Keith Tkachuk

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
position = Forward
shoots = Left
height_ft = 6
height_in = 2
weight_lb = 232
team = St. Louis Blues
league = NHL
nationality = United States
birth_date = birth date and age|1972|3|28
birth_place = Melrose, MA, USA
career_start = 1991
draft = 19th overall
draft_year = 1990
draft_team = Winnipeg Jets
image_size = 230px
former_teams = Atlanta Thrashers
Phoenix Coyotes
Winnipeg Jets

Keith Matthew Tkachuk (born March 28 1972, in Melrose, Massachusetts) is an American professional ice hockey player in the National Hockey League. He is currently playing left wing for the St. Louis Blues.cite web | url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/players/profile?statsId=558 | title=Keith Tkachuck Player Card | publisher = ESPN.com | accessdate=2007-01-17 ] cite web | url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=327069 | title=Blues looking to sing a different tune this season | publisher = nhl.com | accessdate=2007-07-05 ]

Playing career

Keith began his hockey career at Malden Catholic High School in Malden, Massachusetts. Tkachuk played collegiate hockey at Boston University, and was a member of the U.S. National Junior team in 1991 and 1992.cite web |url=http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1156564/bio |title=Biography for Keith Tkachuk |publisher=Internet Movie Database |accessdate=2007-01-18] He was drafted in the first round (19th overall) in the 1990 entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets.

Winnipeg Jets (1992–1996)

Tkachuk's first game in the NHL was on February 28, 1992 against the Vancouver Canucks, in which he tallied an assist. He would finish the season with the Jets, getting eight points in 17 games. In the playoffs that year, he scored three goals in seven games. The following season, 1992–93, was Tkachuk's official rookie year. He appeared in 83 games and ended the season with 28 goals and 51 points, including a 23–game scoring streak from March 9 to April 3, 1993.

Tkachuk became the team captain the next season on November 3, 1993, two weeks after recording his first hat trick, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Some of his accomplishments from that season include leading the Jets in goals (41), points (81), and power play goals (22). The 1994–95 season, which was shortened by a lockout, saw Tkachuk earn all-star second-team honors, as well as being second on the team in points.

In the 1995-96 season, Tkachuk dominated the Jets' statistics finishing first in goals (50), assists (48), points (98), power play goals (20), game-winning goals (6), shots (249), and plus/minus (+11).cite web |url=http://www.nhlpa.com/WebStats/PlayerBiography.asp?ID=5631 |title=NHLPA Player Bio |accessdate=2007-01-17 |publisher=NHLPA ]

Phoenix Coyotes (1996–2001)

The Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona in 1996, where Tkachuk became a member of the new Phoenix Coyotes. It was with Phoenix during the 1996–97 season that he has his career-best 52 goals, and made his first appearance in the NHL All-Star Game. He also led the team in goals, points, power-play goals, game-winning goals, and shots for the 1997–98 season, earning him his second straight All-Star appearance. For the 1998–99 season, Tkachuk led the team in goals, power-play goals, game-winning goals, shots, and plus/minus, and again went to the All-Star game.

After struggling with injuries for the next two seasons, the Coyotes traded Tkachuk to the Blues in 2001 for Ladislav Nagy, Michal Handzus and Jeff Taffe and a 1st round selection (Ben Eager). [cite web |url=http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/teams/players/bio/?id=1039&hubname=nhl-blues |title=Keith Tkachuk Player Bio |accessdate=2007-01-17 |publisher=The Sports Network (Canada) ] He would leave the team ranking second in all-time goals (323) and first in penalty minutes (1,508) among other records.

St. Louis Blues (2001–Present)

Tkachuk made an immediate impact on the Blues, scoring six goals and eight points in the final 12 games of the 2000-01 season. The Blues made it to the Western Conference final in the playoffs that season, losing to the Colorado Avalanche. He has experienced several injuries while with the Blues, and was briefly suspended when he reported to training camp overweight and failed his physical at the beginning of the 2005-06 season. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2589322 |title=Leaner Tkachuk ready to prove doubters wrong |publisher=ESPN.com |accessdate=2007-01-18] The Blues traded Tkachuk to Atlanta at the 2007 trade deadline for Glen Metropolit and draft picks.

