Mike Gartner

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Mike Gartner
Born October 29, 1959
Ottawa, ON, CAN
Height 6 ft 0 in (183 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
NHL draft 4th overall, 1979
Washington Capitals
Playing career 1978–1998

Michael Alfred Gartner (born October 29, 1959 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) is a former Canadian professional ice hockey right winger who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Washington Capitals, Minnesota North Stars, New York Rangers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Phoenix Coyotes. He also played one season in the defunct World Hockey Association for the Cincinnati Stingers.

Playing career

Gartner was drafted in the 1st Round, 4th overall by the Washington Capitals in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Mike Gartner started his professional career playing in the WHA as an underager with the Cincinnati Stingers in 1978-79. He played on a line with Mark Messier and had a successful campaign, finishing second to Wayne Gretzky for Rookie-of-the-Year honors. As a result, with the WHA folding at the end of the season, he played the next season with the Capitals, and would play for them for the better part of ten seasons. He recorded an assist in his NHL debut on October 11, 1979 versus the Buffalo Sabres, and he wore number eleven for the Caps.

Gartner had a solid season in 1979-80, winning the Capitals' Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, as well as being voted by their fans as the team's Most Promising Player. He also led the team with 36 goals. Gartner was traded to the Minnesota North Stars on March 7, 1989 with Larry Murphy for Dino Ciccarelli and Bob Rouse. He left the Capitals as the team's all-time leader in career goals, assists and points, and currently stands second in those three categories.

However, Gartner only lasted one season with Minnesota and was traded to the New York Rangers on March 6, 1990 for Ulf Dahlen, a draft pick and future considerations. He had a strong start with the Rangers scoring two goals in his debut versus the Philadelphia Flyers. In fact, he scored eleven goals and sixteen points in the remaining twelve regular season games the Rangers played that year. In 1991-92, he became the first player in NHL history to score his 500th goal, 500th assist, and 1000th point all in the same season. The next season, Gartner became the first Ranger to score at least 40 goals in three consecutive seasons. He also scored four goals in the NHL All-Star Game and earned the All-Star Game MVP award.

In 1993-94, Gartner was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs for Glenn Anderson, a minor leaguer and a draft pick. He played with the Leafs until 1996, when he was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes, who had just re-located from Winnipeg. Gartner scored the first goal and hat trick in Phoenix history on October 7 against the Boston Bruins, in the franchise's second game. He played two seasons with the Coyotes before retiring in August, 1998.

Gartner is also active with the NHL Players Association. He served as president of the NHLPA from 1996 until his retirement in 1998 and currently serves as Chairman of the Goals & Dreams program with the NHLPA

Gartner is a Born-again Christian, and was introduced to the faith during his playing days by former Washington teammate Jean Pronovost. His son, Josh, played goalie for Yale University.

Distinction

Despite his impressive career, Gartner never won the Stanley Cup or played in the Finals. Only Phil Housley has played in more games (1495) without winning the Cup (though Housley played in the 1998 Finals).

He was a member of the New York Rangers team that would go on to win the championship in 1994, but he was traded to Toronto at the trade deadline. He was traded close to the NHL Trading Deadline three times in his career, and had a knack for producing immediately for those teams, as in a combined 35 games with his new teams during the regular season after the mid-season deals, he had 24 goals, 18 assists, 42 points, and a +16 rating.

Gartner was noted for his consistency during his career, as he did not miss a game in eight of his nineteen NHL seasons. He holds the NHL record of 14-consecutive 30+ goal seasons and led his team in goals nine times during his career. Gartner became only the fifth player in NHL history to reach at least 700 goals, despite only once scoring more than 50 in a single season. Since his totals were strong but never close to the scoring leaders, this explained why Gartner never made the First Team All-Star or Second Team All-Star, nor won a major NHL award.

