Keith Tkachuk

Keith Tkachuk
Born	(1972-03-28)March 28, 1972, Melrose, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height Weight	6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) 232 lb (105 kg; 16 st 8 lb)
Position	Forward
Shoots	Left
Pro clubs	Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes St. Louis Blues Atlanta Thrashers
Ntl. team	United States of America
NHL Draft	19th overall, 1990 Winnipeg Jets
Playing career	1991–2010

Keith Matthew Tkachuk (pronounced /kəˈtʃʌk/; born March 28, 1972) is an American former professional ice hockey player who played for four teams and three franchises in his 19-year career. He is one of only four American-born players to score 500 goals, and is the sixth American player to score 1,000 points.

Playing career

Tkachuk began his hockey career at Malden Catholic High School in Malden, Massachusetts. Tkachuk played collegiate hockey at Boston University, was a member of the U.S. National Junior team in 1991 and 1992, and a member of the U.S. Olympic team in 1992. He was drafted in the first round (19th overall) in the 1990 entry draft by the Winnipeg Jets who acquired the pick from the Buffalo Sabres in the deal that sent Dale Hawerchuk to Buffalo. Tkachuk played as Center, Left Winger and Right Winger in his career.

Tkachuk has earned the nickname "Walt" (given to him by Eddie Olczyk), possibly in reference to Walter Tkaczuk, a star center who played for the New York Rangers from 1967 to 1981. The two players' last names are pronounced similarly but spelled differently, and the two men are not related to each other. With his great play in front of the net, St. Louis Blues broadcasters and fans dubbed the name "Big Walt" as well from this name.

Winnipeg Jets (1992–1996)

Only days after the end of the Olympics, Tkachuk made his NHL debut on February 28, 1992, against the Vancouver Canucks and tallied an assist. He would finish the season with the Jets, getting eight points in 17 games. In the playoffs that year, he scored three goals in seven games. The following season, 1992–93, was Tkachuk's official rookie year. He appeared in 83 games and ended the season with 28 goals and 51 points, including a 12–game scoring streak from March 9 to April 3, 1993.

Tkachuk became the team captain the next season on November 3, 1993, two weeks after recording his first hat trick, against the Philadelphia Flyers. Some of his accomplishments from that season include leading the Jets in goals (41), points (81), and power play goals (22). The 1994–95 season, which was shortened by a lockout, saw Tkachuk earn all-star second-team honors, as well as being second on the team in points.

In the 1995–96 season, Tkachuk dominated the Jets' statistics finishing first in goals (50), assists (48), points (98), power play goals (20), game-winning goals (6), shots (249), and plus/minus (+11).

Tkachuk was stripped of the Jets captaincy, at the start of the 1995–96 NHL season (the Winnipeg Jets last season), after a contract dispute. Kris King was named the new captain. Tkachuk was restored as captain at the start of the 1996–97 NHL season, when the Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona, to become the Phoenix Coyotes.

Phoenix Coyotes (1996–2001)

The Jets moved to Phoenix, Arizona, in 1996, where Tkachuk became a member of the new Phoenix Coyotes. It was with Phoenix during the 1996–97 season that he has his career-best 52 goals, and made his first appearance in the NHL All-Star Game. He also led the team in goals, points, power-play goals, game-winning goals, and shots for the 1997–98 season, earning him his second straight All-Star appearance. For the 1998–99 season, Tkachuk led the team in goals, power-play goals, game-winning goals, shots, and plus/minus, and again went to the All-Star game. In 1997, Tkachuk was on the cover of the video game NHL Breakaway '98.

After struggling with injuries for the next two seasons, the Coyotes traded Tkachuk to the Blues in 2001 for Ladislav Nagy, Michal Handzus, Jeff Taffe and a 1st round selection (Ben Eager), where he was re-united with Dallas Drake, who had signed a free agent deal with the Blues in the summer of 2000. He would leave the team ranking second in all-time goals (323) and first in penalty minutes (1,508) among other records.

St. Louis Blues and brief Atlanta Thrashers stint (2001–2010)

Tkachuk during a game in 2008

Tkachuk made an immediate impact on the Blues, scoring six goals and eight points in the final 12 games of the 2000–01 season. The Blues made it to the Western Conference final in the playoffs that season, losing to the Colorado Avalanche, the eventual 2001 Stanley Cup champions. He has experienced several injuries while with the Blues, and was briefly suspended when he reported to training camp overweight and failed his physical at the beginning of the 2005–06 season.

On February 25, 2007, Tkachuk was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers for Glen Metropolit, a 1st round pick in 2007, a 3rd round pick in 2007 and a 2nd round pick in 2008.

On June 26 of the same year, St. Louis reacquired Tkachuk along with a conditional 4th round draft pick for a conditional first round pick in 2008. If Tkachuk had re-signed with the Thrashers, the Blues would have had Atlanta's 1st round pick in 2008. Since the Blues acquired exclusive negotiating rights with Tkachuk and re-signed him to a two-year deal, Atlanta received a conditional 4th round pick in 2008. Tkachuk signed a new, two-year contract with the Blues for $8 million on June 30. Upon re-signing, Tkachuk said of the Blues that "I see a lot of good things happening... They're going to be very active in making this a better hockey team." To help prove the Blues would be better, after signing Tkachuk they signed left winger Paul Kariya. Coach Andy Murray announced that he would try a line where Tkachuk would be centering Kariya on left wing and Brad Boyes on right.

