| Josh Gorges | |
|---|---|
| Born | August 14, 1984 Kelowna, BC, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) |
| Weight | 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb) |
| Position | Defence |
| Shoots | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
Montreal Canadiens San Jose Sharks |
| NHL Draft | Undrafted |
| Playing career | 2005–present |
Josh Gorges (born August 14, 1984) is a professional ice hockey player currently playing for the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League. He is of German ancestry as his grandparents immigrated from Germany to Canada.
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After going undrafted, Gorges was signed as a free agent by San Jose in 2002. 2005–06 was his first season in the NHL. In 2004–05, he set the Cleveland Barons record for the fastest goal from the start of a game (20 seconds).
He played his junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, where he helped the Rockets to a Memorial Cup championship in 2004 as their captain. He was also the captain for the WHL in the Canada-Russia challenge in November 2003. Gorges was also a member of Team Canada at the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won a silver medal. In 2003, NHL.com wrote an article about him, praising him for his work ethic and for exceeding expectations at every level. Hockeysfuture called him "a solid skater with adequate speed" who "is a good puckmoving defenceman who's effective on the power play with a decent point shot and playmaking abilities". What Gorges lacked in size and strength, he made up for with his discreet and efficient abilities. Hockeysfuture projected him as a future #3 or #4 defenceman.
Upon his arrival in San Jose, Gorges had some success early on as a reserve defenseman. However, as he was called on to play more minutes, he struggled. Many attributed his lack of success to his small size and distinct lack of strength, especially a problem in the more physical Western Conference where forwards like Ryan Getzlaf and Jarome Iginla could manhandle Gorges.
On February 25, 2007, Gorges was traded to the Montreal Canadiens alongside a 2007 first round pick (Max Pacioretty) for Craig Rivet and a 2008 fifth round pick (Jason Demers).
On July 9, 2008, Gorges signed a three-year contract worth US$3.3 million with the Canadiens.
Gorges scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings on January 4, 2007, and didn't score again until November 24, 2008 against the New York Islanders, making it his first goal in a Canadiens uniform.
Gorges is nicknamed "The Boss", as in Josh "The Boss" Gorges.[1][2]
At every game, right before he steps on the ice, Gorges does the Sign of the Cross.
On February 10, 2010, during a game against the Washington Capitals, Gorges was hit on the left side of the head by a slap shot off Mike Green. Gorges remained motionless on the ice for several minutes, with his head bleeding. He eventually was helped up by team doctors and helped to the bench. The Canadiens eventually won the game 6–5 in OT to end the Capitals 14-game win streak.[3] Gorges skated in practice the next day and was quoted as saying "Unless something happens in the next 24 hours, I’ll be in the lineup against the Flyers " [4]
Gorges was widely praised for his performances in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Don Cherry declaring he "should be (Canadiens) captain; if they are ever going to have a captain; this guy is the captain"
On February 19, 2011, Gorges had undergone successful reconstruction surgery on his injured right knee and missed the remainder of the 2010–11 season as a result.
On July 22, 2011, Gorges signed a 1 year contract with the Montreal Canadiens[5] worth US$2.5 million.[6]
On January 1, 2012 Gorges re-signed with the Canadiens for 6 years at $3.9 million a year.[7]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2000–01 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 57 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 72 | 7 | 34 | 41 | 74 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 54 | 11 | 48 | 59 | 76 | 19 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 16 | ||
| 2003–04 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 62 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 38 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 49 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 47 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 32 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2009–10 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2010–11 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 36 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 364 | 9 | 50 | 59 | 183 | 46 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 25 | ||||