Cloutier spent five prolific seasons as a winger in the World Hockey Association (WHA) with the Quebec Nordiques.

After the WHA folded, he played an additional five seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), still at a point-a-game scoring pace, with the Quebec Nordiques and the Buffalo Sabres.

[1] Touted as one of the most promising prospects in the history of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, Cloutier played junior hockey for the Quebec Remparts, leading his team to back to back Memorial Cup finals in 1973 and 1974.

Cloutier's time in Quebec came to an end as he, along with the Nordiques' first-round draft pick, was traded on June 8, 1983 to the Buffalo Sabres in exchange for Tony McKegney, André Savard, and Jean-François Sauvé.

[2] In Buffalo he reportedly clashed with Sabres' coach Scotty Bowman, who had a long history of benching offensive players who he felt were not paying sufficient attention to defensive play, and although he scored a credible 24 goals and 60 points in his only full season for the Sabres, he was sent to the minor leagues the next year, retiring thereafter at the age of 28.