 During his NHL career he played for the Whalers, the New Jersey Devils, the Montreal Canadiens and the Ottawa Senators.Turgeon scored 40 goals as a rookie for the Whalers in the 1983–84 NHL season, establishing career highs of 45 goals, 34 assists and 79 points for the Whalers in the 1985–86 season, and he scored 30 or more goals four times in his NHL career.However, he suffered a major abdominal injury in 1986–87 and would not reach the same highs again.