Neal Broten

Neal LaMoy Broten (born November 29, 1959 in Roseau, Minnesota) is a former American professional ice hockey center who played 1,099 NHL regular season games in 1981–1997 for the Minnesota North Stars, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils and Los Angeles Kings in the National Hockey League. His younger brothers Aaron Broten and Paul Broten are also former NHL players as well as his long-time next-door neighbor "Butsy" Bryan Erickson.

College career
Broten is considered by some to be the most accomplished Minnesota born hockey player. He is one of only two players, along with Ed Belfour, to have played on teams that won the NCAA hockey championship (University of Minnesota in 1979), the Olympic Gold Medal (Team USA, 1980), and the Stanley Cup (New Jersey Devils, 1995).He made a total of three appearances in the Minnesota high school boys hockey state tournament. His 1978 individual high school record of four assists in one period still stands today.

As a college freshman, he played hockey for the Minnesota Golden Gophers under coach Herb Brooks winning both a national championship in 1979 and the inaugural Hobey Baker award in 1981. During his tenure at the University of Minnesota, he reunited with his Roseau linemates, Aaron Broten and next-door neighbor Bryan Erickson. Both would later spend significant time in the NHL and became NHL journeymen with Erickson being known as "the good looking Roseau hockey star."

NHL/International career
Broten was member of the United States Olympic team that won a gold medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in an event known as the Miracle on Ice. He was also a member of Team USA at the 1981 Canada Cup and 1984 Canada Cup tournaments as well as the 1990 Ice Hockey World Championship.

He played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League. Highlights of his long NHL career include becoming the first American to score more than 100 points in a single season (1985–86) as well as two NHL All-Star Game appearances in 1983 and 1986. He won a Stanley Cup with the New Jersey Devils in 1995, where he scored the game-winning goal in Game Four against the Detroit Red Wings which clinched the title. Of note, his 1980 Soviet counterpart Viacheslav Fetisov was on the ice (literally, he had fallen down on the play while guarding Bill Guerin) for the Red Wings when Broten scored.

Broten served as the captain of the Dallas Stars for 2 months during the lockout-shortened 1994–95 NHL season. He had previously served as an alternate captain on a number of occasions.

Post career
Broten briefly came out of retirement in 1999 to once again play for the US national team in the 1999 Ice Hockey World Championship qualifying tournament (the U.S. team featuring several NHL players had surprisingly finished among the bottom four in the previous 1998 world championship tournament) when no active NHL players were available. He scored six points in three games as the U.S. won the tournament, before retiring from hockey for good.

Awards and Achievements
On February 7, 1998, Broten's #7 jersey was retired by the Minnesota/Dallas organization. He was inducted into the United States Hockey Hall of Fame in 2000.
 * WCHA First All-Star Team (1981)
 * NCAA West First All-American Team (1981)
 * Hobey Baker Memorial Award (Top U.S. Collegiate Player) (1981). He was the first recipient of the award.
 * Lester Patrick Trophy (1998)
 * Played in NHL All-Star Game (1983, 1986)
 * Was voted by Minnesota Wild fans as the greatest hockey player ever from Minnesota in the Minnesota Hockey Greats contest. The award was announced at the April 10, 2009 Wild game against the Nashville Predators.

Transactions
 * Drafted: Minnesota North Stars, 2nd Round (42 overall), 1979 NHL Entry Draft. Pick was obtained by the North Stars in a draft-day trade that sent Dave Semenko from the North Stars to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for 2nd and 3rd round draft picks.
 * Traded to the New Jersey Devils for Corey Millen, 2/27/95
 * Traded from New Jersey Devils to Los Angeles Kings for future considerations, 11/22/96
 * Claimed on waivers by Dallas from Los Angeles, 1/28/97