Keith Primeau

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
position = Centre
played_for = Detroit Red Wings
Hartford Whalers
Carolina Hurricanes
Philadelphia Flyers
shot = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 5
weight_lb = 230
nationality = CAN
birth_date = birth date and age|1971|11|24
birth_place = Toronto, ON, CAN
draft = 3rd overall
draft_year = 1990
draft_team = Detroit Red Wings
career_start = 1990
career_end = 2006

Keith Primeau (born November 24, 1971) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He is currently an analyst on Comcast SportsNet's Post Game Live, a program which follows every Philadelphia Flyers game. He grew up in the Markham (with Brad May) and Whitby (with Adam Foote) AA minor hockey system along with his younger brother Wayne Primeau, who now plays for the Calgary Flames.

Playing career

Primeau was drafted third overall in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft by the Detroit Red Wings after playing two years with the Niagara Falls Thunder of the OHL. He split his first two professional seasons with Detroit and the Adirondack Red Wings of the AHL. He set career highs in assists (42), points (73), and plus/minus (+34) in 1993–94. He made his only Stanley Cup Finals appearance while with the Red Wings in 1995, losing in a sweep to the New Jersey Devils. Primeau held out after the club signed Igor Larionov and after playing for Canada in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey, Detroit traded him along with Paul Coffey and a 1997 first round draft pick (Nikos Tselios) to the Hartford Whalers for Brendan Shanahan and Brian Glynn prior to the 1996–97 season.

Primeau became a leader with his new team when the franchise moved to North Carolina and became the Carolina Hurricanes, being named team captain in 1998–99. He missed the majority of the 1999–2000 NHL season after holding out, however, and was traded to the Philadelphia Flyers along with a 2000 fifth round draft pick (Kristofer Ottosson) for Rod Brind'Amour, Jean-Marc Pelletier and a 2000 second round draft pick (Agris Saviels) on January 23, 2000. On May 5, 2000, Primeau scored the game-winning goal in the longest game in modern NHL playoff history (five overtime periods for a total of 152 minutes and one second) against Ron Tugnutt of the Pittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Only two games, in 1933 and 1936, were longer.

In his first full season with the Flyers, Primeau led the team in goals (34) and tied his career high in points (73) in 2000–01. Early in the following season, he was named team captain after defenceman Éric Desjardins resigned from the position. After posting nearly identical seasons statistically in 2001–02 and 2002–03, Primeau was given the task of centering a more defense-oriented line in 2003–04. He did well enough to earn a place in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game, the second of his career. In the 2004 playoffs Primeau recorded 9 goals and 7 assists for a total of 16 points; it was the best playoff year of Primeau's career and his play carried the team to within a game of the Stanley Cup Finals. In Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Tampa Bay Lightning, Primeau scored the game-tying goal with 1:49 left in regulation. The Flyers won the game, 5–4 in overtime, sending the series back to Tampa for Game 7. The Flyers would go on to lose that game by a score of 2–1. Hockey legend Phil Esposito would later tell Primeau that "During the 04 playoffs when you and the Flyers took the Lightning to seven games, you were the most dominating player I ever saw. More than Orr, Howe, Gretzky, or anyone." [ [http://www.hockeybuzz.com/blog.php?post_id=5562 Rumors, Rumors, Rumors, and Breaking the Forsberg Story...] , HockeyBuzz.com, retrieved on February 26, 2007.]

Nine games into the 2005–06 season, Primeau suffered a concussion which ended his season. As a result of ongoing post-concussion syndrome, he officially announced his retirement on September 14, 2006. [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2587474 Concussion effects force Keith Primeau to retire] , ESPN.com, retrieved on December 17, 2006.] On February 12, 2007, Keith Primeau was honored before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, the team which originally drafted him. An emotional Primeau thanked the fans for welcoming him after being traded to Philadelphia. [ [http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=288960 Fond farewell for Primeau in Philly] , NHL.com, retrieved on February 27, 2007.]

Awards

*1989–90: Second All-Star Team OHL
*1989–90: Eddie Powers Memorial Trophy "Leading Scorer" OHL
*1998–99: Played in All-Star Game NHL
*2000–01: Yanick Dupre Memorial (Philadelphia Flyers)
*2002–03: Toyota Cup (Philadelphia Flyers)
*2003–04: Played in All-Star Game NHL

Records

*May 5, 2000: Ended longest game in modern NHL playoff history with his goal at 92:01 of overtime.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*hockeydb|725
*legendsofhockey|11321

Primeau missed nearly all of the 2005/06 NHL season, due to a concussion. Derian Hatcher served as Flyers captain (due to Primeau's absence), during the last-half of the 2005/06 NHL season.