Adrian Aucoin

Adrian Aucoin (born July 3, 1973) is a Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman currently playing for the Phoenix Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL).

Playing career
Born in Ottawa, Ontario, Aucoin was drafted 117th overall by the Vancouver Canucks in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft. With the Canucks, Aucoin established himself as a significant offensive threat, specifically on the power-play. However, it was not until his fourth full season with the team that this became evident, as he rose from just 3 goals in 1997–98 to 23 the next season, 18 of which came on the power-play, tying Denis Potvin for the NHL single-season record (broken by Sheldon Souray's 19 powerplay goals in 2006–07). In addition to leading all league defencemen in goals and power-play goals in the 1998–99 NHL season, Aucoin also led all defencemen in shorthanded goals (2) and game-winning goals (3).

However, after one and half seasons, Aucoin's offensive production dropped to the point where he had only 3 goals through 47 games in 2000–01. On February 7, 2001, Aucoin (along with a second-round pick for the 2001 NHL Entry Draft) was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for goaltender Dan Cloutier. He only played 26 regular-season games for the Lightning before being traded in the off-season with Alexander Kharitonov to the New York Islanders for Mathieu Biron and a second-round pick in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft.

With the Islanders, Aucoin put up the most consistent offensive numbers of his career, including a career-high 33 assists and 44 points in 2003–04, resulting in him being chosen to play in the 2004 NHL All-Star Game for the Eastern Conference. He shared a victory in the hardest shot competition with Sheldon Souray of the Montreal Canadiens with a 102.2 mph blast and scored the first goal of the game in a 6–4 win over the Western Conference.

In 2004–05, he represented Modo Hockey of the Swedish Elitserien during the NHL lockout. Once NHL play resumed, Aucoin signed with the Chicago Blackhawks on August 2, 2005 for four years. However, the first two seasons of his contract were hampered by injuries, and in the off-season prior to the 2007–08 campaign, and was named there captian. Aucoin waived his no-trade clause and was sent with a seventh-round draft pick to the Calgary Flames for defencemen Andrei Zyuzin and Steve Marr.

In his first season with Calgary, Aucoin recorded the fifth 30-point season of his career in 2007–08.

Awards

 * Babe Pratt Trophy (Vancouver Canucks' best defenceman) - 1999

Transactions

 * June 20, 1992 - Drafted 117th overall in the 1992 NHL Entry Draft by the Vancouver Canucks
 * February 7, 2001 - Traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning with a 2nd round draft pick (2001 NHL Entry Draft) for Dan Cloutier
 * June 22, 2001 - Traded to the New York Islanders with Alexander Kharitonov for Mathieu Biron and a 2nd round draft pick (2002 NHL Entry Draft)
 * August 2, 2005 - Signed a four-year deal with the Chicago Blackhawks
 * June 22, 2007 - Traded to the Calgary Flames with a 7th round draft pick for Andrei Zyuzin and Steve Marr
 * July 1, 2009 - Signed with the Phoenix Coyotes

International play
Aucoin played for Team Canada in:
 * 1993 World Junior Championships (assistant captain & gold medal)
 * 1994 Winter Olympics (silver)
 * 2000 World Championships