Career
Originally a forward, Vadnais was shifted to defence in his final year of junior hockey with the Montreal Junior. Canadiens. In his first National Hockey League training camp, he made the Montreal Canadiens lineup for the 1966-1967 season. While the Canadiens were initially successful in not exposing Vadnais to the 1967 expansion draft, he was left unprotected after the 1967-1968 season and would be claimed by the expansion Oakland Seals in the June 1968 intra-league draft.
He became the Seals" captain at the beginning of the 1971-1972 season but was traded mid-season.
The Bruins outbid Vadnais" old club, the Canadiens, to secure his services. Vadnais was involved in the November 7, 1975 blockbuster trade that sent him along with star forward Philosophy Esposito to the New York Rangers.
Vadnais went on to play seven seasons for the Rangers and one for the New Jersey Devils before retiring in 1983. Vadnais played 1,087 career National Hockey League games, scoring 169 goals and 418 assists for 587 points, as well as adding 1,813 penalty minutes.
In his best statistical season (1974-1975), he scored 18 goals and set career highs with 56 assists and 74 points.
Vadnais joined the Rangers" coaching staff as an assistant for the 1983-1984 and 1984-1985 seasons. This was followed by one season as the head coach of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League"s Verdun Junior Canadiens, after which Vadnais left hockey for good. After hockey, Vadnais worked as a real estate agent in the Montreal area.
Vadnais died of cancer on August 31, 2014, at the age of 68.