Jean-Sébastien Giguère
| Jean-Sébastien Giguère | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | May 16, 1977 Montreal, QC, CAN |
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) |
| Weight | 201 lb (91 kg; 14 st 5 lb) |
| Position | Goaltender |
| Caught | Left |
| Played for | Hartford Whalers Calgary Flames Anaheim Ducks Toronto Maple Leafs Colorado Avalanche |
| National team |  Canada |
| NHL Draft | 13th overall, 1995 Hartford Whalers |
| Playing career | 1997–2014 |
Jean-Sébastien Giguère (French pronunciation: [ʒɑ̃ sebastjɛ̃ ʒiɡɛʁ]; born May 16, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played major junior with the Verdun Collège Français and Halifax Mooseheads in the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL), where he was drafted thirteenth overall by the Hartford Whalers in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He played in the Calgary Flames organization for three seasons before joining the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in 2000. Giguère won the Conn Smythe Trophy in 2003 before winning the Stanley Cup with the Ducks in 2007. Giguère became the last member of the Hartford Whalers still active in the NHL as of the end of the 2012-13 season. Giguere was born in Montreal, Quebec, but grew up in Blainville, Quebec.
Playing career
Early career
Giguère was drafted out of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL) by the Hartford Whalers thirteenth overall in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft, with a pick acquired from the Rangers in exchange for Pat Verbeek. After a four-year major junior career that included QMJHL Second Team All-Star honours in 1997,[1] he made his NHL debut with the Whalers, playing in eight games at the end of the 1996–97 season.
The following off-season, on August 25, 1997, Giguère was traded to the Calgary Flames with centre Andrew Cassels for forward Gary Roberts and goaltender Trevor Kidd.[1] He played the entirety of the 1997–98 season in the American Hockey League (AHL) with Calgary's minor league affiliate, the Saint John Flames. He recorded a 2.46 goals against average (GAA) and a .926 save percentage in 31 games in his professional rookie season with Saint John. Giguère spent four seasons in the Flames organization, making brief 15- and 7-game appearances with Calgary in 1998–99 and 1999–2000, respectively, while spending most of his time in the AHL.
Anaheim Ducks (2000–2010)
On June 10, 2000, Giguère was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for a second-round pick in 2000 (later traded to the Washington Capitals; the Capitals selected Matt Pettinger).[1] He began the 2000-01 season with the Mighty Ducks' farm team, the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, until he was recalled from the AHL. Giguère eventually took over Dominic Roussel's backup position to starter Guy Hebert.[2] Due to only brief stints in the NHL during his tenures with Hartford and Calgary, the 2000–01 season qualified as Giguère's rookie NHL season. He played in 34 games, posting a 2.57 GAA and .911 save percentage.
In the off-season, he was re-signed by the Mighty Ducks on August 17, 2001.[1] Giguère continued to improve in 2001–02, his first full season with the Ducks, recording a 2.13 GAA and .920 save percentage in 53 games. In the 2002–03 season, he posted his first winning season, with a 34-22-6 record, as well as a career-high eight shutouts.
Giguère's first winning season in the NHL helped the Mighty Ducks enter the 2003 playoffs as the seventh seed in the Western Conference. From that point, Giguere delivered one of the greatest playoff performances in NHL history as he helped lead the team on a Cinderella run to their first Stanley Cup Finals. Facing the defending Stanley Cup champions and second-seeded Detroit Red Wings in the opening round, Giguère set an NHL record for most saves by a goaltender in their playoff debut with 63 in the Mighty Ducks' 2–1 triple overtime win in game one (surpassing Toronto Maple Leafs goalie Jiří Crha's mark by two saves).[2] This record would later be broken by Vancouver Canucks goalie Roberto Luongo, who stopped 72 shots in his playoff debut versus the Dallas Stars in 2007. The Ducks would proceed to shock the hockey world by sweeping the Red Wings in four games, with Giguere labeled as the star of the series. The Mighty Ducks then faced the Dallas Stars. Giguère stopped 60 of 63 Dallas shots in the series opener, a five-overtime Anaheim win. Giguere recorded his first shutout of the playoffs in game four, stopping 28 shots. The Mighty Ducks eventually eliminated the Stars in six games, and moved on to the Western Conference Finals to face the Minnesota Wild. Giguère held the Wild to an all-time best-of-seven series low of one goal in the entire series, which included a franchise record shutout streak of 217 minutes and 54 seconds (later surpassed by Ilya Bryzgalov in 2006).[3]
Due to his marvelous and spider-like saves, announcers across the league coined the term, " SAVE GIGUERE!!!!!!" (always yelled) after he made a great save.
