Garry Unger

Garry Unger
Date of birth	December 7, 1947
place of birth	Edmonton , Alberta , Canada
size	180 cm
Weight	77 kg
position	center
Shot hand	Left
Career stations
1964-1966	Calgary Buffaloes
1966-1967	London Nationals
1967-1968	Toronto Maple Leafs
1968-1971	Detroit Red Wings
1971-1979	St. Louis Blues
1979-1980	Atlanta Flames
1980-1981	Los Angeles Kings
1981-1983	Edmonton Oilers
1985-1986	Dundee Rockets
1986-1988	Peterborough Pirates

Garry Douglas Unger (born December 7, 1947 in Edmonton , Alberta ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player (center) and coach who worked for the Toronto Maple Leafs , Detroit Red Wings , St. Louis Blues , Atlanta Flames , Los Angeles Kings and Edmonton Oilers played in the National Hockey League .

Career

Unger played in the OHA during his junior years with the London Nationals . After several assignments in different teams, coach Punch Imlach brought him to the Toronto Maple Leafs squad on February 24, 1968 . He replaced the injured Dave Keon as center in a row with Mike Walton and Chief Armstrong . Hardly anyone would have thought at the time that Unger would not miss a single game in the NHL in the following years. Unger was given to other clubs four times in the next few years. At the Maple Leafs he played only 15 games before he was given  to the Detroit Red Wings - together with Frank Mahovlich and the rights to Carl Brewer . In return, four players, including Norm Ullman and Paul Henderson , came to Toronto.

In Detroit, Unger was a regular straight away. He developed into one of the best scorers in the team and achieved 66 points in the 1969/70 season . In February 1971 the Red Wings gave it to the St. Louis Blues together with Wayne Connelly in exchange for Red Berenson and Tim Ecclestone .

Four times in a row he was the best scorer in the Blues and in his fifth season in 1975/76 he only finished second despite a personal best of 83 points. At the end of the season, Unger surpassed Andy Hebenton's record , who had played 630 games in a row. In the following years his point yield decreased, even if he reached over 50 points three times in a row. A tragic accident occurred at a team celebration on Unger's property on May 27, 1977. Some players, slightly drunk, got on motorcycles and drove around. His teammate Bob Gassoff was killed in an accident.

After the end of the 1978/79 season , the Atlanta Flames gave two players and a draft right to the Blues to commit Unger. Unger felt his life was unfulfilled and during the Flames he came into contact with Paul Henderson. Through him and a group of Christian players, Unger discovered his spirituality. When Al MacNeil , the coach of the Flames, did not raise him on December 22, 1979, Unger's streak ended after 914 games without a break.

Before the beginning of the 1980/81 season , he switched to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Bert Wilson and Randy Holt , who gave him to the Edmonton Oilers before the end of the season. There he ended his career in the NHL after the 1982/83 season . He played in Great Britain for a few more years.

From 1989 Unger was active as a trainer. After two years with the Phoenix Roadrunners in the International Hockey League , he took over the Tulsa Oilers in the Central Hockey League and led the team to the championship. In addition to Tulsa, he looked after some other lower-class teams.

NHL statistics

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	16	1.105	413	391	804	1,075
Playoffs	10	51	12	18th	30th	105

Sporting successes

• Bronze medal at the 1978 World Cup
• Ray Miron President's Cup (CHL): 1993 (as coach)

Personal awards

• All-Star Game MVP: 1974
• Participation in the NHL All-Star Game : 1972 , 1973 , 1974 , 1975 , 1976 , 1977 , 1978
• Commissioner's Trophy : 1993

Team records

• 662 consecutive games for the St. Louis Blues (February 7, 1971 to April 8, 1979)

Web links

• Garry Unger at hockeydb.com (English)
• Garry Unger at legendsofhockey.net (English)