| Marty Turco | |
|---|---|
Turco with the Dallas Stars. |
|
| Born | August 13, 1975 Sault Ste. Marie, ON, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 184 lb (83 kg; 13 st 2 lb) |
| Position | Goaltender |
| Catches | Left |
| NHL team Former teams |
free agent Dallas Stars Chicago Blackhawks |
| National team | Canada |
| NHL Draft | 124th overall, 1994 Dallas Stars |
| Playing career | 2001–present |
Marty Turco (born August 13, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey goaltender who is currently an unrestricted free agent. He has played professionally with the Dallas Stars and Chicago Blackhawks. Because of his puckhandling prowess, Canadian hockey personality Don Cherry named Turco: "the smartest goalie in the NHL."[1]. Turco is also an in-studio analyst at NHL Network.
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Unlike most Canadians in the NHL, Turco did not play major junior hockey, instead playing for the University of Michigan, with whom he won two NCAA championships.
After playing minor hockey for the S.S. Marie Legion program in his hometown, Turco was undrafted by the Ontario Hockey League. He signed as a 17-year old with the Cambridge Winterhawks Jr.B. team in 1992 and played two seasons with the OHA team before accepting an NCAA scholarship at U. Michigan (CCHA).
He was drafted in the fifth round of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft by the Dallas Stars, and went on to play for Michigan that fall. Turco earned many awards in his four years at Michigan, including Rookie of the Year in 1995, Tournament MVP in 1998, and nominations to the First All-Star team in 1997, the Second All-Star Team in 1998, and the All-Tournament Team in 1996 and 1998. After graduating, Turco went to play for Dallas's IHL affiliate, the Michigan K-Wings. In 1999, he was named IHL Rookie of the Year.
After two years playing for the K-Wings, Turco was given the opportunity to be a backup for Ed Belfour in Dallas. He spent the next two years in Dallas gaining experience as the backup. After the 2001–2002 season, Dallas decided to make Turco the starting goaltender, allowing Belfour to sign with the Toronto Maple Leafs.
In his first year as the starting goaltender, 2002–03, Turco's goals-against average of 1.72 set a modern NHL record. (Miikka Kiprusoff broke Turco's record the next season with a 1.69 goals against average.) Turco played in the NHL All-Star Game during the season and was named to the Second All-Star Team following the season, finishing second in Vezina Trophy voting as well (behind Martin Brodeur). His .932 save percentage was also best in the NHL that year. However, he was unable to lead the Stars past the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the Western Conference semi-finals.
During the 2003–04 season, Turco continued to give the Stars quality goaltending, again playing (and starting) in the All-Star Game. However, when the Stars played the Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the playoffs, Turco struggled, receiving blame from some for the Stars' losing the series in five games.
In the 2005–06 season, Turco won a career-best 41 games, 8 of them in shootouts. Turco's experience in the 2006 playoffs was similar to the prior season, again losing in five games to the Avalanche.
On April 13, 2007, in the Stars first and only playoff series of the 2006–07 season, Turco recorded his first ever playoff shutout against the Vancouver Canucks to tie the series 1–1. After the game, he stated, "We know we can beat these guys here [Vancouver], or at home, or anywhere."[2]
Turco went on to lose against the Canucks at home in game three, dropping a 2–1 overtime victory, when Taylor Pyatt got a quick one-time shot off a feed from Bryan Smolinski. In game 4, once again the Stars could not put up a win, losing to the Canucks 2–1 off of goals from Mattias Ohlund, then the game winner from Trevor Linden. The Stars then went on to win game 5 in the series with 1–0 OT win. Brenden Morrow scored the game's only goal 6:22 into the first OT period, allowing Turco to get his second career playoff shutout. Turco followed this up with his third shutout of the series in a 2–0 win. The series ended on Monday, April 23, 2007 with a score of 4–1 in favor of Vancouver, with Trevor Linden again scoring the eventual game-winner in the 2nd period.
The three shutouts posted by Turco in that series represent a record amount of shutouts in a single playoff series, a mark that has been tied by the New Jersey Devils' goalie Martin Brodeur, the Anaheim Mighty Ducks' goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere, and Philadelphia Flyers' goalie Michael Leighton.
Turco recorded 32 wins in the 2007–08 season, and helped the Stars to playoff wins over the defending Stanley Cup champions Anaheim Ducks and the San Jose Sharks, before losing in six games to the Detroit Red Wings in the Western Conference Finals.
On January 15, 2009, Turco recorded his 421st game for the Dallas Stars becoming the franchise's all-time leader in games played by a netminder, surpassing Cesare Maniago's near 33-year[3] old record of 420. He would also pass Maniago later that month in total minutes played, on January 29 while also winning his first regular-season game at Joe Louis Arena in 11 tries against the Detroit Red Wings. Again on February 9 he broke yet another of Maniago's records by starting in his 24th consecutive game in goal. Ultimately, the Stars failed to qualify for the postseason. On April 13, 2010, it was reported that Turco would not be resigned by Dallas, ending his nine years with the Stars.[4]
On August 2, 2010, Turco signed a one-year contract as a free agent with the reigning Stanley Cup champions, the Chicago Blackhawks, replacing Antti Niemi as their starting goaltender. The Blackhawks had previously swept San Jose in the Western Conference Finals in the playoffs. His first win with Chicago came on October 15, a 5–2 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets. Later in the season, he was benched by the team, and was replaced by Corey Crawford as the starting goaltender. He ultimately saw action in 29 games, compiling an 11-11-3 record.
