Bill Guerin

William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player and current player development coach for the Pittsburgh Penguins. Guerin played eighteen seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) winning two Stanley Cup championships with the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins teams. Internationally, Guerin represented the United States in the Olympics in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and participated in two Ice Hockey World Championships. Guerin was the first player of Hispanic descent to play in the National Hockey League.

While playing hockey, Guerin lived in Moorestown, New Jersey with his wife and children.

Playing career
Guerin was drafted in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft fifth overall by the Devils.

After a 41-goal season in 2001–02, he left the Bruins as a free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Dallas Stars. Guerin performed below expectations during his tenure with the Stars. After a disappointing season in 2005–06 where he notched only 40 points, Dallas decided to buy out the remainder of his contract. The conditions of buyouts in the NHL meant that the Stars would pay him two-thirds of the remaining salary on his contract spread out over twice as many years. This meant $6.7 million over one year became $4.4 million over 2 years.

On July 3, 2006, Guerin signed a one-year, $2 million dollar deal with the St Louis Blues. Playing on a line with former Oiler teammate Doug Weight, Guerin revived his career, easily eclipsing his disappointing goal-scoring mark from the 2005–06 season. He was named to the 2007 All-Star game (hosted by the Dallas Stars) to represent the Blues. Despite numerous criticisms of his play during his time as a Star, Guerin received a standing ovation from the Dallas fans in recognition as his status as a long time fan favorite.

On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the 214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games.

On February 27, 2007, Guerin was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball, and a conditional first-round pick (either New Jersey's in 2007 or San Jose's in 2008).

On July 5, 2007, Guerin signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders. On July 9, 2007, Guerin was named captain of the Islanders, making him the eleventh captain in team history.

On March 4, 2009 Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional draft pick. The pick, a 2009 fourth-round pick if the Penguins made the playoffs, was later turned into a 2009 third-round pick once the Penguins advanced to the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.

On April 17, 2009 Guerin scored the overtime winning goal at 18:29 in the overtime period to put the Penguins up 2-0 in the playoff series against the Philadelphia Flyers.

Guerin won the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009 with the Penguins, defeating the Detroit Red Wings, by a final score of 2-1 for Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. His 14 years between Stanley Cups as a player was the third-longest wait in NHL history, behind Chris Chelios (16) and Mark Recchi (15).

After vocal encouragement for his return from the crowd and teammates at Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup parade on June 15, as well as expressing his own affection for the city and team, Guerin signed a one-year contract extension with the Penguins on June 29 at a greatly reduced salary, to play through the 2009–10 season.

He is the first player to have a 20-goal season with 7 different teams.

Ray Shero, the general manager for the Pittsburgh Penguins, decided not to offer Guerin a contract for the 2010-2011 season. On September 7, 2010 the Philadelphia Flyers invited Guerin to try out at training camp, However, on October 4, the Flyers released him prior to the start of the regular season.

On December 6, 2010, Guerin announced his retirement as a player from the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin. At the time of his retirement, Guerin ranked seventh all-time among Americans in the NHL with 429 goals.

On June 6, 2011, The Pittsburgh Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach.

Personal life
Guerin is of Nicaraguan and Irish descent. He is married to his wife Kara and they have four children, Kayla Lyn, born on July 6, 1997, Grace Elizabeth, born in 1998, Liam, born on May 23, 2001, and Lexi Rose, born on December 2, 2002.

Awards

 * 1994–95: Won Stanley Cup Championship with New Jersey Devils
 * 1996: Won World Cup of Hockey championships with Team USA
 * 2000–01: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 2000–01: All-Star Game MVP (NHL)
 * 2001–02: NHL Second Team All-Star
 * 2002: Silver medal (Olympic Winter Games)
 * 2002–03: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 2003–04: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 2004: Played in World Cup of Hockey for Team USA
 * 2004–05: Won Primus World'Stars Challenge Bowl.
 * 2006–07: Played in All-Star Game (NHL)
 * 2008–09: Won Stanley Cup Championship with Pittsburgh Penguins

Transactions

 * June, 1989 - New Jersey Devils' 1st round draft choice, 5th overall in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft
 * January 4, 1998 - Traded by the New Jersey Devils, along with Valeri Zelepukin, to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir
 * November 15, 2000 - Traded by the Edmonton Oilers to the Boston Bruins in exchange for Anson Carter, Boston's 2001 1st round draft choice (Aleš Hemský) and Boston's 2001 2nd round draft choice (Doug Lynch)
 * July 3, 2002 - Signed as a free agent by the Dallas Stars
 * July 3, 2006 - Signed as a free agent by the St. Louis Blues
 * February 27, 2007 - Traded by the St. Louis Blues to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Ville Nieminen, Jay Barriball and New Jersey's 2007 1st round draft choice (David Perron)
 * July 5, 2007 - Signed as a free agent by the New York Islanders
 * March 4, 2009 - Traded by the New York Islanders to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Pittsburgh's 2009 3rd round draft choice (pick traded to Phoenix)

International play

 * 1996 - Won with the United States in the 1996 World Cup of Hockey.
 * 1998 - Played for the United States in the 1998 Winter Olympic Games.
 * 2002 - Played for the United States in the 2002 Winter Olympic Games.
 * 2004 - Played for the United States in the 2004 World Cup of Hockey.
 * 2006 - Played for the United States in the 2006 Winter Olympic Games.