Jay Wells

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Position Defence
Nickname(s) The Hammer
Height
Weight		 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m)
205 lb (93 kg/14 st 9 lb)
Pro clubs Los Angeles Kings
Philadelphia Flyers
Buffalo Sabres
New York Rangers
St. Louis Blues
Tampa Bay Lightning
Nationality Flag of Canada Canada
Born May 18, 1959 (1959-05-18) (age 49),
Paris, ON, CAN
NHL Draft 16th overall, 1979
Los Angeles Kings
Pro career 1979 – 1997

Jay Wells (born May 18, 1959 in Paris, Ontario) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player. He was nicknamed "The Hammer" for his tough, physical play.

Contents

[edit] Playing career

Jay Wells played his junior hockey with the Kingston Canadians of the OMJHL from 1976–1979, playing in 175 games, and earning 60 points (19 goals-41 assists), along with 385 penalty minutes. He also had 14 points (4G-10A) in 30 playoff games. A solid stay-at-home defenceman, Wells was drafted by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1st round, 16th overall in the 1979 NHL Entry Draft.

Wells began the 1979–80 season with the Binghamton Dusters of the AHL, getting 6 assists in 28 games, before joining the Kings, where he had no points in 43 games. He also had no points in 4 playoff games. Wells spent the entire 1980–81 season with Los Angeles, where he got 18 points (5G-13A) in 72 games, and had no points in 4 playoff games. In 1981–82, he played in 60 games, getting 9 points (1G-8A), then added 4 points (1G-3A) in 10 playoff games. Wells offensive production increased in 1982–83, when he got 15 points (3G-12A) in 69 games, and in 1983–84, he set a career high with 21 points (3G-18A) in 69 games, however the Kings failed to make the playoffs in both years. Wells then had 11 points (2G-9A) in 77 games in 1984–85, helping the Kings return to the playoffs, where he recorded an assist in 3 games. Wells had the best season of his career in 1985–86, getting 42 points (11G-31A) in 79 games, however Los Angeles failed to make the playoffs. In 1986–87, Wells had 36 points (7G-29A) in 77 games, and added 3 points (1G-2A) in 5 playoff games. Wells then had 25 points (2G-23A) in 58 games, and had 3 points (1G-2A) in 5 playoff games for the Kings in 1987–88. On September 29, 1988, Wells was traded from the Kings to the Philadelphia Flyers for Doug Crossman.

In Wells' first season with the Flyers in 1988–89, he registered 21 points (2G-19A) in 67 games, and added 2 points (0G-2A) in 18 playoff games. He began the 1989–90 season with Philadelphia, earning 19 points (3G-16A) in 59 games, before being traded to the Buffalo Sabres on March 5, 1990, along with the Flyers 4th round pick in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for Kevin Maguire and the Sabres 2nd round choice in the 1990 NHL Entry Draft.

Wells would play 1 regular season game with Buffalo in 1989–90, getting an assist in the game before suffering an injury, however he returned in the playoffs and went pointless in 6 games. In 1990–91, Wells had 3 points (1G-2A) in 43 games with Buffalo, and in 1 playoff game, he earned an assist. Wells began the 1991–92 with the Sabres, earning 11 points (2G-9A) in 41 games, before being traded to the New York Rangers on March 9, 1992, in exchange for Randy Moller.

Wells played in 11 games for the Rangers at the end of the 1991–92 season, getting no points, and in 13 playoff games, he chipped in with 2 assists. In 1992–93, Wells had 10 points (1G-9A) in 53 games, however the Rangers failed to qualify for the playoffs. He returned to the team in 1993–94, and had 9 points (2G-7A) in 79 games. Wells played a huge defensive role for the Rangers in the playoffs, as he helped the Rangers win the Stanley Cup for the first time since 1940. He played in 23 playoff games, registering no points. Wells had 9 points (2G-7A) for the Rangers in 1994–95 in 43 games, and went pointless in 10 playoff games. On July 31, 1995, the Rangers traded Wells to the St. Louis Blues for Doug Lidster.

Wells played in 76 games with the Blues in 1995–96, getting 3 points (0G-3A), and in 12 playoff games, he earned an assist. He was granted free agency after the season, and on August 3, 1996, Wells signed a contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning. In 1996–97, Wells would go pointless in 21 games with Tampa Bay, and retired from the NHL after the season after an 18 year playing career.

[edit] Career statistics

    Regular Season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1976–77 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 59 4 7 11 90 14 1 1 2 20
1977–78 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 68 9 13 22 195 5 1 2 3 6
1978–79 Kingston Canadians OMJHL 48 6 21 27 100 11 2 7 9 29
1979–80 Binghamton Dusters AHL 28 0 6 6 48 - - - - -
1979–80 Los Angeles Kings NHL 43 0 0 0 113 4 0 0 0 11
1980–81 Los Angeles Kings NHL 72 5 13 18 155 4 0 0 0 27
1981–82 Los Angeles Kings NHL 60 1 8 9 145 10 1 3 4 41
1982–83 Los Angeles Kings NHL 69 3 12 15 167 - - - - -
1983–84 Los Angeles Kings NHL 69 3 18 21 141 - - - - -
1984–85 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 2 9 11 185 3 0 1 1 0
1985–86 Los Angeles Kings NHL 79 11 31 42 226 - - - - -
1986–87 Los Angeles Kings NHL 77 7 29 36 155 5 1 2 3 10
1987–88 Los Angeles Kings NHL 58 2 23 25 159 5 1 2 3 21
1988–89 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 67 2 19 21 184 18 0 2 2 51
1989–90 Philadelphia Flyers NHL 59 3 16 19 129 - - - - -
1989–90 Buffalo Sabres NHL 1 0 1 1 0 6 0 0 0 12
1990–91 Buffalo Sabres NHL 43 1 2 3 86 1 0 1 1 0
1991–92 Buffalo Sabres NHL 41 2 9 11 157 - - - - -
1991–92 New York Rangers NHL 11 0 0 0 24 13 0 2 2 10
1992–93 New York Rangers NHL 53 1 9 10 107 - - - - -
1993–94 New York Rangers NHL 79 2 7 9 110 23 0 0 0 20
1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 43 2 7 9 36 10 0 0 0 8
1995–96 St. Louis Blues NHL 76 0 3 3 67 12 0 1 1 2
1996–97 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 21 0 0 0 13 - - - - -
OMJHL Totals 175 19 41 60 285 30 4 10 14 55
AHL Totals 28 0 6 6 48 - - - - -
NHL Totals 1098 47 216 263 2359 113 3 14 17 213

[edit] Awards and achievements

OMJHL First Team All-Star (1979)

[edit] External links

v • d • e
Los Angeles Kings first-round draft picks
Pagnutti • McInally • Young • Wells • Murphy • Fox • Smith • Redmond • Duncanson • Gratton • Carson • McBean • Gelinas • Sydor • Storr • Berg • Jokinen • Zultek • Biron • Frolov • Karlsson • Steckel • Grebeshkov • Brown • Boyle • Tambellini • Tukonen • Kopitar • Bernier • Lewis • Hickey