Brendan Shanahan

Infobox Ice Hockey Player
team = Unrestricted Free Agent
former_teams = New York Rangers
Detroit Red Wings
Hartford Whalers
St. Louis Blues
New Jersey Devils
league = NHL


image_size = 240px
position = Right/Left Wing
shoots = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 3
weight_lb = 220
nationality = CAN
nationality_2 = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1969|1|23
birth_place = Mimico, ON, CA
draft = 2nd overall
draft_year = 1987
draft_team = New Jersey Devils
career_start = 1987

Brendan Frederick Shanahan (born 23 January 1969, in Mimico, Ontario), is a Canadian professional ice hockey right wing and is currently an Unrestricted Free Agent in the National Hockey League. With his physical play and goal scoring ability, Shanahan has scored more than 600 goals in his career, and is the leader among active players for goals scored. He helped the Detroit Red Wings win three Stanley Cups. The son of Irish parents, Rosaleen and Donal, he also excelled in lacrosse while growing up in his home town of Mimico, Ontario, a neighbourhood of Toronto, with his brothers Danny, Brian, and Shaun.

Playing career

Shanahan was drafted by the New Jersey Devils in the first round of the 1987 NHL Entry Draft. He was the second player selected, after Pierre Turgeon. Expectations for Shanahan were high after a stellar career with the London Knights of the OHL.

With titles in the Olympics, World Championship and Stanley Cup he is member of the elite Triple Gold Club and one of only five (as of 2006) to be a member of the unofficial "Quad Gold Club", adding a Canada Cup/World Cup of Hockey title to the other three. His number 19 has been retired by his junior team, the London Knights.

According to THN, Shanahan holds an unofficial NHL record for most modern day recorded career Gordie Howe hat tricks with 9. [ [http://www.greatesthockeylegends.com/2007/12/gordie-howe-hat-trick.html The Gordie Howe Hat Trick] ] However not all teams have kept records of this feat, and it is even believed that Gordie Howe himself only officially had one.

New Jersey Devils (1988 – 1991)

In the 1987-88 NHL season, he scored 26 points in 65 games as an 18-year-old. In the 1988-89 NHL season, he improved to 22 goals and 50 points. He scored 30 goals the next year and 29 in the 1990-91 NHL season. At the age of 22, Shanahan was already an established scorer in the NHL. He had also played well in the Devils' brief playoff runs.

t. Louis Blues (1991 – 1995)

On 25 July 1991, the St. Louis Blues signed Shanahan to a contract. According to the collective bargaining agreement, he was a restricted free-agent, and therefore, the Devils were due compensation. Ordinarily, this compensation would be in the form of draft picks, but the Blues already owed four first-round draft picks to the Washington Capitals for signing Scott Stevens the previous year. The Blues made an offer for compensation that was made up of Curtis Joseph, Rod Brind'Amour and two draft picks even further down the road. The Devils wanted Scott Stevens. An arbitrator eventually decided that Stevens was to be the compensation, and so Brendan Shanahan joined the Blues in exchange for Scott Stevens.

While Shanahan's first season for the Blues yielded similar statistics to his seasons with the Devils, he would explode in the 1992-93 NHL season. In 71 games, he scored 51 goals and added 43 assists for a total of 94 points. Next season, he scored 102 points, played in the NHL All-Star Game, and was named to the NHL First All-Star Team at the end of the year. During the strike, Shanahan played three games for Düsseldorf EG of the Deutsche Eishockey Liga, managing to score five goals and tally 3 assists in his short stay overseas. When the NHL started back up, he came back and continued to play well for the Blues, especially in the playoffs that year, where he scored 9 points in only 5 games.

Hartford Whalers (1995 – 1996)

On 27 July 1995, Shanahan was traded to the Hartford Whalers for Chris Pronger. In his only full season for Hartford, Brendan scored 44 goals. For his efforts, he got to play in another All-Star Game that year. With the uncertainty of the franchise, Shanahan asked for a trade. On 9 October 1996, just two games into the season, Shanahan and Brian Glynn were traded to the Detroit Red Wings for Keith Primeau, Paul Coffey, and a first-round draft pick.

Detroit Red Wings (1996 – 2006)

Shanahan finished off the season with his usual productivity, scoring a total of 47 goals for the season, and was again asked to play in the All-Star Game. In the playoffs, Shanahan helped the Red Wings with 9 goals and 8 assists as they won the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1955. They won the Cup again the next year, even though Shanahan struggled, scoring only 57 points. He scored 58 in the 1998-99 NHL season, although he played in another All-Star Game. He also suffered defeat in the playoffs, as the Red Wings lost to their bitter rivals, the Colorado Avalanche. Shanahan scored 41 goals in the next season, indicating a return to his old form in the new, lower-scoring NHL. After the season, he was named to the First All-Star Team again. He put up 76 points in the 2000-01 NHL season although Detroit both lost in the first round of the playoffs to the Los Angeles Kings and watched their rivals from Colorado win a second Stanley Cup.

