Dan Cloutier

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Position	Goaltender
Catches	Left
Nickname(s)	Clooch
Height Weight	6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) 195 lb (88 kg/13 st 13 lb)
NHL Team F. teams	Los Angeles Kings Vancouver Canucks Tampa Bay Lightning New York Rangers
Nationality	Canada
Born	April 22, 1976 (1976-04-22) (age 32), Mont-Laurier, PQ, CAN
NHL Draft	26th overall, 1994 New York Rangers
Pro career	1996 – present

Dan Cloutier (born April 22, 1976 in Mont-Laurier, Quebec, Canada) is a professional ice hockey goaltender with the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League. In his 10-year NHL career, Cloutier has also played with several other teams, including the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, and Vancouver Canucks.

[edit] Playing career

Cloutier spent most of his childhood growing up in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where he played minor hockey 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 of the Junior B WOHL where he played the 1991-92 season.

[edit] OHL

In May 1992, Cloutier was drafted 16th overall by his hometown OHL team, the Sault Ste Marie Greyhounds.^[1]. After three full seasons with the Greyhounds, Cloutier would be traded to the Guelph Storm, where he would help lead the team to a 1996 Memorial Cup appearance. At the end of the 1995-96 season, Cloutier was named to the OHL First All-Star Team.

During Cloutier's major junior career, he would also play in the 1995 World Junior Championships, helping Canada win a gold medal.

[edit] New York Rangers / Tampa Bay Lightning

Cloutier began his professional career after being drafted by the New York Rangers, who made him their first selection (26th overall) in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. After playing 1996-97 with Binghamton of the AHL, he debuted with the Rangers in 1997-98, spending two seasons with them as the back-up to Mike Richter. Perhaps his most famous performance as a Ranger was a fight against New York Islanders goalie Tommy Salo in which Cloutier continuously pummeled Salo in the back of the head then proceeded to challenge the entire Islanders bench to a fight.^[2]

The New York Rangers traded him to the Tampa Bay Lightning in 1999, and he became the starting goaltender for the 1999-00 season.

[edit] Vancouver Canucks

Cloutier, as a Vancouver Canuck, skating around his crease.

The next year with the Lightning, Cloutier was traded once again to Vancouver for Adrian Aucoin and a second-round draft pick. He was the starting goaltender for the Canucks starting in the 2001-02, winning over 30 games in each of the next three seasons and posting a franchise record seven shutouts in 2001-02. His performances with the Canucks in the playoffs were criticized for being significantly less effective than his regular-season play, beginning in the 2002 Western conference quarterfinals against the Detroit Red Wings. Cloutier played well early in the series, but then allowed a goal from center ice from Red Wings defenseman Nicklas Lidström late in the 2nd period of Game 3, effectively handing Detroit the momentum and allowing them to win the series that Vancouver originally led two games to none. In the 2004 playoffs against Calgary, Cloutier again looked impressive early in the series before injuring his knee in the third game, which ended his season.

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

[edit] Los Angeles Kings

On July 5, 2006, after Vancouver acquired all-star goalie Roberto Luongo, Cloutier was traded to the Los Angeles Kings for a 2007 second-round draft pick and a conditional pick in 2009. Cloutier began the next season with a 4-3 loss against the Anaheim Ducks. He continued to perform with less than stellar results, and, on December 23, 2006, suffered a critical, season-ending hip injury. He did not play for the remainder of the 2006-2007 NHL season, ending his season with a record of 6-14-2, and an unimpressive GAA of 3.98. After suffering a string of injuries, and failing to succeed in goal, Cloutier was placed on waivers before the start of the 2007-2008 NHL season.

On February 7, 2008, he cleared waivers once more and was again added to the Los Angeles Kings' NHL roster.^[3] Three days later, Cloutier made his return to the NHL by starting in goal against the Columbus Blue Jackets. His performance that night resulted in a 3-2 shootout victory over the Jackets, and clinched his first National Hockey League win in over a year.^[4] He continues to play for the Kings, and is currently on their active roster.

[edit] Off the ice

In his personal life, Dan resides in his hometown of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, during the off season with his wife, Nikki, whom he married July 16, 2004. Dan and Nikki welcomed their first child, a daughter named Kali, in December 2007. His older brother, Sylvain is also a hockey player and was captain of the Guelph Storm (OHL), subsequently chosen in the third-round by the Detroit Red Wings; he currently plays professionally in England.

[edit] Awards & achievements

• OHL First All-Star Team - 1996
• Dave Pinkney Trophy (OHL's lowest team GAA) shared with Brett Thompson - 1996

[edit] Career statistics

[edit] Regular season

[edit] References

[edit] See also

• List of NHL players
• List of NHL seasons
• List of current NHL goaltenders

[edit] External links

• Dan Cloutier's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database