On the last day of the 2007–08 regular season (April 6), Tkachuk scored his 500th NHL Goal, a milestone only three other American-born players have achieved, and the 41st overall in NHL history.

On November 30, 2008, Tkachuk scored goal number 511, giving him 1,000 NHL points for his career. He becomes only the sixth American, and 72nd overall to achieve that milestone. It came in his 1,077th NHL game. He signed a one year contract with the Blues on June 19, 2009. On April 7, 2010, Tkachuk announced that he would be retiring from hockey at the conclusion of the 2009–10 season. He played his final NHL game two nights later on April 9, 2010.

Awards

• Hockey East All-Rookie Team — 1991
• NHL Second All-Star Team — 1995, 1998
• Played in 5 NHL All-Star Games — 1997, 1998, 1999, 2004, 2009
• NHL Player of the Week — December 6, 1993; April 1, 1994; April 7, 1997

Select milestones

• 1000 games played — December 1, 2007, against the Chicago Blackhawks
• 700 career points — April 5, 2002, against the Chicago Blackhawks
• 400 career goals — October 12, 2003, against the Colorado Avalanche
• 500 career goals — April 6, 2008, against the Columbus Blue Jackets
• 1000 career points — November 30, 2008, against the Atlanta Thrashers

Records

Tkachuk led the NHL in goals during the 1996–97 season with 52, the first American-born player to do so. That season he was also only the fourth player in NHL history to record 50 goals and 200 penalty minutes in a single season.

Other records:

• Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career game-winning goals (40)
• Phoenix Coyotes franchise record for career penalty minutes (1,508)

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1990–91	Boston U. Terriers	HE		36	17	23	40	70		—	—	—	—	—
1991–92	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		17	3	5	8	28		7	3	0	3	30
1992–93	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		83	28	23	51	201		6	4	0	4	14
1993–94	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		84	41	40	81	255		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		48	22	29	51	152		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		76	50	48	98	156		6	1	2	3	22
1996–97	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		81	52	34	86	228		7	6	0	6	7
1997–98	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		69	40	26	66	147		6	3	3	6	10
1998–99	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		68	36	32	68	151		7	1	3	4	13
1999–00	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		50	22	21	43	82		5	1	1	2	4
2000–01	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		64	29	42	71	108		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	St. Louis Blues	NHL		12	6	2	8	14		15	2	7	9	20
2001–02	St. Louis Blues	NHL		73	38	37	75	117		10	5	5	10	18
2002–03	St. Louis Blues	NHL		56	31	24	55	139		7	1	3	4	14
2003–04	St. Louis Blues	NHL		75	33	38	71	83		5	0	2	2	10
2005–06	St. Louis Blues	NHL		41	15	21	36	46		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	St. Louis Blues	NHL		61	20	23	43	92		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		18	7	8	15	34		4	1	2	3	12
2007–08	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	27	31	58	69		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	St. Louis Blues	NHL		79	25	24	49	61		4	0	0	0	2
2009–10	St. Louis Blues	NHL		67	13	19	32	56		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				1,201	538	527	1,065	2,219		89	28	28	56	176

International

Medal record
Competitor for United States of America
Ice hockey
Winter Olympics
Silver	2002 Salt Lake City
World Cup
Gold	1996 North America
World Junior Championships
Bronze	1992 Kaufbeuren

Year	Team	Comp	GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991	United States	WJC	7	6	3	9	12
1992	United States	WJC	7	3	4	7	6
1992	United States	OG	8	1	1	2	12
1996	United States	WCH	7	5	1	6	44
1998	United States	OG	4	0	2	2	6
2002	United States	OG	5	2	0	2	2
2004	United States	WCH	5	5	1	6	23
2006	United States	OG	6	0	0	0	8
Junior int'l totals			14	9	7	16	18
Senior int'l totals			35	13	5	18	85

Personal life

Tkachuk has been married to Chantal Oster, whom he met in Winnipeg since February 28, 1997, and has three children, named Matthew, Braeden, and Taryn. He is still a fan favorite in St. Louis and is an investor in sports talk radio station KFNS (590 AM, St. Louis MO). He is an assistant coach with the St. Louis Blues Peewee AAA hockey team, his son Braeden plays on the team

Tkachuk is Irish on his mother's side, and is cousin to NHL player Tom Fitzgerald, whom he grew up with. When asked about the derivation of his surname, Tkachuk was unsure, suggesting it could either be "Polish, Russian, [or] Ukrainian, one of those."

See also

• Power forward (ice hockey)
• List of NHL players with 50 goal seasons
• List of NHL players with 500 goals
• List of NHL players with 1000 points
• List of NHL players with 2000 career penalty minutes
• List of NHL players with 1000 games played

External links

• Keith Tkachuk's biography at Legends of Hockey
• Keith Tkachuk's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Keith Tkachuk's U.S. Olympic Team bio
• ESPN Profile

Preceded by Stu Barnes	Winnipeg Jets first round draft pick 1990	Succeeded by Aaron Ward
Preceded by Dean Kennedy	Winnipeg Jets captain 1993–95	Succeeded by Kris King
Preceded by Original Winnipeg Jets captains Kris King	Phoenix Coyotes captain 1996–2001	Succeeded by Teppo Numminen
Preceded by Mario Lemieux	NHL goal leader 1997	Succeeded by Peter Bondra and Teemu Selänne