Rob Niedermayer

Robert W. Niedermayer, Jr. (born December 28, 1974) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player who currently plays for HC Lugano of the National League A in Switzerland. He also played for the Florida Panthers, Calgary Flames, Anaheim Ducks, New Jersey Devils and Buffalo Sabres. He is the younger brother of former NHL defenceman Scott Niedermayer (the two were teammates for four seasons) and cousin of Edmonton Oilers defenceman Jason Strudwick.

Although Rob was born in Cassiar, British Columbia, he and his brother Scott grew up living in Cranbrook, British Columbia.

National Hockey League
Niedermayer was drafted 5th overall by the Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft. At the time he was playing for the Medicine Hat Tigers of the Western Hockey League (WHL). He started his NHL career right away, without playing a game in the minors. During the 1996 NHL season he set career highs in goals, assists, and points in the regular season. In the playoffs, the Panthers went on an improbable playoff drive to the Stanley Cup Finals, before being swept in four games by the Colorado Avalanche. Niedermayer was hurt by concussions in the next years and has never been able to achieve the same level of scoring ability again. His NHL role soon turned into a defensive forward.

On July 23, 2001, Niedermayer was traded from the Florida Panthers to the Calgary Flames with a draft pick for Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer. He did not last long in Calgary, and at the 2003 trading deadline he was traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim. That same year he helped the Anaheim Ducks make an improbable run to the Stanley Cup Finals, his second such run. But again, Niedermayer's team lost, although this time it was in seven games to his brother's team, the New Jersey Devils. Rob and Scott became the first set of brothers to play against each other in the Stanley Cup Final since Ken and Terry Reardon did it in 1946.

In the summer of 2005, Rob's brother Scott was signed by the Mighty Ducks, and for the first time in their NHL careers, the two brothers were playing on the same team.

Rob Niedermayer and his brother Scott (by this point captain of the Ducks, with Rob as an alternate) won the Stanley Cup together as members of the Anaheim Ducks defeating the Ottawa Senators four games to one in 2007, becoming the first brothers to win the Stanley Cup together since Duane and Brent Sutter accomplished the feat twice with the New York Islanders in 1982 and 1983. After Scott took the first lap around the ice with the Stanley Cup, he handed it to Rob. This was a break with Stanley Cup tradition; normally the alternate captain who has waited longest to win the Cup (in the 2006-07 Ducks' case, Chris Pronger and Teemu Selanne) takes the next lap after the captain takes his lap.

On September 25, 2009, Niedermayer was signed by the New Jersey Devils, a team his brother Scott had previously played on for 14 NHL seasons.

On July 7, 2010, Niedermayer was signed by the Buffalo Sabres to a one-year contract worth a reported 1.15 million dollars.

National League A
After becoming a free agent following the 2011 season, Niedermayer signed with HC Lugano in Switzerland.

Personal life
On July 16, 2006 Rob married longtime girlfriend Jessica Bentall, daughter of Barney Bentall, whom he had been dating since March 2001. Together they have a daughter, Brooke (b April 25, 2008), and a son, Matthew (b February 12, 2010).

Transactions

 * June 26, 1993 - Drafted by the Florida Panthers in the first round, 5th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft
 * June 23, 2001 - Traded to the Calgary Flames with a 2001 2nd round draft pick (Andrei Medvedev) for Valeri Bure and Jason Wiemer
 * March 11, 2003 - Traded to the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim for Jean-François Damphousse and Mike Commodore
 * September 25, 2009 - Signed by the New Jersey Devils from Free Agency
 * July 7, 2010 - Signed by the Buffalo Sabres from Free Agency

Awards and achievements

 * 2006–07 - NHL - Stanley Cup (Anaheim)