On June 26th of the same year, St. Louis reacquired Tkachuk along with a conditional 4th round draft pick for a conditional first round pick in 2008. Tkachuk signed a new, two-year contract with the Blues for $8 million on June 30th. Upon re-signing, Tkachuk said of the Blues that "I see a lot of good things happening... They're going to be very active in making this a better hockey team." [cite web |url=http://tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=212339&hubname=nhl |title=Tkachuk inks deal with Blues |publisher=Tsn.ca The Sports Network|accessdate=2007-07-01] To help prove the Blues would be better, after signing Tkachuk they signed left winger Paul Kariya. Coach Andy Murray announced that he would try a line where Tkachuk would be centering Kariya on left wing and Brad Boyes on right. [cite web |url=http://www.nhl.com/nhl/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=327069 |title=Blues looking to sing a different tune this season |publisher=nhl.com|accessdate=2007-07-05]

On the last day of the 2007-08 regular season (April 6), Tkachuk scored his 500th NHL Goal, a milestone only three other American-born players have achieved, and the 41st overall in NHL history. [cite web |url=http://blues.nhl.com/team/app/?service=page&page=NewsPage&articleid=359407 |title=For Tkachuk, Milestones Keep Piling Up: Blues power forward scores 500th career goal Sunday at Columbus |author=Chris Pinkert |date=2008-04-06 |accessdate=2008-04-07 |publisher=St. Louis Blues]

Atlanta Thrashers (2007)

On February 25, 2007, Tkachuk was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Glen Metropolit, a 1st round pick in 2007, a 3rd round pick in 2007 and a 2nd round pick in 2008. If Tkachuk had resigned with the Thrashers, the Blues would have Atlanta's 1st round pick in 2008. Since the Blues acquired exclusive negotiating rights with Tkachuk and resigned him to a two-year deal, Atlanta will now receive a conditional 4th round pick in 2008. [http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/sports/stories.nsf/blues/story/3D00FE74A9AF6C188625730700114292?OpenDocument]

Awards

* Hockey East All-Rookie Team — 1991
* NHL Second All-Star Team — 1995, 1998
* Played in 4 NHL All-Star Games — 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004
* NHL Player of the Week — December 6, 1993; April 1, 1994; April 7, 1997

Select milestones

* 1000 games played — December 1st, 2007, against the Chicago Blackhawks
* 700 career points — April 5, 2002, against the Chicago Blackhawks
* 400 career goals — October 12, 2003, against the Colorado Avalanche
* 500 career goals — April 6, 2008, against the Columbus Blue Jackets

Records

Tkachuk led the NHL in goals during the 1996-97 season with 52, the first American-born player to do so. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2416140 |title=Blues decide to retain Tkachuk |accessdate=2007-01-17 |publisher=Associated Press ] That season he was also only the fourth player in NHL history to record 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season.

Other records:
* Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career game-winning goals (40)
* Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career penalty minutes (1,508)

Career statistics

International play

Played for the United States in:

*1992 Winter Olympics
*1996 World Cup of Hockey (gold medal)
*1998 Winter Olympics
*2002 Winter Olympics (silver medal)
*2004 World Cup of Hockey
*2006 Winter Olympics

International statistics

Personal life

Tkachuk has been married to Chantel Oster since February 28, 1997, and has three children.

Notes and references

ee also

*Power forward (ice hockey)
*List of current NHL players

External links

*hockeydb|5414
* [http://www.usolympicteam.com/26_12458.htm Keith Tkachuk's U.S. Olympic Team bio]

Note: Tkachuk was stripped of the Jets captaincy, at the start of the 1995–96 NHL season (the Winnipeg Jets last season), after a contract dispute. Kris King was named the new captain.
Tkachuk was restored as captain at the start of the 1996–97 NHL season, when the Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become the Phoenix Coyotes.