However, the Mighty Ducks' dream of hoisting the Stanley Cup were stopped by the New Jersey Devils, to whom Anaheim lost in a seven-game series. Giguère finished the playoffs undefeated in seven overtime games, setting a record for the longest playoff overtime shutout streak at 168 minutes and 27 seconds.[2] He finished with a 15-6 record overall, a 1.62 GAA and .945 save percentage, as well as fewer losses than Finals counterpart Martin Brodeur. He was the fifth player to receive the Conn Smythe Trophy as playoff MVP as part of the losing team[2] and the first since Philadelphia Flyers goaltender Ron Hextall won in 1987. Along with the Conn Smythe, he received the 2003 ESPY award for best hockey player. The only other goalie ever to do so is Dominik Hasek.
Giguère's playoff MVP performance was rewarded in the off-season with a four-year contract extension, signed on September 10, 2003.[1] However, his performance was inconsistent throughout much of the 2003-04 season as the Mighty Ducks missed the playoffs. Giguère posted a 17-31-6 record and his GAA increased to 2.62. Due to the 2004–05 NHL lockout, Giguère went overseas to play for the Hamburg Freezers in Germany.
Giguère returned to an improved Mighty Ducks squad as NHL play resumed in 2005–06. Anaheim returned to the playoffs and made it to the Western Conference Finals, where they were eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers. Giguère, however, appeared in just four games as Russian rookie backup Ilya Bryzgalov took over the starting position during the playoffs. Giguère missed the first game of the opening round against the Calgary Flames due to injury, but returned for games two through five. During game five, Giguère was pulled after allowing three goals on eight shots. Bryzgalov took over and subsequently reeled off three consecutive shutouts spanning the first and second rounds against Calgary and the Colorado Avalanche, tying an NHL playoff record and breaking Giguère's 2003 club record of consecutive playoff shutout minutes.[3]
Entering the final season of his contract in 2006–07, Giguère earned his starting role back. In the first month of the season, October 2006, he did not lose a single game in regulation.[4] He proceeded to put up a career-high 36 wins in 56 games.
Prior to the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs, Giguère and his wife welcomed a newborn son, Maxime-Oliver. Giguère missed the Ducks' last three regular season games as well as the first three games of their opening round matchup with the Minnesota Wild, with Bryzgalov taking over in Giguère's absence. He returned late in the series and was the Ducks' starter the rest of the way. During the second round against the Vancouver Canucks, his eight-game overtime winning streak in the playoffs was snapped on April 27, 2007, in a 2–1 defeat in game two.[5] Nevertheless, Giguère and the Ducks went on to eliminate the Canucks en route to the 2007 Stanley Cup Finals, where they won their first-ever Stanley Cup championship in a 6-2 game five win against the Ottawa Senators on June 6, 2007.
On June 21, 2007, the Ducks announced that they had re-signed Giguère to a multi-year contract. Giguère posted a 35-17-6 record with a career-best 2.12 GAA in the 2007–08 season. Despite his numbers, the defending champion Ducks were defeated in the first round of the 2008 playoffs by the Dallas Stars in six games.
Giguère recorded sub-par numbers during the 2008–09 season, going 19-18-6 with a 3.10 goals against average, sharing an increased amount of playing time to his backup Jonas Hiller. This did not deter him from being voted into the 2009 NHL All-Star Game in his hometown of Montreal. As Hiller outplayed Giguere throughout the season, he was chosen over Giguere to start during the 2009 playoffs. Giguère's only appearance for the Ducks in the playoffs was in relief of Hiller in the third period of game four of the Ducks' second round series with the Detroit Red Wings, to whom the Ducks would eventually fall in seven games.
