| Aaron Ward | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 17, 1973 Windsor, ON, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 209 lb (95 kg; 14 st 13 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings Carolina Hurricanes New York Rangers Boston Bruins Anaheim Ducks |
| NHL Draft | 5th overall, 1991 Winnipeg Jets |
| Playing career | 1993–2010 |
Aaron Ward (born January 17, 1973) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman and current hockey analyst on TSN. He won the Stanley Cup three times.
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Born in Windsor, Ontario, Ward moved with his family to Blackburn Hamlet, Ontario, a suburb of Ottawa, as a youth. Ward played junior hockey for the Nepean Raiders of the Central Junior A Hockey League, before accepting a scholarship at the University of Michigan. After one season at Michigan, he was drafted fifth-overall by the Winnipeg Jets in the 1991 NHL Entry Draft. Before his playing days at Michigan were over, he was traded to the Detroit Red Wings, signing with the club in 1993. He was assigned to the Red Wings' affiliate Adirondack Red Wings for the 1993–94 season, where he spent the bulk of the next three seasons. He made his NHL debut in 1993–94, but only became a regular NHL player in the 1996–97 season. Although in his debut in 1993–94, he scored the first goal at the Arrowhead Pond on October 8, 1993.
Since 1993–94, Ward has played over 600 career NHL games and been a member of three Stanley Cup championship teams, two while playing for the Detroit Red Wings in 1997, 1998 and one with the Carolina Hurricanes in 2006. In 2006, Ward scored the first goal in game seven of the Stanley Cup finals to help his team win the Cup. After the 2006 season, Ward became an unrestricted free agent and he signed with the New York Rangers. He joined fellow 2006 Cup winner Matt Cullen as a free agent signed by the Rangers. His tenure as a Ranger however was short-lived, during the 2006–07 season among rumors of tension between him and then captain Jaromír Jágr, Ward found himself traded to the Boston Bruins. While with Boston, Ward added solid defense and much-needed veteran leadership. He was often paired up with Zdeno Chara on Boston's top defensive pair.
Prior to the 2009-10 season on July 24, 2009, Ward was re-acquired by Carolina exchange for forward Patrick Eaves and a 4th round draft pick in 2010.[1] Ward surprisingly struggled in his return with the Hurricanes and on March 3, 2010, he was traded to the Anaheim Ducks for Justin Pogge and a 4th round pick.[2]
Ward announced his retirement from professional hockey after 13 NHL seasons on August 24, 2010.[3]
Ward now serves as a analyst and personality on TSN.
Ward and his wife Kelly have three children.
In March 2008, Ward, in conjunction with the Toucher and Rich radio program (WBCN 104.1) created a head-shaving charity event called 'Cuts for a Cause'. Seven players from the Boston Bruins shaved their heads to raise money to benefit the MassGeneral Hospital for Children. Patrice Bergeron, Phil Kessel, Andrew Alberts, Milan Lučić, Mark Stuart and Dennis Wideman joined Ward in helping raise $25,000. A second 'Cuts for a Cause' event took place in April 2009 with the group raising $32,000 for the Boston Bruins Foundation and MassGeneral Hospital for Children's Pediatric Oncology Unit. This year a total of thirteen members of the Bruins roster participated in the head shaving contest, as well as on-air personalities Fred Toucher and Adolfo "baby" Gonzalez.
In the spring of 2010, he was the NHL on Versus analyst for the Stanley Cup playoffs and since then joined the Big Ten Network as the hockey analyst.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1988–89 | Nepean Raiders | CJAHL | 54 | 1 | 14 | 15 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | University of Michigan | CCHA | 46 | 8 | 11 | 19 | 126 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | University of Michigan | CCHA | 42 | 7 | 12 | 19 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | University of Michigan | CCHA | 30 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 58 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 87 | 9 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 6 | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 76 | 11 | 24 | 35 | 87 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 74 | 5 | 10 | 15 | 133 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 49 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 52 | 19 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 17 | ||
| 1997–98 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 52 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 60 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 52 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 8 | ||
| 1999–00 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 36 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 24 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2000–01 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 73 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 79 | 3 | 11 | 14 | 74 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 22 | ||
| 2002–03 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 77 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 49 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Ingolstadt ERC | DEL | 8 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | 11 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 16 | ||
| 2005–06 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 71 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 62 | 25 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 18 | ||
| 2006–07 | New York Rangers | NHL | 60 | 3 | 10 | 13 | 57 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 20 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 54 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 | ||
| 2008–09 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 65 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 44 | 11 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 60 | 1 | 10 | 11 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 839 | 44 | 107 | 151 | 736 | 95 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 73 | ||||
| Preceded by Keith Tkachuk |
Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick 1991 |
Succeeded by Sergei Bautin |