Colby Armstrong
| Colby Armstrong | |
|---|---|
 Armstrong during his tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins | |
| Born | November 23, 1982 Lloydminster, SK, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 3 in (191 cm) |
| Weight | 195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb) |
| Position | Right Wing |
| Shot | Right |
| Played for | Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens Vaxjo HC (SHL) |
| National team |  Canada |
| NHL Draft | 21st overall, 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins |
| Playing career | 2002–2014 |
Colby Joseph Armstrong (born November 23, 1982) is a retired Canadian professional ice hockey player who previously played for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs, and Montreal Canadiens in the National Hockey League (NHL). He currently serves as an NHL analyst for Sportsnet. Armstrong's younger brother, Riley Armstrong, also played in the NHL with the San Jose Sharks.
Early life
Armstrong grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the city's northeastern neighborhood of Erindale, in the off season he lives south east of Saskatoon in Clavet. He played 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 brothers Brayden Schenn and Luke Schenn and Eric Gryba of the Ottawa Senators all attended St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon.
Playing career
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 season, 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 three years.[3] With his first two seasons largely affected by injury and inconsistent play, on June 30, 2012, he was bought out by the Maple Leafs from his final season of his contract.
With the opening of free agency the next day on July 1, 2012, Armstrong was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.[4] During the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, Armstrong predominately played on the fourth line as a part of a revitalised Canadiens team, contributing with just 5 points in 37 games, to help qualify for the playoffs.
On July 27, 2013, Armstrong left the NHL as a free agent and signed his first European contract with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League.[5]
Broadcasting career
Since the 2014-15 NHL season, Armstrong was hired by Rogers Media and now serves as an analyst for Sportsnet's national coverage of the NHL.
Career statistics
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Saskatoon 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 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 29 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 37 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | ||
| 2013–14 | Vaxjo HC | SHL | 37 | 12 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 20 | ||
| NHL totals | 476 | 89 | 120 | 209 | 376 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 26 | ||||
Transactions
- On June 23, 2001 the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Colby Armstrong in the first-round (#21 overall) of the 2001 NHL draft.[6]
- On August 12, 2005 the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Colby Armstrong.[7]
- On July 21, 2006 the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Colby Armstrong to a 1-year contract.[8]
- On July 12, 2007 the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Colby Armstrong to a 2-year/$2.4 million contract.[9]
- On February 26, 2008 the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen and a 2008 first-round pick (#29-Daultan Leveille) to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Marian Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.[10]
- On July 16, 2009 the Atlanta Thrashers re-signed Colby Armstrong.
- On July 1, 2010 the Toronto Maple Leafs signed unrestricted free agent Colby Armstrong to a 3-year contract.
- On July 1, 2012 the Toronto Maple Leafs bought out the contract of Colby Armstrong making player an unrestricted free agent.
- On July 1, 2012 the Montreal Canadiens signed unrestricted free agent Colby Armstrong to a 1-year contract.[11]
References
- ↑ "Pens re-sign Armstrong". pittsburghlive.com. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
- ↑ "Penguins get Hossa, hoping he's the missing piece to their Cup". ESPN. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
- ↑ "Maple Leafs ink Colby Armstrong". The Globe and Mail. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
- ↑ "Canadiens sign Free Agents Prust, Bouillon, Armstrong". Montreal Gazette. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
- ↑ "Colby Armstrong official profile". Twitter. 2013-07-27. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
- ↑ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "PENGUINS RE-SIGN RIGHT WING COLBY ARMSTRONG - Pittsburgh Penguins". Pittsburgh Penguins. August 12, 2005. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "PENGUINS RE-SIGN ARMSTRONG TO ONE-YEAR DEAL - Pittsburgh Penguins - News". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 21, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Penguins Re-Sign Colby Armstrong - Pittsburgh Penguins - News". July 12, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "PENS ACQUIRE HOSSA, DUPUIS FROM ATLANTA - Pittsburgh Penguins - News". Pittsburgh Penguins. February 26, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
- ↑ "Canadiens sign Colby Armstrong to a one-year contract - Montréal Canadiens - News". Montreal Canadiens. July 2, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
External links
| Preceded by Brooks Orpik |
Pittsburgh Penguins first round draft pick 2001 |
Succeeded by Ryan Whitney |
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