| Birth Date: | February 29, 1960 |
| Birth Place: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Height Ft: | 5 |
| Height In: | 11 |
| Weight Lb: | 165 |
| Position: | Centre |
| Shoots: | Left |
| Played For: | Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs |
| Draft: | Undrafted |
| Career Start: | 1980 |
| Career End: | 1997 |
Daniel Armand Daoust[1] (; born February 29, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey forward. All but four of his 522 career National Hockey League (NHL) games were spent as a member of the Toronto Maple Leafs. Daoust was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in McGarry, Ontario.
Daoust began his NHL career with the Montreal Canadiens in 1982 after three successful junior seasons playing with the Cornwall Royals, where he scored over 40 goals twice, while recording 103 points in his final season in 1979–80, that included winning the Memorial Cup. Montreal, believing he was too small to succeed in the NHL, failed to give him much of an opportunity, and he was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 17, 1982. Daoust was an immediate success in Toronto, scoring 51 points in 48 games in his first season there. Daoust relied on grit and hard work to compensate for his small stature, and became a fan favorite in Toronto in the 1980s.
Daoust's point production declined dramatically from 1985-86 to 1989-90, and by 1990 his NHL career had come to a close. In late 1990 he joined Swiss team HC Thurgau, and he was a successful player in Switzerland until 1996–97.
Daoust currently resides in Markham, Ontario with his wife Julie, daughters Josee and Melanie, and son Eric.
In April 2024, he coached the U-18 Markham Waxers hockey team into the Telus Cup tournament in Cape Breton Regional Municipality Nova Scotia, and losing to the eventual champions from Magog, Quebec both in tournament play and in the semi-finals, and missing the Bronze to the team from Calgary, Alberta in a shootout.[2]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1977–78 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 68 | 24 | 44 | 68 | 74 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 7 | ||
| 1978–79 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 72 | 42 | 55 | 97 | 85 | 7 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 29 | ||
| 1979–80 | Cornwall Royals | QMJHL | 70 | 40 | 62 | 102 | 82 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 36 | ||
| 1979–80 | Cornwall Royals | MC | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 1980–81 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 80 | 38 | 60 | 98 | 106 | 6 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 10 | ||
| 1981–82 | Nova Scotia Voyageurs | AHL | 61 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 75 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 11 | ||
| 1982–83 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 48 | 18 | 33 | 51 | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1983–84 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 78 | 18 | 56 | 74 | 88 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 79 | 17 | 37 | 54 | 98 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 80 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 88 | 10 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 19 | ||
| 1986–87 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 33 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 35 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 42 | ||
| 1987–88 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 67 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 57 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 68 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 65 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 89 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| 1990–91 | HC Ajoie | CHE.2 | 27 | 21 | 32 | 53 | 106 | 10 | 6 | 8 | 14 | 17 | ||
| 1991–92 | EHC Biel-Bienne | NDA | 5 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | SC Lyss | CHE.2 | 25 | 24 | 16 | 40 | 58 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 44 | ||
| 1991–92 | ESV Kaufbeuren | 1.GBun | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | HC Thurgau | CHE.2 | 36 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 123 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | HC Thurgau | CHE.2 | 36 | 21 | 26 | 47 | 97 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1994–95 | HC Thurgau | CHE.2 | 36 | 23 | 42 | 65 | 105 | 6 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 41 | ||
| 1995–96 | HC Thurgau | CHE.2 | 36 | 25 | 40 | 65 | 50 | 5 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 10 | ||
| 1996–97 | HC Thurgau | CHE.2 | 19 | 10 | 24 | 34 | 20 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 8 | ||
| NHL totals | 522 | 87 | 167 | 254 | 544 | 32 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 83 | ||||
| CHE.2 totals | 215 | 147 | 211 | 358 | 559 | 35 | 20 | 27 | 47 | 122 | ||||