Barry Pederson

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Barry Pederson (born March 13, 1961 in Big River, Saskatchewan, Canada) is a retired professional ice hockey center who played in the NHL.

[edit] Career

Pederson was drafted 18th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1980 NHL Entry Draft. He played in 701 games in his NHL career with the Bruins, Vancouver Canucks, Pittsburgh Penguins, and Hartford Whalers, scoring 238 goals and 416 assists for a total of 654 points.

Pederson first saw NHL action with a nine game stint with the Bruins in 1980-81. In his first full NHL season in 1981-82 he collected 44 goals and 48 assists. He then posted back to back 100 point seasons in 1982-83 (107, tied for 5th in the NHL) and 1983-84 (116, 6th in the NHL). However, he was limited to 22 games in 1984-85 due to surgery to remove a benign tumor from his shoulder.

Pederson returned to full-time action in 1985-86, posting 76 points. Following the 1985-86 season, Bruins general manager Harry Sinden, speculating that Pederson would never fully return to his previous form, dealt him to Vancouver on June 6 for Cam Neely and Vancouver's first-round choice in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft (Glen Wesley). With three undistinguished years of NHL service, Neely was relatively unknown at the time. However, he scored 36 goals in his first year in Boston, quickly becoming a fan favorite with his bruising style of play. The trade is now widely regarded as one of the most lopsided in NHL history.

Pederson posted 76 points in his first year in Vancouver, and followed up with 71 in 1987-88. After that, his production tailed off rapidly, as he slipped to 41 points in 1988-89. He was traded to Pittsburgh during the 1989-90 season, then signed with the Whalers as a free agent in the summer of 1991. A trade for future considerations in November, 1991 brought him back to Boston, where he finished his playing career.

He won a Stanley Cup Championship with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 1991.

In recent years, Pederson has worked for NESN as a studio analyst during Bruins telecasts.