Giguère suffered a groin strain early in the 2009–10 season on October 24, 2009. With Hiller's continued emergence as a bona-fide starter, Giguère publicly told L.A. Daily News on November 10 that he "would rather retire than be a backup goalie," fuelling a goaltending controversy on the team.[6] Losing his starting position to Hiller, he did not record his first win of the season until November 23 in a 3–2 shootout victory over the Calgary Flames.[7]
Toronto Maple Leafs (2010–2011)
Giguère was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs on January 31, 2010, for goaltender Vesa Toskala and forward Jason Blake.[8] Three days later, he played his first game for the Maple Leafs and recorded a 30-save shutout against the New Jersey Devils. Giguère registered another shutout in his next game against the Ottawa Senators on February 6, 2010, to become the first goalie in franchise history to record shutouts in his first two games.[9] This accomplishment led Giguère to be named the NHL's second star of the week on February 8.[10] After having recorded a 3.14 GAA and .900 save percentage in 20 games with the Ducks before being traded, he improved to a 2.49 GAA and .916 save percentage in 15 games with the Leafs.
The following season, Giguère suffered a groin injury in mid-November 2010, sidelining him for three weeks. Upon his return, he played in several games before re-injuring his groin. During that time, the Leafs were in need of a goalie, forcing them to call up goalie James Reimer from the AHL. Reimer took over the starting position in Giguere's absence.
Colorado Avalanche (2011–2014)
On July 1, 2011, free agent Giguère signed a two-year contract with the Colorado Avalanche for a total of US$2.5 million.[11][12] Giguère embraced his role in the Colorado locker room as the veteran mentor, especially for the young starting netminder Semyon Varlamov. His leadership was key in a four-game home stand in mid December when Varlamov was sidelined for a back ailment. Giguère started all four games and won them all, securing the Avalanche a team record eight straight wins at home. It was the most consecutive home wins the franchise had seen since the Quebec Nordiques won ten straight in 1995, before the club moved to Denver later that year. Giguère was named one of the three NHL stars of the week for late December. A groin pull on February 15, 2012 during a losing effort to the Vancouver Canucks sidelined Giguère, allowing Varlamov the opportunity to redeem himself and reclaim the starting position in net for the remainder of the race to the playoffs, which Colorado ultimately did not qualify for. On August 13, 2012 Giguère signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract extension through the 2013-14 NHL season.[12][13]
Retirement
On May 26, 2014, reports surfaced that Giguère was likely to retire at the conclusion of the 2013-14 season, amidst much speculation.[14] His final NHL start was the regular season finale in Anaheim, where he received a video tribute and warm ovation from the crowd. At the end of the game, he took a victory lap with former teammate Teemu Selänne, who was also retiring.[15] On August 21, 2014, Giguère formally announced his retirement.[16] Giguère was the last active NHL player to have played for the Hartford Whalers.[17]
Personal
Giguère's father died of cancer on December 15, 2008, and this greatly affected his performance for the rest of the season. Giguère went into the All Star game that year with a very weak record, with only one win in his last nine games.[18] Giguère's mother passed away in late February, 2013
Giguère suffers from a rare gastric condition that causes his body to take in too much air when he drinks fluids. As a result, his body has difficulty absorbing water, leading to severe dehydration when he sweats.[19]
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | W | L | T | OTL | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | GP | W | L | MIN | GA | SO | GAA | SV% | ||
