Brendan Witt

Brendan Witt
Born	(1975-02-20) February 20, 1975 Humboldt, SK, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m)
Weight	219 lb (99 kg; 15 st 9 lb)
Position	Defence
Shoots	Left
NHL team Former teams	Free Agent Washington Capitals Nashville Predators New York Islanders
NHL Draft	11th overall, 1993 Washington Capitals
Playing career	1995–present

Brendan Witt (born February 20, 1975) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman who is currently a free agent. He most recently played for the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, affiliate of the New York Islanders of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career

Witt's NHL career began with the Washington Capitals, the team that drafted him in the 1993 Entry Draft. In the 2000–01 NHL season, he led the league with 322 hits. Witt served as co-captain of the Washington Capitals during the 2001–02 NHL season, along with Steve Konowalchuk. Witt lost his share of the captaincy, when in a player vote (before the 2002–03 NHL season), the Capitals chose Konowalchuk as sole captain. After Konowalchuk's trade to the Avalanche (October 2003), the captaincy remained vacant (until Jeff Halpern was appointed in September 2005).

During the 2004–05 NHL lockout Witt signed for the English, BNL side, Bracknell Bees. He only played three games for Bracknell before returning home due to a fire at his house. During his three games he scored one goal and got four assists for a total of five points.

In August, 2005, Witt requested a trade to the Capitals management to a team with a better chance of winning Stanley Cup. Re-signed by the Capitals despite his trade desire he remained on the Capitals defense to start the 2005–06 season.^[1] His request for a trade was finally granted by the Capitals on March 9, 2006, when he was shipped to the Nashville Predators for former Capital Kris Beech and a first-round draft pick.

On July 3, 2006, Witt signed a three-year contract as a free agent with the New York Islanders and was named an alternate captain.^[2] On July 8, 2008, with a year of his original Islander contract still remaining, Witt signed a 2 year, $6 million extension to remain with the New York Islanders.^[3] During the 2008–09 season, on February 27, 2009, the NHL suspended Witt 5 games for an elbow to the head of Toronto Maple Leafs forward Niklas Hagman resulting in a concussion.^[4]

In January 2010, Brendan was sent to Islanders affiliate the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League after clearing waivers.^[5] Completing the season with 2 goals in 27 games for Bridgeport, Witt was then bought-out from the remaining year of his contract with the Islanders on August 1, 2010.^[6]

Personal

Witt and his wife, Salima have two daughters, Aliana and Safiya. On January 30, 2007, Witt was the subject of a Sports Illustrated article in which he showed off his tattoos.^[7]

On December 8, 2009, while in Philadelphia for a game later that day against the Flyers, Witt was hit by a truck while crossing Arch Street in Center City Philadelphia. A truck made an illegal turn and hit Witt who tried to jump on the hood of the vehicle before being thrown to the ground as he was hit. Witt picked himself up off the road, cursed, and assured the stunned onlookers that he was ok. Witt chose not to call police or get medical care, and was at the Islanders' morning skate just a few hours later.^[8]

Career statistics

References

External links

• Brendan Witt's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database