Neal Broten

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Olympic medal record
Men's Ice Hockey
Gold	1980 Lake Placid	Team

Neal LaMoy Broten (born November 29, 1959 in Roseau, Minnesota) is a former American professional ice hockey player who played for the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League.

Broten is considered by many to be the most accomplished Minnesota born hockey player. He is the only player to have played on teams that won the NCAA championship, the Olympic Gold Medal, and the Stanley Cup. He made a total of three appearances in the state tournament. His 1978 individual high school record of four assists in one period still stands today.

As a college freshman, he played hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers under coach Herb Brooks winning both a national championship in 1979 and the inaugural Hobey Baker award in 1981. During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, he reunited with his Roseau linemates, Aaron Broten (younger brother) and next-door neighbor Bryan "Butsy" Erickson. Both Aaron and Butsy spent significant time in the NHL and became NHL journeymen with Butsy being known as "the good looking Roseau hockey star." As a small sidenote, Aaron and Neal's younger brother Paul eventually was also a professional hockey player, with a majority of his NHL career spent with the New York Rangers.

Broten was member of the United States Olympic team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in an event known as the Miracle on Ice.

He played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League and won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, where he scored the game-winning goal in Game Four against the Detroit Red Wings which clinched the title. Doing so allowed him to become only the second player in hockey history to win both an Olympic gold medal and the Stanley Cup. Steve Yzerman and Brendan Shanahan accomplished winning a gold medal and a Stanley Cup in 2002, bringing the current total to 4 players.

During the 1982-83 NHL season, Broten participated in a rare fight against Wayne Gretzky. It was one of only a handful of fights during both his and Gretzky's careers. Broten later recalled how he and his teammates would later have to deal with Gretzky's enforcers, Marty McSorley and Dave Semenko [1] [2].

Broten served as the captain of the Dallas Stars for 2 months during the lockout-shortened 1994-95 NHL season. He had previously served as an alternate captain on a number of occasions.

On February 7, 1998, Broten's #7 jersey was retired by the Minnesota/Dallas organization. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.

Transactions

• Drafted: Minnesota North Stars, 2nd Round (42 overall), 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Pick was obtained by the North Stars in a draft-day trade that sent Dave Semenko from the North Stars to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for 2nd and 3rd round draft picks.
• Traded to the New Jersey Devils for Corey Millen, 2/27/95
• Traded from New Jersey Devils to Los Angeles Kings for future considerations, 11/22/96
• Claimed on waivers by Dallas from Los Angeles, 1/28/97

[edit] Career Statistics

                                              Regular Season              
Season  Team                                Lge   GP   G   A    Pts  PIM   
     
1978-79 University Of Minnesota             WCHA  40   21  50   71   18
1979-80 United States                       -NA-  55   25  30   55   20
1980-81 University Of Minnesota             WCHA  36   17  54   71   56
        Minnesota North Stars               NHL   3    2   0    2    12
1981-82 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   73   38  60   98   42
1982-83 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   79   32  45   77   43
1983-84 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   76   28  61   89   43
1984-85 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   80   19  37   56   39
1985-86 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   80   29  76   105  47
1986-87 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   46   18  35   53   33
1987-88 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   54   9   30   39   32
1988-89 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   68   18  38   56   57
1989-90 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   80   23  62   85   45
1990-91 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   79   13  56   69   26
1991-92 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   76   8   24   32   16
1992-93 Minnesota North Stars               NHL   82   12  21   33   22
1993-94 Dallas Stars                        NHL   79   17  35   52   62
1995    Dallas/New Jersey                   NHL   47   8   24   32   24
1995-96 New Jersey Devils                   NHL   55   7   16   23   14
1996-97 New Jersey/Los Angeles Kings/Dallas NHL   42   8   12   20   12

                         NHL Totals             1099 289  624  923  569

[edit] See also

• List of members of the United States Hockey Hall of Fame
• List of retired NHL players

[edit] External Links

• Neal Broten's profile at hockeydb.com
• Picture of Neal Broten's Name on the 1995 Stanley Cup Plaque

Preceded by Mark Tinordi

Dallas Stars captains 1995

Succeeded by Derian Hatcher

Note: Broten was named captain in January 1995, after Tinordi was traded to the Washington Capitals, (Broten was later traded to the New Jersey Devils in February).