Brent Sopel

Brent Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for Metallurg Novokuznetsk in the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Vancouver Canucks
On April 3, 1996, just under a year after being drafted, Sopel signed his first professional contract with his draft team, the Vancouver Canucks. Sopel scored his first NHL goal on April 10, 1999 against the Edmonton Oilers' Tommy Salo.

Sopel was traded back to the Canucks during their 2006–07 season, on February 1, 2007, the NHL trade deadline. He missed the first game of the 2007 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the Dallas Stars after he injured his back picking a cracker up off the floor. The Canucks beat the Stars in quadruple overtime, in the sixth longest game in NHL history.

New York Islanders
On August 3, 2005, the Canucks traded Sopel to the New York Islanders for a conditional draft pick in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. On August 16, just under a week after being traded, Sopel signed a two-year, $4.8-million dollar with the Islanders.

Chicago Blackhawks
Heading into the 2007–08 season with no contract, Sopel was invited to the Detroit Red Wings' training camp. However, on September 28, 2007, Sopel left Red Wings camp, signing a one-year, $1.5-million contract with the Chicago Blackhawks after the Red Wings had only offered a one-year, $500,000 contract. On January 10, 2008, Sopel signed a 3-year, $7-million contract extension with the Blackhawks, keeping him in Chicago through to the 2010-11 NHL season. On June 9, 2010, Brent Sopel won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks.

In June 2010, Sopel brought the team's recently won Stanley Cup to the 2010 Chicago Gay Pride Parade. Sopel brought the Cup to the parade in honor of the late Brendan Burke, son of his former boss in Vancouver, Brian, to display it in the Chicago Gay Pride Parade, stating to the press that honoring Burke's legacy and his father's example of familial support and tolerance was one of his reasons for marching in the parade. Although he was the team's representative, contrary to popular belief, Sopel did not use his personal day with it in the parade.

Atlanta Thrashers
On June 23, 2010, Sopel was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Akim Aliu, for the 24th (Kevin Hayes) and 54th overall picks (Justin Holl) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, and Jeremy Morin.

Montreal Canadiens
After playing 59 games for Atlanta, registering 2 goals and 7 points, he was traded to the Montreal Canadiens along with Nigel Dawes for Ben Maxwell and a 4th-round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft on February 24, 2011.

Kontinental Hockey League
On July 29, 2011, Sopel announced that he had signed a 2 year contract with Metallurg Novokuznetsk of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

Personal life
Although born in Calgary, Sopel grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan in the city's Silverwood Heights neighborhood, where he attended Sister O'Brien School and Marion M. Graham Collegiate. Brent is married to Kelly since 2001. They have 2 sons; Paul & Jacob and 2 daughters; Lyla & Jayla. Lyla has been diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia, like Brent. Paul was adopted in 2007, when he was 17 years old. His parents, who were family friends of the Sopels, both died in a short period of time. Brent and Kelly thought it would be best if they took care of him. Sopel and his family currently reside in Chicago.

Awards

 * 2002 – NHL Player of the Week (January 21 – 27)
 * 2010 – Won Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks

Transactions

 * July 8, 1995 – Drafted in the sixth round, 144th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft
 * August 3, 2005 – Traded by the Vancouver Canucks to the New York Islanders for the Islanders' second round selection (Bryce Swan — later acquired by Anaheim) in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft
 * March 8, 2006 – Traded by the New York Islanders with Mark Parrish to the Los Angeles Kings for Denis Grebeshkov and Jeff Tambellini
 * February 26, 2007 – Traded by the Los Angeles Kings to the Vancouver Canucks for the Canucks' second round selection (Wayne Simmonds — originally acquired from Anaheim) in the 2007 NHL Entry Draft and the Canucks' fourth round selection (Justin Jokinen — later acquired by Buffalo) in the 2008 NHL Entry Draft
 * September 28, 2007 – Signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Chicago Blackhawks
 * June 23, 2010- Traded to the Atlanta Thrashers along with Dustin Byfuglien, Ben Eager, and Akim Aliu for the 24th (Kevin Hayes) and 54th overall picks (Justin Holl) in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb, and Jeremy Morin.
 * February 24, 2011 - Traded to the Montreal Canadiens along with Nigel Dawes for Ben Maxwell and a 4th-round draft pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft.