Skating for the Trois-Rivieres Draveurs in 1990-91, Yanic Perreault made it very difficult for NHL teams to continue passing him by in their annual Entry Draft. They'd already spurned him on two occasions, but this time around, Perreault led the QMJHL in scoring and was the league MVP. The Toronto Maple Leafs were first to step to the plate, selecting him 47th overall. They then assigned him to St. John's of the AHL for two years of seasoning. After only 13 games with the Leafs in 1993-94, Perreault was traded to the Los Angeles Kings where, after some time in the minors, he finally caught a break, putting in his first full season in 1995-96. After a career-high 49 points, he appeared in the 1996 World Championships in Vienna, Austria where he scored eight goals and two assists, leading Team Canada to a silver medal.



Perreault then returned to the Kings' lineup and continued to make steady progress, becoming one of the leagues top faceoff artists. Looking more like a bonafide NHLer, the Leafs re-acquired the centreman in 1998, making him their faceoff specialist. His soft hands and accurate shot brought him to better his totals from the 1995-96 season, recording 52 points during the 2000-01 campaign. But during the off-season, the Leafs brought in a wealth of new centremen thus making Perreault expendable. After parts of three seasons in Toronto, Perreault signed as a free agent with the Montreal Canadiens in the summer of 2001 and upon his arrival surpassed the 600-games played plateau in 2002-03 and in 2003-04 notched his 400th point. Following a lock out year in 2004-05, Perreault joined the Nashville Predators just prior to the 2005-06 NHL season.