| 1992–93 | Laval | QAAA | 25 | 12 | 11 | 2 | — | 1498 | 76 | 0 | 3.04 | — | 11 | 6 | 5 | 654 | 38 | 0 | 3.49 | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Verdun Collège Français | QMJHL | 25 | 13 | 5 | 2 | — | 1234 | 66 | 0 | 3.21 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 47 | 14 | 27 | 5 | — | 2755 | 181 | 2 | 3.94 | — | 7 | 3 | 4 | 417 | 17 | 1 | 2.45 | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 55 | 26 | 23 | 2 | — | 3230 | 185 | 1 | 3.44 | .895 | 6 | 1 | 5 | 354 | 24 | 0 | 4.07 | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Halifax Mooseheads | QMJHL | 50 | 28 | 19 | 3 | — | 3009 | 169 | 2 | 3.37 | .902 | 16 | 9 | 7 | 954 | 58 | 0 | 3.65 | — | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 8 | 1 | 4 | 0 | — | 394 | 24 | 0 | 3.65 | .881 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 31 | 16 | 10 | 3 | — | 1758 | 72 | 2 | 2.46 | .926 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 536 | 27 | 0 | 3.02 | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 15 | 6 | 7 | 1 | — | 860 | 46 | 0 | 3.21 | .897 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 39 | 18 | 16 | 3 | — | 2145 | 123 | 3 | 3.44 | .905 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 304 | 21 | 0 | 4.14 | .859 | ||
| 1999–00 | Saint John Flames | AHL | 41 | 17 | 17 | 3 | — | 2243 | 114 | 0 | 3.05 | .897 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 178 | 9 | 0 | 3.03 | .880 | ||
| 1999–00 | Calgary Flames | NHL | 7 | 1 | 3 | 1 | — | 330 | 15 | 0 | 2.73 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 23 | 12 | 7 | 2 | — | 1306 | 53 | 0 | 2.43 | .917 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 34 | 11 | 17 | 5 | — | 2031 | 87 | 4 | 2.57 | .911 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 53 | 20 | 25 | 6 | — | 3127 | 111 | 4 | 2.13 | .920 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 65 | 34 | 22 | 6 | — | 3775 | 145 | 8 | 2.30 | .920 | 21 | 15 | 6 | 1407 | 38 | 5 | 1.62 | .945 | ||
| 2003–04 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 55 | 17 | 31 | 6 | — | 3210 | 140 | 3 | 2.62 | .914 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Hamburg Freezers | DEL | 6 | — | — | — | — | 302 | 12 | 0 | 2.38 | .925 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 100 | 7 | 0 | 4.20 | .881 | ||
| 2005–06 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 60 | 30 | 15 | — | 11 | 3381 | 150 | 2 | 2.66 | .911 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 318 | 18 | 0 | 3.40 | .864 | ||
| 2006–07 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 56 | 36 | 10 | — | 8 | 3244 | 122 | 4 | 2.26 | .918 | 18 | 13 | 4 | 1067 | 35 | 1 | 1.97 | .922 | ||
| 2007–08 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 58 | 35 | 17 | — | 6 | 3310 | 117 | 4 | 2.12 | .922 | 6 | 2 | 4 | 358 | 19 | 0 | 3.18 | .898 | ||
| 2008–09 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 46 | 19 | 18 | — | 6 | 2458 | 127 | 2 | 3.10 | .900 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 1.00 | ||
| 2009–10 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 20 | 4 | 8 | — | 5 | 1108 | 58 | 1 | 3.14 | .900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 15 | 6 | 7 | — | 2 | 915 | 38 | 2 | 2.49 | .916 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 33 | 11 | 11 | — | 4 | 1633 | 78 | 0 | 2.87 | .900 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 32 | 15 | 11 | — | 3 | 1820 | 69 | 2 | 2.28 | .919 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 18 | 5 | 4 | — | 4 | 903 | 43 | 0 | 2.84 | .908 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Colorado Avalanche | NHL | 22 | 11 | 6 | — | 1 | 1212 | 53 | 2 | 2.62 | .913 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 597 | 262 | 216 | 25 | 50 | 33,719 | 1423 | 36 | 2.53 | .913 | 52 | 33 | 17 | 3167 | 110 | 6 | 2.08 | .925 | ||||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| QMJHL | ||
| Second All-Star Team | 1997 | |
| AHL | ||
| Hap Holmes Memorial Award | 1998 | |
| NHL | ||
| Conn Smythe Trophy | 2003 | [20] |
| Best NHL Player ESPY Award | 2003 | |
| Stanley Cup | 2007 | |
| NHL All-Star Game | 2009 | |
Transactions
- July 8, 1995 - Drafted by the Hartford Whalers in the 1st round, 13th overall.