Although not officially retired, Turco is currently working as an analyst for the NHL Network, providing in-studio analysis during the show "On The Fly"[5]. Turco joined NHL Network's team after the Blackhawks were eliminated by the Vancouver Canucks during the 2011 NHL playoffs[6]. Turco says a full-time job in television might be in his future, but he would like to play again and is not ready to retire[7]. Despite not playing professionally in over nine months, Turco joined Team Canada for the 2011 Spengler Cup.[8]
Turco also appeared in two commercials for the National Hockey League. In a 2006 commercial for the NHL's "Game On!" promotion[9], Turco can be seen in back of a family's car to remind the father that the NHL season is starting. Turco can also be seen in the NHL's "Road Trip" commercial, which was debuted during the 2007 NHL All-Star game in Dallas. Turco can be seen sleeping as fellow goaltenders Roberto Luongo and Ryan Miller set him to cover himself in shaving cream as a result of a prank.
Dallas Stars
Turco and his wife Kelly have two daughters, Hailey (born early 2002)[11] and Katelyn (born May 2004)[12], and one son, Finley (born August 2008)[13] with the family residing in Highland Park, Texas. He also owns a home in his home town of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, where he spends much of his summer.
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994–95 | Michigan | CCHA | 37 | 27 | 7 | 1 | — | 2063 | 95 | 1 | 2.76 | — |
| 1995–96 | Michigan | CCHA | 42 | 34 | 7 | 1 | — | 2335 | 84 | 5 | 2.16 | — |
| 1996–97 | Michigan | CCHA | 41 | 33 | 4 | 4 | — | 2296 | 87 | 4 | 2.27 | .893 |
| 1997–98 | Michigan | CCHA | 45 | 33 | 10 | 1 | — | 2639 | 95 | 4 | 2.16 | .887 |
| 1998–99 | Michigan K-Wings | IHL | 54 | 24 | 17 | 10 | — | 3127 | 136 | 1 | 2.61 | .899 |
| 1999–00 | Michigan K-Wings | IHL | 60 | 23 | 27 | 7 | — | 3399 | 139 | 7 | 2.45 | .901 |
| 2000–01 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 26 | 13 | 6 | 1 | — | 1266 | 40 | 3 | 1.90 | .925 |
| 2001–02 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 31 | 15 | 6 | 2 | — | 1519 | 53 | 2 | 2.09 | .921 |
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 55 | 31 | 10 | 10 | — | 3203 | 92 | 7 | 1.72 | .932 |
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 73 | 37 | 21 | 13 | — | 4359 | 144 | 9 | 1.98 | .913 |
| 2004–05 | Djurgården | SEL | 6 | — | — | — | — | 356 | 12 | 1 | 2.02 | .932 |
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 68 | 41 | 19 | — | 5 | 3910 | 166 | 3 | 2.55 | .898 |
| 2006–07 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 67 | 38 | 20 | — | 5 | 3763 | 140 | 6 | 2.23 | .910 |
| 2007–08 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 62 | 32 | 21 | — | 6 | 3628 | 140 | 3 | 2.31 | .909 |
| 2008–09 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 74 | 33 | 31 | — | 10 | 4327 | 203 | 3 | 2.81 | .898 |
| 2009–10 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 53 | 22 | 20 | — | 11 | 3088 | 140 | 4 | 2.72 | .913 |
| 2010–11 | Chicago Blackhawks | NHL | 29 | 11 | 11 | — | 3 | 1631 | 82 | 1 | 3.02 | .897 |
| NHL totals | 538 | 273 | 165 | 26 | 40 | 30,695 | 1200 | 41 | 2.35 | .910 | ||
| CCHA totals | 165 | 127 | 28 | 17 | — | 9333 | 361 | 14 | 2.18 | — | ||
| IHL totals | 114 | 47 | 44 | 17 | — | 6526 | 275 | 8 | 2.53 | .918 | ||
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998–99 | Michigan K-Wings | IHL | 5 | 2 | 3 | 300 | 14 | 0 | 2.80 | — |
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 12 | 6 | 6 | 798 | 25 | 0 | 1.87 | .919 |
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 5 | 1 | 4 | 325 | 18 | 0 | 3.32 | .849 |
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 5 | 1 | 4 | 319 | 18 | 0 | 3.38 | .868 |
| 2006–07 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 7 | 3 | 4 | 509 | 11 | 3 | 1.30 | .952 |
| 2007–08 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 18 | 10 | 8 | 1152 | 40 | 1 | 2.08 | .922 |
| NHL totals | 47 | 21 | 26 | 3103 | 112 | 4 | 2.17 | .914 | ||
| IHL totals | 5 | 2 | 3 | 300 | 14 | 0 | 2.80 | — | ||
| Preceded by Ed Belfour |
Winner of the Crozier Award 2001 |
Succeeded by José Théodore |
| Preceded by José Théodore |
Winner of the Crozier Award 2003 |
Succeeded by Dwayne Roloson |