The 2001-02 season was a banner one for both Shanahan and the Red Wings. Having picked up future Hall-of-Famers Brett Hull, Luc Robitaille, and Dominik Hašek in the off-season, the team was primed to win its third Cup since 1998. They cruised to victory and Shanahan continued to play a big role in their success, scoring 37 goals during the regular season and 19 points in their victorious Stanley Cup run. Shanahan also picked up an Olympic Gold Medal in Salt Lake City with Team Canada and was named to the Second NHL All-Star Team. In the season following their third Stanley Cup, Shanahan only scored 30 goals and 68 points, low totals compared to his previous few seasons. However, he won the King Clancy Memorial Trophy at the end of the year for his humanitarian efforts. In the following season, he scored 25 goals and 53 points, his lowest totals in fifteen years. However, in the 2005-06 NHL season, the first season following the owner's lockout, Shanahan showed yet another return to form, scoring an impressive 40 goals and tallying 41 assists for 81 points, good for third among Red Wings in scoring.

During the free agent period following the 2005-06 season, he signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the New York Rangers. [cite web |url=http://www.tsn.ca/nhl/news_story/?ID=170921 |publisher=AP |title=Shanahan signs 1-year deal with Rangers |date=2006-07-09 |accessdate=2008-06-24]

"It really came down to an instinct I had. Detroit has a great past and a great future ahead of them as well, but I guess I just felt that maybe I was identified with the past a little bit more than the future."As Shanahan was quoted on The Sports Network's (TSN) website (via both the Canadian Press & Associated Press) on July 9, 2006 for leaving the Wings to become a Ranger.

While a Red Wing, he appeared on the ESPN Original Show Teammates.

New York Rangers (2006 – 2008)

Shanahan was an alternate captain with the Rangers, playing on the second line. He finished the 2006-07 season 4th on the team in scoring with 62 points in 67 games. It is unclear if he re-signs with the Rangers for 2008 if he will be back as an alternate captain.

On October 5, 2006 in the Rangers season opener at Madison Square Garden, Shanahan scored his 599th and 600th career goals against Washington Capitals goaltender Olaf Kolzig, with assists coming from Petr Prucha on both goals. He is the 15th player in NHL history to reach this milestone.

On November 14, 2006, Shanahan received the inaugural Mark Messier Leadership Award, an award given monthly to a player selected by Mark Messier who best exemplifies leadership skills on and off the ice.

On January 18, 2007, Shanahan was named captain of the Eastern All Stars for the 2007 All-Star game, the first time in his seven previous career all-star appearances.

On February 1, 2007, he expressed well-publicized frustration in a press conference about his perception that NHL referees are biased against teammate Jaromir Jagr. [cite web |url=http://sports.espn.go.com/nhl/news/story?id=2750240 |publisher=AP |title=Angry Shanahan says refs are biased against Jagr |date=2007-02-01 |accessdate=2007-02-02]

As of October 11, 2008, the New York Rangers have yet to re-sign Brendan Shanahan; whose contract expired during the 2008 NHL Off Season. [cite web |url=http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/rangers/2008/07/rangers-owe-shanahan-an-answer.html |publisherNew York Daily News |title=Rangers owe Shanahan an answer| date=2007-07-16 |accessdate=2007-07-18]

Legacy

During the 2004-05 NHL lockout, Shanahan was the mastermind of what was dubbed "The Shanahan Summit," a two-day conference in Toronto. It gathered players, coaches, and other influential voices to discuss improvements to the flow and tempo of the game. Ten recommendations were presented to the League and Players Association.

Personal life

Shanahan married Catherine Janney (ex-wife of former St. Louis linemate Craig Janney) on 4 July 1998; they have three children - twins Maggie and Jack were born on 23 November, 2002, and daughter Catherine Rosaleen was born on 16 October, 2004. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20051029152858/http://www.freep.com/sports/redwings/wings27e_20051027.htm A day in the life of Brendan Shanahan] ] [ [http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2006/writers/brian_cazeneuve/12/20/rangers.notes/index.html Glittering night on Broadway] ] Shanahan became a United States citizen on 17 May, 2002, though Shanahan maintains that he will continue to play for Canada in international competition. He lives in the Boston area during the off-season. [cite web|url=http://newyorkrangers.com/pressbox/pressreleases.asp?id=3002 | title=The five-minute interview: Brendan Shanahan | date=2007-09-09 | accessdate=2007-09-11]

Career statistics

International play

Played for Canada in:

*1987 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships (Disqualified)
*1991 Canada Cup (gold medal)
*1994 World Championships (gold medal)
*1996 World Cup of Hockey (silver medal)
*1998 Winter Olympics (4th place)
*2002 Winter Olympics (gold medal)
*2006 World Championships

International statistics

ee also

*Power forward (ice hockey)
*List of NHL statistical leaders
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players with 1000 points
*List of NHL players with 500 goals
*List of NHL players with 600 goals

References

External links

*hockeydb|4888
*TSN-NHL-profile|539
* [http://www.mensvogue.com/health/articles/2007/12/shanahan "Men's Vogue" profile on Brendan Shanahan]

Persondata
NAME= Shanahan, Brendan Frederick
ALTERNATIVE NAMES=
SHORT DESCRIPTION=Ice hockey player
DATE OF BIRTH= 1969-1-23
PLACE OF BIRTH= Mimico, Ontario, Canada
DATE OF DEATH=
PLACE OF DEATH=