Tom Fitzgerald (ice hockey)

Infobox Ice Hockey Player


image_size =
position = Right Wing
played_for = New York Islanders
Florida Panthers
Colorado Avalanche
Nashville Predators
Chicago Blackhawks
Toronto Maple Leafs
Boston Bruins
shot = Right
height_ft = 6
height_in = 0
weight_lb = 191
nickname =
nationality = USA
birth_date = birth date and age|1968|08|28
birth_place = Billerica, MA, USA
draft = 17th overall
draft_year = 1986
draft_team = New York Islanders
career_start = 1988
career_end = 2006

Tom Fitzgerald (born August 28, 1968, in Billerica, Massachusetts) is a retired American professional ice hockey player who played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. He is currently Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Playing career

Fitzgerald played his college hockey for Providence College and was selected by the New York Islanders of the NHL in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft (1st round, 17th overall). He turned pro in 1988 with the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Indians, and in 1990 was one of the key players who led Indians to the Calder Cup championship.

He played parts of five seasons for the Islanders before being drafted as one of the original Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Although he has been cast as a defensive forward in the NHL, he had his best scoring years in Miami and was one of the leaders in Florida's 1996 Stanley Cup run. In those 1995–96 playoffs, Fitzgerald scored the decisive goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 58-foot slapshot that found its way past Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso.

He was briefly traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1998 before being drafted in another expansion draft, this time by the Nashville Predators, who sought out his veteran leadership. Fitzgerald was named Nashville's first captain and so served for four seasons. He has subsequently played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. While with Toronto, Fitzgerald and his Maple Leafs teammate Gary Roberts both played in the 1,000th game of their careers on January 13, 2004.

In the summer of 2004, Fitzgerald signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins.

Tom and his wife Kerry have four sons; Ryan, Casey, Jack and Brendan.

In July 2006, the Boston Bruins chose not to renew his contract. He announced his retirement on September 12, 2006.

I'm very proud to retire as a Boston Bruin. I came to Boston with an agenda, which was to play here and live out a childhood dream. I did that and I'm very lucky and very fortunate. I took a lot of pride in wearing that sweater and I'm walking away a very happy man.

Fitzgerald did a stint as an analyst for the Outdoor Life Network during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, and is one of NESN's studio analysts during postgame coverage of Boston Bruins' matches.

Was the first player in NHL playoff history to score two shorthanded goals on the same minor penalty, against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 2, 1993, which also equaled the NHL record for shorthanded goals by a player in one game.

In July 2007, Fitzgerald left NESN when he was named Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Career statistics

--- Regular season --- ---- Playoffs ----Season Team Lge GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------1986-87 Providence College NCAA 27 8 14 22 22 -- -- -- -- --1987-88 Providence College NCAA 36 19 15 34 50 -- -- -- -- --1988-89 Springfield Indians AHL 61 24 18 42 43 -- -- -- -- --1988-89 New York Islanders NHL 23 3 5 8 10 -- -- -- -- --1989-90 Springfield Indians AHL 53 30 23 53 32 14 2 9 11 131989-90 New York Islanders NHL 19 2 5 7 4 4 1 0 1 41990-91 Capital District Islander AHL 27 7 7 14 50 -- -- -- -- --1990-91 New York Islanders NHL 41 5 5 10 24 -- -- -- -- --1991-92 Capital District Islander AHL 4 1 1 2 4 -- -- -- -- --1991-92 New York Islanders NHL 45 6 11 17 28 -- -- -- -- --1992-93 New York Islanders NHL 77 9 18 27 34 18 2 5 7 181993-94 Florida Panthers NHL 83 18 14 32 54 -- -- -- -- --1994-95 Florida Panthers NHL 48 3 13 16 31 -- -- -- -- --1995-96 Florida Panthers NHL 82 13 21 34 75 22 4 4 8 341996-97 Florida Panthers NHL 71 10 14 24 64 5 0 1 1 01997-98 Florida Panthers NHL 69 10 5 15 57 -- -- -- -- --1997-98 Colorado Avalanche NHL 11 2 1 3 22 7 0 1 1 201998-99 Nashville Predators NHL 80 13 19 32 48 -- -- -- -- --1999-00 Nashville Predators NHL 82 13 9 22 66 -- -- -- -- --2000-01 Nashville Predators NHL 82 9 9 18 71 -- -- -- -- --2001-02 Nashville Predators NHL 63 7 9 16 33 -- -- -- -- --2001-02 Chicago Blackhawks NHL 15 1 3 4 6 5 0 0 0 42002-03 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 66 4 13 17 57 7 0 1 1 42003-04 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 69 7 10 17 52 10 0 0 0 62004-05 DNP - 04/05 Lockout -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- --2005-06 Boston Bruins NHL 71 4 6 10 40 -- -- -- -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NHL totals 1097 139 190 329 776 78 7 12 19 90

ee also

*List of AHL seasons
*List of NHL seasons
*List of NHL players

External links

*hockeydb|1691|Tom Fitzgerald
*legendsofhockey|10479|Tom Fitzgerald