Bill Guerin

William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Minnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Bill Guerin
Guerin in 2015
Born (1970-11-09) November 9, 1970
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for New Jersey Devils
Edmonton Oilers
Boston Bruins
Dallas Stars
St. Louis Blues
San Jose Sharks
New York Islanders
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  United States
NHL Draft 5th overall, 1989
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 19912010

Guerin played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), winning two Stanley Cup championships with the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Internationally, Guerin represented the United States in the Olympics in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and participated in two Ice Hockey World Championships. Guerin is the first player of Hispanic descent to play in the NHL.[1][2]

Playing career

Professional

Guerin during his time as Islanders captain

Guerin was drafted in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft fifth overall by the New Jersey Devils and played with the team from 1991 to 1998, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995. Midway through the 1997–98 season, Guerin was traded (along with Valeri Zelepukin) to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir.

After a 41-goal season in 2001–02, Guerin left the Bruins as a free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Dallas Stars.[3] He performed below expectations during his tenure with the Stars. After a disappointing season in 2005–06 in which he recorded just 40 points, Dallas opted to buy-out the remainder of his contract. The conditions of buyouts in the NHL meant that the Stars would have to pay him two-thirds of the remaining salary on his contract spread out over twice as many years; this meant $6.7 million over one year became $4.4 million over two years.

On July 3, 2006, Guerin signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.[4] Playing on a line with former Oiler teammate Doug Weight, Guerin revived his career, easily eclipsing his disappointing goal-scoring mark from the 2005–06 season. He was named to the 2007 All-Star Game (hosted by the Stars) to represent the Blues. Despite numerous criticisms of his play during his time as a Star, Guerin received a standing ovation from the Dallas fans in recognition as his status as a longtime fan favorite.

On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the 214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games.[5] Later that month, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks[6] in exchange for Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball and a conditional first-round pick (either New Jersey's in 2007 or San Jose's in 2008). During the subsequent off-season, Guerin signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders.[7] On July 9, 2007, he was named captain of the Islanders, making him the 11th captain in team history.[8]

Guerin fights Jim Slater, April 2010

On March 4, 2009, Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The pick, a 2009 fourth-round pick if the Penguins made the playoffs, was later turned into a 2009 third-round pick once the Penguins advanced to the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.[9] Guerin won the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009, with the Penguins, defeating the Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 2–1 for Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. His 14 years between Stanley Cups as a player was the third-longest wait in NHL history, behind Chris Chelios (16) and Mark Recchi (15).

After vocal encouragement for his return from the crowd and teammates at Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup parade on June 15, as well as expressing his own affection for the city and team, Guerin signed a one-year contract extension with the Penguins on June 29 at a greatly reduced salary to play through the 2009–10 season. He became the first player to have a 20-goal season with seven different teams and one of only three to have a 20-goal season with five or more different teams (the two others being Eddie Shack and Ray Sheppard). Ray Shero, the general manager for the Penguins opted not to offer Guerin a contract for the 2010–11 season. On September 7, 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers invited Guerin to try out at training camp, but on October 4, the Flyers released him prior to the start of the regular season.

On December 6, 2010, Guerin announced his retirement as a player from the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin.[10] At the time of his retirement, Guerin ranked seventh all-time among Americans in the NHL with 429 goals.[11]

Management career

On June 6, 2011, the Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach.[12] On June 6, 2014, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford announced that Guerin would be promoted to assistant general manager of the team. Rutherford said that Guerin would be focusing on developing the analytical side of the game. Following consecutive Stanley Cup triumphs in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins announced that Guerin's duties would expand to include the role of general manager of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, made vacant via the departure of Jason Botterill to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.[13]

On August 21, 2019, Guerin was named the fourth general manager of the Minnesota Wild.[14]

Personal life

Guerin was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy, where he played high-school hockey.

