Dan Cloutier

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
Nickname	Clouts
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (89 kg)
NHL Team F. Teams	Los Angeles Kings Vancouver Canucks Tampa Bay Lightning New York Rangers
Nationality	Canada
Born	April 22, 1976, Mont-Laurier, PQ, CAN
NHL Draft	26th overall, 1994 New York Rangers
Pro Career	1996 – present

Dan Cloutier (born on April 22, 1976 in Mont-Laurier, PQ, CAN) is a professional ice hockey player with the Los Angeles Kings.

[edit] Playing career

Cloutier was born in Mont-Laurier, PQ, however spent most of his childhood growing up in S.S. Marie, Ontario. He spent most of his minor hockey playing in the Sault Minor Hockey Association (NOHA) until 1990-91 with the Sault Carlucci Bantam AAA team.

As a 15-year old, Cloutier was signed by the St. Thomas Stars Jr.B (WOJHL) where he played the 1991-92 season. He was a 1st round choice (16th overall) of his hometown S.S. Marie Greyhounds in May of 1992. His older brother Sylvain Cloutier was a captain of the Guelph Storm (OHL) and a subsequent 3rd round draft pick of the Detroit Red Wings, one month later.

Cloutier began his career with the New York Rangers, who made him their first selection (26th overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He debuted with the club four years later, spending two seasons with them as the back-up to Mike Richter. Perhaps his most famous performance as a Ranger wasn't a save, but rather a fight against New York Islanders goalie Tommy Salo where Cloutier continuously pummeled Salo in the back of the head then proceeded to challenge the entire Islanders bench to a fight. The New York Rangers traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1999, and he became the starting goaltender for the 1999-00 season; in the 2000-01 season with the Lightning he was traded to Vancouver for Adrian Aucoin and a second round draft pick; he was the starting goaltender since 2001-02, winning over 30 games in each of the next three seasons. His performances with the Canucks in the playoffs have been criticized for being significantly less effective than his regular season play.

Cloutier was unable to compete in the 2005-06 NHL season due to a partially torn Anterior cruciate ligament suffered in the game against the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim on November 20, 2005. Although surgery was performed on December 15, 2005, he was unable to play the rest of the season, leaving Alex Auld as the starting goaltender for the rest of the season.

On July 5, 2006, Cloutier was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2007 second-round draft pick and a conditional pick in 2009. His current stint with the L.A. Kings has also been riddled with less-than-stellar regular season performances, including a recent outing in which he surrendered three goals on only five shots. This has lead many hockey fans to consider him highly overrated and sub-par, more fit for a backup than starting goaltender. On December 23, 2006. Cloutier received a minor penalty for roughing, a major penalty for spearing, and a game misconduct due to fighting Scott Hartnell.[1] As of now, he is injured and placed on IR (injured reserve)

In his career he has won 131 games and lost 124, with a 2.67 goals-against average.

In his personal life, Dan resides in his hometown of Sault St. Marie, Ontario, during the off season with his wife, Nikki, whom he married July 16th, 2004. His older brother, Sylvain (born: 13/02/1974), is also a hockey player and currently plays professionally in England.

[edit] See also

• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons