1966–67 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 28 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1966–67 | Pittsburgh Hornets | AHL | 17 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 0 | 9 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 4 |
| 1967–68 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 69 | 6 | 28 | 34 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1968–69 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 74 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1969–70 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 68 | 11 | 15 | 26 | 2 | 10 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 1970–71 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 70 | 4 | 9 | 13 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1971–72 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 68 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1972–73 | Alberta Oilers | WHA | 77 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1973–74 | Edmonton Oilers | WHA | 72 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 2 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| WHA totals | WHA totals | WHA totals | 149 | 16 | 45 | 61 | 4 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| NHL totals | NHL totals | NHL totals | 820 | 75 | 145 | 229 | 26 | 59 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 8 |