Guerin is of Nicaraguan and Irish descent. He is married to Kara and they have four children: Kayla Lyn, born on July 6, 1997; Grace Elizabeth, born in 1999; Liam, born on May 26, 2001;[15] and Lexi Rose,[16] born on December 2, 2002.[17][18]

Guerin and his family currently reside in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. While playing for the Devils, Guerin and his family lived in Moorestown, New Jersey.[19]

Guerin is honored as the Penguins nominee for the Masterton Trophy during a pregame ceremony in April 2010

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 48 26 19 45 71
1986–87 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 32 34 20 54 40
1987–88 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 38 31 44 75 146
1988–89 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 31 32 35 67 90
1989–90 Boston College Eagles HE 39 14 11 25 64
1990–91 Boston College Eagles HE 38 26 19 45 102
1991–92 United States Intl 46 12 15 27 67
1991–92 Utica Devils AHL 22 13 10 23 6 4 1 3 4 14
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 5 0 1 1 9 6 3 0 3 4
1992–93 Utica Devils AHL 18 10 7 17 47
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 65 14 20 34 63 5 1 1 2 4
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 25 19 44 101 17 2 1 3 35
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 48 12 13 25 72 20 3 8 11 30
1995–96 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 23 30 53 116
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 29 18 47 95 8 2 1 3 18
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 19 5 5 10 13
1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 13 16 29 80 12 7 1 8 17
1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 30 34 64 133 3 0 2 2 2
1999–2000 Edmonton Oilers NHL 70 24 22 46 123 5 3 2 5 9
2000–01 Edmonton Oilers NHL 21 12 10 22 18
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 64 28 35 63 122
2001–02 Boston Bruins NHL 78 41 25 66 91 6 4 2 6 6
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 64 25 25 50 113 4 0 0 0 4
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 82 34 35 69 109 5 0 1 1 4
2005–06 Dallas Stars NHL 70 13 27 40 115 5 3 1 4 0
2006–07 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 28 19 47 52
2006–07 San Jose Sharks NHL 16 8 1 9 14 9 0 2 2 12
2007–08 New York Islanders NHL 81 23 21 44 65
2008–09 New York Islanders NHL 61 16 20 36 63
2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 17 5 7 12 18 24 7 8 15 15
2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 78 21 24 45 75 11 4 5 9 2
NHL totals 1,263 429 427 856 1,660 133 39 34 73 152

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1989 United States WJC 7 0 3 3 16
1990 United States WJC 7 0 0 0 18
1996 United States WCH 7 0 2 2 17
1998 United States OG 4 0 3 3 2
2002 United States OG 6 4 0 4 4
2004 United States WCH 5 2 2 4 8
2006 United States OG 6 1 0 1 0
Junior totals 14 0 3 3 34
Senior totals 28 7 7 14 31

Transactions

See also

References

  1. "Columns". CBSSports.com. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  2. "The Center Of Hockey: Press Room". Centralhockeyleague.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  3. "Bill Guerin bolts Bruins for Stars". CBC.ca. September 18, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  4. "Blues sign veteran forward Guerin to one-year deal". ESPN.com. 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  5. Rutherford, Jeremy (2007). "Blue Notes: Guerin hits 1,000 games tonight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  6. "Guerin switches to San Jose Sharks". CNN.com. 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  7. Coffey, Phil (2007). "Islanders bolster offense with Guerin". NHL.com. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  8. "Islanders name Guerin new captain". Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  9. "Penguins acquire C Guerin". March 4, 2009.
  10. "Billy Guerin to Retire "As a Pittsburgh Penguin"". PittsburghPenguins.com. December 6, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  11. Brehm, Mike (December 6, 2010). "Bill Guerin announces retirement after 18 NHL seasons". USA Today.
  12. "Penguins Name Bill Guerin Player Development Coach".
  13. "Pittsburgh tabs Bill Guerin as new GM of WBS Penguins". Times Leader. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  14. "New GM Guerin arrives in Minnesota with winning pedigree". NHL.com. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  15. "Atlantic Youth Hockey League - Player Information - Liam Guerin". Atlantichockey.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  16. Archived July 13, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  17. Bradley, Jeff (January 8, 2003). "ESPNMAG.com - Wicked". Assets.espn.go.com. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  18. "HHOF Site Map". Hhof.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  19. Staff. "Guerin to Flyers? Speculation Bruin", Philadelphia Daily News, November 30, 2001. Accessed March 1, 2011. "Guerin spends his offseasons in Moorestown with his wife, Kara, and their three kids. Kara is from Medford."
Preceded by
Corey Foster
New Jersey Devils first round draft pick
1989
Succeeded by
Jason Miller
Preceded by
Alexei Yashin
New York Islanders captain
200709
Succeeded by
Doug Weight
Preceded by
Paul Fenton
General manager of the Minnesota Wild
2019–present
Succeeded by
incumbent
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