| Colby Armstrong | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 23, 1982 Lloydminster, SK, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) |
| Position | Right wing |
| Shoots | Right |
| NHL team Former teams |
Toronto Maple Leafs Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers |
| National team | Canada |
| NHL Draft | 21st overall, 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2002–present |
Colby Joseph Armstrong (born November 23, 1982) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player, who is an alternate captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Armstrong grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the city's northeastern neighborhood of Erindale, where he continues to live in the off-season. He played youth hockey with the Saskatoon Red Wings and the Saskatoon Blazers. Additionally, as a child he was a figure-skater. He, along with Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll, Philadelphia Flyers forward Brayden Schenn and Toronto Maple Leafs teammate Luke Schenn, attended St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon.
Armstrong was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft as the 21st pick overall.
In the 2005–06 season, he made his NHL debut, and had a superb rookie campaign, in which he played 47 games tallying 40 points (16G, 24A) and was a team-high plus-15.
Armstrong had three overtime goals for the Penguins in the 2006–07 season, beating Kari Lehtonen of the Atlanta Thrashers, Ed Belfour of the Florida Panthers, and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. The Pittsburgh Penguins and Armstrong avoided an arbitration hearing, in 2006–2007 off-season, by re-signing him to two year deal that paid US$1.2 million annually.[1]
Armstrong became very close friends with former teammate Sidney Crosby while playing for the Penguins.
He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship-winning team. His only goal of the tournament was the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland in Moscow, which Canada won 4–2.
Pittsburgh traded Armstrong on February 26, 2008 to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen, and a first round pick in exchange for Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.[2] He then scored 11 points in 18 games to finish out the 2007–08 season with the Thrashers.
On July 16, 2009 he re-signed with the Thrashers to a one-year $2.4 million contract. He served as one of the team's alternate captains during the 2009–10 season.
On July 1, 2010, he signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs for $3 million per year for 3 years.[3]
His younger brother, Riley Armstrong, was with the San Jose Sharks for 5 seasons and split between Calgary and Detroit before signing in the KHL on November 21 with Barys Astana
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Sask. Blazers | SMHL | 33 | 21 | 19 | 40 | 103 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 68 | 13 | 25 | 38 | 122 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 2000–01 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 72 | 36 | 42 | 78 | 156 | 21 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 29 | ||
| 2001–02 | Red Deer Rebels | WHL | 64 | 27 | 41 | 68 | 115 | 23 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 22 | ||
| 2002–03 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 73 | 7 | 11 | 18 | 76 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 67 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 71 | 24 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 45 | ||
| 2004–05 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 80 | 18 | 37 | 55 | 89 | 10 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 14 | ||
| 2005–06 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 47 | 16 | 24 | 40 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins | AHL | 31 | 11 | 18 | 29 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 80 | 12 | 22 | 34 | 67 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||
| 2007–08 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 54 | 9 | 15 | 24 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 18 | 4 | 7 | 11 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 82 | 22 | 18 | 40 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 79 | 15 | 14 | 29 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 50 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 410 | 86 | 115 | 210 | 355 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 11 | ||||
| Preceded by Brooks Orpik |
Pittsburgh Penguins first round draft pick 2001 |
Succeeded by Ryan Whitney |