Joe Nieuwendyk

Prior to coming to the NHL in the 1986-87 season, Joe Nieuwendyk attended Cornell University and while there, he played for their hockey team for three seasons. After university, he played for the Canadian National Team.

Joe Nieuwendyk's first season in the NHL was a short one. He only played 9 games. Because he played fewer than 25 games, his second season (1987-88) in the NHL was considered his rookie year. His rookie season saw him set a career high in goals with 51 and become one of only a handful of players to score more than 50 goals in their first NHL season. Mike Bossy (53), Wayne Gretzky (51), and Teemu Selänne (76) have all scored more than 50 goals as first year NHLers. He won the Calder Trophy as best rookie and was also named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.

Nieuwendyk has played on five different teams in his career, three of which he has won Stanley Cups with. The Calgary Flames drafted him in the second round (27th overall) in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft and he played for Calgary from 1986-87 to 1994-95. While in Calgary, he won a Stanley Cup in 1989 and set career highs with 51 goals (twice), 50 assists, and 95 points.

After Calgary, Joe left for the Dallas Stars where he won another Stanley Cup and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the playoffs. He played in Dallas from 1995-96 to 2001-02. During the 2001-02 season, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils where he won his third Stanley Cup with his third different team. After playing just over a season in New Jersey (94 games), he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs for the 2003-04 NHL season. Due to the 2004-05 NHL lockout, he didn't play during the 2004-05 NHL season and he became an unrestricted free agent prior to the start of the 2005-06 NHL season. Mike Keenan, General manager of the Florida Panthers, signed both Joe Nieuwendyk and Gary Roberts to contracts worth $4.5 million each. The Leafs, under the new cap system, couldn't match that offer to keep Niewendyk and Roberts as the Leafs had only $9 million left to spend under the cap and still needed to sign at least 7 other players. Interestingly enough, this marks the third time that these childhood friends, Roberts and Nieuwendyk, played on the same team at the same time. They started their career together in Calgary and have played together in Toronto and now in Florida.