Awards and achievements

  • 2001 - Inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame
  • NHL's Player of the Week for the week ending February 22, 1987.
  • NHL's Player of the Month for February, 1987, becoming first Capital to win the award.
  • NHL's Player of the Week for the week ending November 26, 1989.
  • NHL All-Star Game MVP (1993)
  • NHL's Fastest Skater at All-Star Game Skills Competition in (1991, 1993 and 1996)
  • Played in the NHL All-Star Game (1981, 1985, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1993, 1996)
  • One of the three final WHA players still active in professional hockey (Mark Messier and Wayne Gretzky being the last two) at the time of his retirement.
  • In 1998, he was ranked number 89 on The Hockey News' list of the 100 Greatest Hockey Players.

Records

  • NHL record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons (15)
  • NHL record for most goals in an All-Star Game (4 in 1993, shares record)
  • NHL record for most 30-goal seasons (17)
  • NHL record for fastest two goals from the start of an All-Star Game (in 3:37, 1993)
  • Washington Capitals record for longest point-streak (17 games, did it twice)
  • Washington Capitals record for longest goals-streak (9 games in 1986-87, shares record)
  • Washington Capitals record for most shorthanded goals in a season (6 in 1986-87, shares record)
  • Washington Capitals record most points by a right winger in one season (102 in 1984-85)

Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1975-76 St. Catharines Black Hawks OHA 3 1 3 4 0 4 1 0 1 2
1976-77 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 62 33 42 75 125 -- -- -- -- --
1977-78 Niagara Falls Flyers OHA 64 41 49 90 56 -- -- -- -- --
1978-79 Cincinnati Stingers WHA 78 27 25 52 123 3 0 2 2 2
1979-80 Washington Capitals NHL 77 36 32 68 66 -- -- -- -- --
1980-81 Washington Capitals NHL 80 48 46 94 100 -- -- -- -- --
1981-82 Washington Capitals NHL 80 35 45 80 121 -- -- -- -- --
1982-83 Washington Capitals NHL 73 38 38 76 54 4 0 0 0 4
1983-84 Washington Capitals NHL 80 40 45 85 90 8 3 7 10 16
1984-85 Washington Capitals NHL 80 50 52 102 71 5 4 3 7 9
1985-86 Washington Capitals NHL 74 35 40 75 63 9 2 10 12 4
1986-87 Washington Capitals NHL 78 41 32 73 61 7 4 3 7 14
1987-88 Washington Capitals NHL 80 48 33 81 73 14 3 4 7 14
1988-89 Washington Capitals NHL 56 26 29 55 71 -- -- -- -- --
1988-89 Minnesota North Stars NHL 13 7 7 14 2 5 0 0 0 6
1989-90 Minnesota North Stars NHL 67 34 36 70 32 -- -- -- -- --
1989-90 New York Rangers NHL 12 11 5 16 6 10 5 3 8 12
1990-91 New York Rangers NHL 79 49 20 69 53 6 1 1 2 0
1991-92 New York Rangers NHL 76 40 41 81 55 13 8 8 16 4
1992-93 New York Rangers NHL 84 45 23 68 59 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 New York Rangers NHL 71 28 24 52 58 -- -- -- -- --
1993-94 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 10 6 6 12 4 18 5 6 11 14
1994-95 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 38 12 8 20 6 5 2 2 4 2
1995-96 Toronto Maple Leafs NHL 82 35 19 54 52 6 4 1 5 4
1996-97 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 82 32 31 63 38 7 1 2 3 4
1997-98 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 60 12 15 27 24 5 1 0 1 18
NHL Totals 1432 708 627 1335 1159 122 43 50 93 125

International play

  • Played for Team Canada in the 1978 World Junior Championships and won a bronze medal.
  • Played for Team Canada in the 1981, 1982, 1983, and 1993 World Championships and won a bronze medal in 1982 and 1983.
  • Played for Team Canada in the 1984 and 1987 Canada Cups, winning first place in both tournaments.

International Statistics

Year Team Event GP G A Pts PIM
1978 Team Canada WJC 6 3 3 6 4
1981 Team Canada WCh 8 4 0 4 8
1982 Team Canada WC 10 3 2 5 6
1983 Team Canada WC 10 4 1 5 12
1984 Team Canada CC 8 3 2 5 10
1987 Team Canada CC 9 2 2 4 6
1993 Team Canada WCh 7 3 4 7 12
7 Tourneys Team Canada Career 58 22 14 36 58

See also

References

External links

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