Éric Bélanger
| Éric Bélanger | |
|---|---|
 January 2012 in St. Louis | |
| Born | December 16, 1977 Sherbrooke, QC, CAN |
| Height | 5 ft 11 in (1.80 m) |
| Weight | 185 lb (84 kg; 13 st 3 lb) |
| Position | Centre |
| Shot | Left |
| KHL team Former teams |
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg Los Angeles Kings Carolina Hurricanes Atlanta Thrashers Minnesota Wild Washington Capitals Phoenix Coyotes Edmonton Oilers |
| NHL Draft | 96th overall, 1996 Los Angeles Kings |
| Playing career | 1997–2013 |
Éric Bélanger (born December 16, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player. He currently plays for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Russian Kontinental Hockey League (KHL). He has played in the National Hockey League, most recently for the Edmonton Oilers.
Playing career
He was drafted in the fourth round, ninety-sixth overall, by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1996 NHL Entry Draft. Before making his NHL debut, Bélanger played with the Beauport Harfangs and Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League; Fredericton Canadiens; Springfield Falcons and Lowell Lock Monsters of the American Hockey League; and the Long Beach Ice Dogs of the International Hockey League. Bélanger made his NHL debut on October 6, 2000. During the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Bélanger played for HC Bolzano in Italy.
On September 29, 2006, Bélanger and Tim Gleason were traded to the Hurricanes for Oleg Tverdovsky and Jack Johnson. On February 9, 2007, Bélanger was traded to the Nashville Predators in exchange for center Josef Vašíček. The following day, he was sent to the Atlanta Thrashers for defenseman Vitaly Vishnevski. During his time in Atlanta, he helped the Thrashers to their first playoff berth where on April 12, 2007, he scored the first ever Atlanta Thrashers playoff goal off a feed from Niclas Havelid on the power play.
On July 3, 2007, Bélanger signed as a free agent with the Minnesota Wild on a three-year deal.
On March 3, 2010, the NHL trade deadline, Bélanger was traded to the Washington Capitals for a 2nd round pick in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft. In game five of the Capitals' 2010 playoff series against the Montreal Canadiens, Bélanger took a high stick to the mouth from Canadiens defenseman Marc-Andre Bergeron, which resulted in Bélanger losing nine teeth. Moments after the hit, the game telecast showed Bélanger on the bench removing a loose tooth from his mouth, using just his fingers and a piece of gauze.[1]
He signed a three-year contract worth $5.25 million with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2011.[2] Bélanger had a career low season with the Oilers, in which he only recorded 4 goals and 12 assists, the lowest totals in both categories in his career.
During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season Belanger suffered a second successive disappointing year going without a goal in 26 games for the Oilers. On July 4, 2013, Belanger was placed on unconditional waivers in order for a compliance buyout from the final year of his contract with the Oilers.[3]
On July 15, 2013, Belanger left the NHL and signed a one-year contract abroad with Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Russian KHL.[4]
Personal life
Bélanger and wife Alexandra have 2 daughters: Oceanne and Lola Pearl.[5]
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1994–95 | Beauport Harfangs | QMJHL | 71 | 12 | 28 | 40 | 24 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 14 | 25 | ||
| 1995–96 | Beauport Harfangs | QMJHL | 59 | 35 | 48 | 83 | 18 | 20 | 13 | 14 | 27 | 6 | ||
| 1996–97 | Beauport Harfangs | QMJHL | 31 | 13 | 37 | 50 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Rimouski Océanic | QMJHL | 31 | 26 | 41 | 67 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Fredericton Canadiens | AHL | 56 | 17 | 34 | 51 | 28 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1998–99 | Long Beach Ice Dogs | IHL | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 33 | 8 | 18 | 26 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1999–00 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 65 | 15 | 25 | 40 | 20 | 7 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 2 | ||
| 2000–01 | Lowell Lock Monsters | AHL | 13 | 8 | 10 | 18 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 9 | 12 | 21 | 16 | 13 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 2 | ||
| 2001–02 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 53 | 8 | 16 | 24 | 21 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2002–03 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 62 | 16 | 19 | 35 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 81 | 13 | 20 | 33 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Bolzano-Bozen Foxes | Serie A | 12 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 65 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 56 | 8 | 12 | 20 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Atlanta Thrashers | NHL | 24 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 12 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 75 | 13 | 24 | 37 | 30 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 79 | 13 | 23 | 36 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 60 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 17 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 4 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2010–11 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 82 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 36 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 2011–12 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 78 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 26 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 820 | 138 | 220 | 358 | 361 | 41 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 28 | ||||
References
- ↑ "Adventures In Hockey Dentistry". NPR.org. 2010-04-26. Retrieved 2010-04-27.
- ↑ "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
- ↑ "Edmonton Oilers buyout Belanger's contract". Calgary Herald. 2013-07-04. Retrieved 2013-07-04.
- ↑ "Belanger sigs with Yekaterinburg of the KHL". thescore.com. 2013-07-15. Retrieved 2013-07-15.
- ↑ "Phoenix Coyotes 2010-11 Media Guide". Scribd.com. 2010-10-01. Retrieved 2010-10-02.