Éric Bélanger (born December 16, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played the majority of his professional career as a centre in the National Hockey League (NHL), representing the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes and Edmonton Oilers. He was originally drafted in the fourth round, 96th overall, in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft by Los Angeles.
| Éric Bélanger | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Bélanger with the Edmonton Oilers in 2012 | |||
| Born |
December 16, 1977 Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada | ||
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (180 cm) | ||
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) | ||
| Position | Centre | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for |
Los Angeles Kings HC Bolzano Carolina Hurricanes Atlanta Thrashers Minnesota Wild Washington Capitals Phoenix Coyotes Edmonton Oilers Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | ||
| NHL draft |
96th overall, 1996 Los Angeles Kings | ||
| Playing career | 1997–2013 | ||
In 2021, Bélanger was named the first head coach the Trois-Rivières Lions, an expansion team in the ECHL affiliated with the Montreal Canadiens.[1]
Playing career
editAs a youth, Bélanger played in the 1991 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with a minor ice hockey team from Orford, Quebec.[2]
On March 3, 2010, the NHL trade deadline, Bélanger was traded to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In Game 5 of the Capitals' 2010 playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, Bélanger took a high stick to the mouth from Canadiens defenceman Marc-André Bergeron, which resulted in Bélanger losing nine teeth. Moments after the hit, the game telecast showed Bélanger on the bench removing a loose tooth from his mouth, using just his fingers and a piece of gauze.[3]
Bélanger signed a three-year, $5.25 million contract with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2011.[4] In his first season in Edmonton, however, he set offensive career-lows, scoring just four goals and 12 assists, the lowest totals in both categories in his NHL career.[citation needed]
During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Bélanger suffered a second successive disappointing year going without a goal in 26 games for the Oilers. On July 4, 2013, he was placed on unconditional waivers for a compliance buyout from the final year of his contract with the Oilers.[5]
On July 15, 2013, Bélanger left the NHL and signed a one-year contract abroad in Russia with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).[6] He played in just seven games with Avtomobilist in the 2013–14 season, before opting to return to North America and retire from professional hockey on September 25, 2013.[7]
Personal life
editBélanger and Alexandra Morin have two daughters: Oceanne and Lola Pearl.[8]
Career statistics
edit| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1994–95 | Beauport Harfangs | QMJHL | 71 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 24 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 25 | ||
| 1995–96 | Beauport Harfangs | QMJHL | 59 | 35 | 48 | 83 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Beauport Harfangs | QMJHL | 31 | 13 | 37 | 50 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL | 31 | 26 | 41 | 67 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 56 | 17 | 34 | 51 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Long Beach Ice Dogs | IHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 33 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 65 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 13 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 53 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 81 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Bolzano-Bozen Foxes | Serie A | 12 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 65 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 56 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 24 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 75 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 79 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 60 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 82 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 78 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 26 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 820 | 138 | 220 | 358 | 361 | 41 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 28 | ||||
References
edit- ^ "ECHL: Éric Bélanger becomes coach of the Trois-Rivières Lions". journaldequebec.com (in French). June 15, 2021.
- ^ "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved February 1, 2019.
- ^ "Adventures In Hockey Dentistry". NPR.org. April 26, 2010. Retrieved April 27, 2010.
- ^ "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
- ^ "Edmonton Oilers buyout Belanger's contract". Calgary Herald. July 4, 2013. Retrieved July 4, 2013.
- ^ "Belanger sigs with Yekaterinburg of the KHL". thescore.com. July 15, 2013. Retrieved July 15, 2013.
- ^ "Eric Belanger has decided to retire". Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg. September 25, 2013. Retrieved September 25, 2013.
- ^ "Phoenix Coyotes 2010-11 Media Guide". Scribd.com. October 1, 2010. Retrieved October 2, 2010.
External links
edit- Biographical information and career statistics from NHL.com, or Eliteprospects.com, or Eurohockey.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or The Internet Hockey Database