Cory Stillman

Cory Stillman (born December 20, 1973) is a Canadian professional ice hockey executive and former player. He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for several teams between 1994 and 2011, winning the Stanley Cup twice. He is currently an assistant coach with the Arizona Coyotes.[1]

Cory Stillman
Stillman with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2011
Born (1973-12-20) December 20, 1973
Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb)
Position Left Wing
Shot Left
Played for Calgary Flames
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Ottawa Senators
Florida Panthers
Carolina Hurricanes
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 6th overall, 1992
Calgary Flames
Playing career 19932011

Playing career

Stillman grew up in Peterborough, Ontario playing hockey for the Minor Petes (OMHA) program. He also played competitive baseball. In 1989–90, Strellman played for the Peterborough Roadrunners Jr.B. (MTJHL) hockey club before being a 2nd round choice (27th overall) of the Windsor Spitfires in the 1990 Ontario Hockey League Priority Selection.

Calgary Flames

Stillman started his professional career in 1992, when he was drafted sixth overall in the first round by the Calgary Flames. Stillman was tried on both wings, and was quoted saying he liked the left side better but he can play right wing easily if needed. He would play one more season in the OHL with Peterborough, scoring 25 goals and 55 assists in 61 games in 1992-'93, upon which he joined the Flames organization with the Saint John Flames of the American Hockey League. Stillman excelled at this level, posting an 83-point campaign (35 goals, 48 assists) across 79 games in the 1993-'94. With the NHL in a lockout at the beginning of the 1994-'95 season, Stillman remained in the AHL to begin the following season, and in his second season at this level, his performance level improved more, with 28 goals and 53 assists across 63 games.

Upon the end of the lockout, the 1994-'95 NHL season began in earnest in January; the Flames played their first game on January 20th and, in time for their ninth game of the season on February 6, Stillman made his NHL debut. This game would turn out be a 5-4 home defeat against the Winnipeg Jets, and Stillman recorded his first NHL point on a 3rd period assist on what was, at the time, the go-ahead goal before the Flames faltered late. He would notch another assist in his second career game, but failed to find the scoresheet in his next eight games, at which point he was re-assigned to St. John in the AHL. Back at this level, the AHL Flames qualified for the postseason despite a lackluster 27-40-13 record, the #4 seed from the AHL's Atlantic Division, and were quickly dispatched in the first round by the #1 seeded Prince Edward Island Senators. Saint John's 1-0 defeat in Game 5 on April 21 would represent Stillman 's final career game at the AHL level.

Stillman became a regular in the Flames lineup beginning in 1995-'96, though it would take a couple seasons for him to begin meeting expectations offensively that he had established in his minor league performances. After scoring only 22 goals and 61 points across his first two seasons, Stillman reached a new level during the 1997-'98 season in Calgary, scoring 27 goals. He would match that feat again the following season, and those 27 goals would come to represent his single-season career high. Alas for Stillman , his rounding into form coincided with a downturn in fortune for the Flames. Calgary, who had qualified for the playoffs every season except one between 1976 through until 1996, would not qualify for the playoffs for the rest of his time in the organization. He only played two playoff games for the Flames in 1996, when a declining Flames team qualified as the #7 seed and were swept in the first round by the Blackhawks.

St. Louis Blues

Hampered by injury, Stillman only played 37 games in 1999-2000 and recorded 21 points. He bounced back during 2000-'01 with 21 goals across 66 games before he was traded to the St. Louis Blues in an effort to bolster the Blues' roster ahead of the postseason. The Blues finished the regular season with 103 points and were the #4 seed in the Western Conference, and made it to the Western Conference Finals, avenging an upset in the first round against the San Jose Sharks from the previous season as well as sweeping the Pacific Division champion Dallas Stars in the second round before losing four games to one to the eventual Cup winners in the Colorado Avalanche. For his part, Stillman chipped in three goals and five assists across 15 games, including an assist on the tying goal and then scoring the game-winning goal in overtime of Game 3 against Dallas.

Stillman would score 23 goals the following season and another 24 in the 2002-'03 season, as the Blues would make the playoffs in both seasons but failed to make deep runs as they were defeated in the second round in 2002 by the Detroit Red Wings, who also went on to win the Cup that season, and then lost in the first round in the 2003 postseason to the Vancouver Canucks in seven games, surrendering a 3-1 lead in the series along the way. Stillman only recorded two goals across 15 playoff games across those two postseasons, totaling five goals and nine assists in 30 playoff games he played with the Blues overall, an average of roughly half a point per game and below the standards he had established from his regular season performances. A pending free agent at the end of the 2003-'04 season, he was traded during the off-season to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a draft pick that eventually turned out to be long-time Blues stalwart, and later captain, David Backes.

Tampa Bay Lightning

The Tampa Bay Lightning, who had been an also-ran for most of their franchise history dating back to 1992, had an unexpectedly successful season in 2002-'03, going 36-25-16-5 for a 93-point season and winning their first division championship along the way. They were defeated in the second round by the New Jersey Devils and with one of their top forwards, Vaclav Prospal, slated to hit free agency, the Lightning acquired Stillman from St. Louis for a second round pick. During the regular season, Stillman lived up to expectations and then some, as he would score 25 goals and record 80 points, a career-high, across 81 games, giving the Lightning some much needed scoring depth alongside standout forwards Martin St. Louis, Vincent Lecavalier, and Brad Richards. After their division championship of the previous season, the Lightning would exceed these levels in 2003-'04, repeating as Southeast Division champions and finishing as the #1 seed in the Eastern Conference with 106 points. The Lightning would win 25 of their final 36 regular season games, with Stillman scoring 11 goals and 46 points coinciding with this spurt.

