Born in Quebec City, Quebec, he was originally selected by Hartford Whalers in the first round (#11 overall) of the 1984 NHL Entry Draft. Côté's younger brother, Alain Côté, played for the Montreal Canadiens during the 1990s.
Hartford Whalers Sylvain Cote 1st NHL Goal
Career statistics
--- Regular season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1982-83 Quebéc Remparts QMJHL 66 10 24 34 50 -- -- -- -- --1983-84 Quebéc Remparts QMJHL 66 15 50 65 89 5 1 1 2 01984-85 Hartford Whalers NHL 67 3 9 12 17 -- -- -- -- --1985-86 Hartford Whalers NHL 2 0 0 0 0 -- -- -- -- --1985-86 Hull Olympiques QMJHL 26 10 33 43 14 13 6 28 34 221986-87 Binghamton Whalers AHL 12 2 4 6 0 -- -- -- -- --1986-87 Hartford Whalers NHL 67 2 8 10 20 2 0 2 2 21987-88 Hartford Whalers NHL 67 7 21 28 30 6 1 1 2 41988-89 Hartford Whalers NHL 78 8 9 17 49 3 0 1 1 41989-90 Hartford Whalers NHL 28 4 2 6 14 5 0 0 0 21990-91 Hartford Whalers NHL 73 7 12 19 17 6 0 2 2 21991-92 Washington Capitals NHL 78 11 29 40 31 7 1 2 3 41992-93 Washington Capitals NHL 77 21 29 50 34 6 1 1 2 41993-94 Washington Capitals NHL 84 16 35 51 66 9 1 8 9 61994-95 Washington Capitals NHL 47 5 14 19 53 7 1 3 4 21995-96 Washington Capitals NHL 81 5 33 38 40 6 2 0 2 121996-97 Washington Capitals NHL 57 6 18 24 28 -- -- -- -- --1997-98 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 12 3 6 9 6 -- -- -- -- --1997-98 Washington Capitals NHL 59 1 15 16 36 -- -- -- -- --1998-99 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 79 5 24 29 28 17 2 1 3 101999–00 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 45 6 18 24 14 -- -- -- -- --1999–00 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 3 0 1 1 0 -- -- -- -- --1999–00 Dallas Stars NHL 28 2 8 10 14 23 2 1 3 82000-01 Washington Capitals NHL 68 7 11 18 18 5 0 0 0 22001-02 Washington Capitals NHL 70 3 11 14 26 -- -- -- -- --2002-03 Washington Capitals NHL 1 0 0 0 4 -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL totals 1171 122 313 435 545 102 11 22 33 62
Awards and honors
All-Star selection, defence, 1986 IIHF World Junior Hockey Championships