- June 25, 1997 - Rights transferred to the Carolina Hurricanes when the Hartford Whalers relocated.
- August 27, 1997 - Traded to the Calgary Flames with Andrew Cassels for Gary Roberts and Trevor Kidd.
- June 10, 2000 - Traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for a 2nd round pick in 2000 (Matt Pettinger).
- June 21, 2007 - Signed a 4 year $24 million contract with the Anaheim Ducks.
- January 31, 2010 - Traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange for Vesa Toskala and Jason Blake.
- July 1, 2011 - As a free agent, signed a two-year, US$2.5 million contract with the Colorado Avalanche.
- August 13, 2012 - Signed a one-year, US$1.5 million contract extension with the Colorado Avalanche.
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 "Jean-Sebastien Giguere - TSN". The Sports Network. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Jean-Sebastien Giguere - Legends of Hockey". Hockey Hall of Fame. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Michaelis, Vicki (2006-05-09). "Bryzgalov has Ducks opponents seeing goose eggs". USA Today. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ↑ "2006-2007 NHL Season Anaheim Ducks".
- ↑ "Vancouver 2 Anaheim 1 (2OT)".
- ↑ "Report: Giguere says he'd rather retire than be a backup". The Sports Network. 2009-11-10. Retrieved 2009-11-10.
- ↑ "Giguere gets first win as Ducks down Flames". The Sports Network. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2009-11-24.
- ↑ "Ducks trade Jean-Sebastien Giguere to Toronto". Los Angeles Times. January 31, 2010. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
- ↑ "Jiggy Shuts The Door On Senators". Canadian Press. Retrieved 2010-02-08.
- ↑ Hunter, Paul (February 8, 2010). "Giguere’s shutouts earn him NHL star honour". Toronto Star. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
- ↑ "Avalanche acquire goalie Varlamov from Capitals; sign veteran Giguere". National Hockey League. 2011-07-01. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
- ↑ 12.0 12.1 "Jean-Sebastien Giguere". Capgeek.com. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
- ↑ "Avalanche sign Giguere to contract extension". The Sports Network. 2012-08-13. Retrieved 2013-06-02.
- ↑ Goss, Nicholas (May 26, 2014). "Report: Avalanche Goalie Jean-Sebastien Giguere Ready To Retire From NHL". Article (NESN). Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ↑ Stubits, Brian (May 26, 2014). "VIDEO: Teemu Selanne takes final lap with Jean-Sebastien Giguere". Article (CBS Sports). Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ↑ Knabenbauer, Ron (August 21, 2014). "Jean-Sebastien Giguere Announces Retirement". Colorado Avalanche Official Website. Retrieved August 21, 2014.
- ↑ Halford, Mike (January 29, 2013). "J.S. Giguere, the last remaining Whaler, says Hartford will "always be special to me"". Article (NBC Sports). Retrieved 2014-06-26.
- ↑ Elliott, Helene (January 25, 2009). "A bittersweet All-Star weekend for Jean-Sebastien Giguere". Article (LA times). Retrieved 2013-06-02.
- ↑ "Stanley Cup Winner JS Giguere Tackles Hydration Issue with Sweat Test". gatorade.ca. 2007. Retrieved 2007-08-21.
- ↑ "Conn Smythe Trophy". National Hockey League. 2012-04-05. Retrieved 2012-04-15.
External links
- Jean-Sébastien Giguère's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
- Jean-Sébastien Giguère's player profile at TSN.ca
| Preceded by Jeff O'Neill |
Hartford Whalers first round draft pick 1995 |
Succeeded by Nikos Tselios |
| Preceded by Nicklas Lidström |
Conn Smythe Trophy winner 2003 |
Succeeded by Brad Richards |