For Stillman, he and his team would take divergent paths during the postseason. After a superb regular season, he was quiet during the postseason, scoring only two goals and five assists across 21 playoff games and only finding the scoresheet once in his last eight games. Ultimately, the Lightning were able to overcome Stillman's power outage as they would win the Stanley Cup in seven games against the team that originally drafted him, the Calgary Flames, overcoming a 3-2 deficit by winning the final two games of the series.

During the 2004 NHL Entry Draft, the Lightning re-acquired Prospal and did not re-sign Stillman, who hit free agency on July 1, 2004. With the 2004-05 NHL lockout, it would be 16 months before Stillman, or any NHL player, would play another game in the NHL.

Carolina Hurricanes

During the free agent signing period following the end of the 2004–2005 NHL lockout, Stillman agreed to a three-year contract with the Carolina Hurricanes August 2, 2005. There, his team also won the Stanley Cup. He became the first player since Claude Lemieux to win consecutive Cups with different teams, being the eleventh overall and most recent to do so until 2020.[2]

Stillman waived his no-trade clause February 11, 2008, so that the Hurricanes could trade him along with Mike Commodore to the Ottawa Senators for Patrick Eaves and Joe Corvo.

On July 1, 2008, Stillman signed a 3-year deal worth $10.6 million with the Florida Panthers.

On February 17, 2011, Stillman played his 1,000th NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers at BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise, Florida.

The Florida Panthers traded Stillman back to the Carolina Hurricanes on February 24, 2011 in exchange for Ryan Carter and a fifth round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.[3]

Executive and coaching career

Stillman announced his retirement after 16 seasons in the NHL on September 8, 2011.[4] He initially joined the Florida Panthers staff as a development coach in the proceeding 2011-12 season before returning to the Hurricanes the following year as the Director of Player Development and Director of Forwards Development.

Stillman remained in his role with the Hurricanes from 2012 until May 25, 2017, when the Sudbury Wolves of the Ontario Hockey League announced the hiring of Stillman as their new head coach.[5] He led the Wolves for three seasons with a 94–89–16 record. In 2020, he was hired by the Arizona Coyotes as an assistant coach.[1]

Personal life

Stillman is married to the former Mara Stefanski. The Stillmans have three children, Riley, Madison and Chase, who currently plays for the Sudbury Wolves, his fathers current team. His father-in-law is former AHL player Bud Stefanski. Stefanski was general manager and coach of the Mississauga St. Michael's Majors of the OHL from 2003-2007. His son, Riley, was drafted from the OHL Oshawa Generals to the Florida Panthers in the 2016 NHL Draft as the 114th overall pick.[6]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GPGAPtsPIM GPGAPtsPIM
1989–90 Peterborough Roadrunners CJHL 4130548476
1990–91 Windsor Spitfires OHL 64317010131 113698
1991–92 Windsor Spitfires OHL 5329619059 72468
1992–93 Peterborough Petes OHL 6125558055 18381118
1992–93 Canadian National Team Intl 10000
1993–94 Saint John Flames AHL 7935488352 724616
1994–95 Saint John Flames AHL 6328538170 50222
1994–95 Calgary Flames NHL 100222
1995–96 Calgary Flames NHL 7416193541 21120
1996–97 Calgary Flames NHL 586202614
1997–98 Calgary Flames NHL 7227224940
1998–99 Calgary Flames NHL 7627305738
1999–00 Calgary Flames NHL 371292112
2000–01 Calgary Flames NHL 6621244545
2000–01 St. Louis Blues NHL 123476 153588
2001–02 St. Louis Blues NHL 8023224536 90222
2002–03 St. Louis Blues NHL 7924436756 62242
2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 8125558036 2125715
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 7221557632 259172612
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 435222724
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 5521254614
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 243161910 42022
2008–09 Florida Panthers NHL 6317324937
2009–10 Florida Panthers NHL 5815223722
2010–11 Florida Panthers NHL 447162320
2010–11 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 21511164
NHL totals 1025278449727489 8219325143

International

Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
1999 Canada WC 4th 10 4 4 8 14
Senior totals 10 4 4 8 14

Awards and honours

Award Year
OHL
Emms Family Award (Rookie of the Year) 1991
AHL
All-Star Game 1995
NHL
Stanley Cup (Tampa Bay Lightning) 2004
Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes) 2006

References

  1. "Stillman Named Assistant Coach of NHL's Coyotes". OurSports Central. 15 December 2020.
  2. "Stanley Cup Playoffs". NHL. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  3. "Panthers trade Stillman to Hurricanes for Carter and pick". The Sports Network. 24 February 2011. Retrieved 2015-12-23.
  4. Davies, Mike (8 September 2011). "Cory Stillman to announce retirement Thursday". Peterborough Examiner. Archived from the original on 9 September 2011. Retrieved 2014-09-23.
  5. nurun.com. "Cory Stillman hired as Sudbury Wolves head coach". Sudbury Star. Retrieved 2017-05-25.
  6. "Riley Stillman Drafted to the Florida Panthers". Oshawa Generals. 22 June 2016. Retrieved 12 July 2016.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Niklas Sundblad
Calgary Flames' first round draft pick
1992
Succeeded by
Jesper Mattsson
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