Tom Fitzgerald

Tom Fitzgerald
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Height Weight	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) 191 lb (87 kg)
Teams	New York Islanders Florida Panthers Colorado Avalanche Nashville Predators Chicago Blackhawks Toronto Maple Leafs Boston Bruins
Nationality	American
Born	(1968-08-28)August 28, 1968, Billerica, MA, USA
NHL Draft	17th overall, 1986 New York Islanders
Pro Career	1988 – 2006

Tom Fitzgerald (born August 28, 1968, in Billerica, Massachusetts) is a retired American professional player who played seventeen seasons in the National Hockey League and the American Hockey League. He currently serves as assistant to the general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins. He won the Stanley Cup in 2009 as an assistant coach with Pittsburgh.

Fitzgerald with Nashville in 1999

Playing career

Fitzgerald played his college hockey for Providence College and was selected by the New York Islanders of the NHL in the 1986 NHL Entry Draft (1st round, 17th overall). He turned pro in 1988 with the Islanders' American Hockey League affiliate Springfield Indians, and in 1990 was one of the key players who led Indians to the Calder Cup championship.

He played parts of five seasons for the Islanders before being drafted as one of the original Florida Panthers in the 1993 NHL Expansion Draft. Although he has been cast as a defensive forward in the NHL, he had his best scoring years in Miami and was one of the leaders in Florida's 1996 Stanley Cup run. In those 1995–96 playoffs, Fitzgerald scored the decisive goal in Game 7 of the Eastern Conference Finals against the Pittsburgh Penguins. It was a 58-foot slapshot that found its way past Penguins goalie Tom Barrasso.

He was briefly traded to the Colorado Avalanche in 1998 before being drafted in another expansion draft, this time by the Nashville Predators, who sought out his veteran leadership. Fitzgerald was named Nashville's first captain and so served for four seasons. He has subsequently played for the Chicago Blackhawks and the Toronto Maple Leafs. While with Toronto, Fitzgerald and his Maple Leafs teammate Gary Roberts both played in the 1,000th game of their careers on January 13, 2004.

In the summer of 2004, Fitzgerald signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins.

In July 2006, the Boston Bruins chose not to renew his contract. He announced his retirement on September 12, 2006.

Fitzgerald did a stint as an analyst for the Outdoor Life Network during the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, and is one of NESN's studio analysts during postgame coverage of Boston Bruins' matches.

He was the first player in NHL playoff history to score two shorthanded goals on the same minor penalty, against the Pittsburgh Penguins on May 2, 1993, which also equaled the NHL record for shorthanded goals by a player in one game.

In July 2007, Fitzgerald left NESN when he was named Director of Player Development for the Pittsburgh Penguins.

Career statistics

                                            --- Regular season ---  ---- Playoffs ----
Season   Team                        Lge    GP    G    A  Pts  PIM  GP   G   A Pts PIM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1986-87  Providence College          NCAA   27    8   14   22   22  --  --  --  --  --
1987-88  Providence College          NCAA   36   19   15   34   50  --  --  --  --  --
1988-89  Springfield Indians         AHL    61   24   18   42   43  --  --  --  --  --
1988-89  New York Islanders          NHL    23    3    5    8   10  --  --  --  --  --
1989-90  Springfield Indians         AHL    53   30   23   53   32  14   2   9  11  13
1989-90  New York Islanders          NHL    19    2    5    7    4   4   1   0   1   4
1990-91  Capital District Islander   AHL    27    7    7   14   50  --  --  --  --  --
1990-91  New York Islanders          NHL    41    5    5   10   24  --  --  --  --  --
1991-92  Capital District Islander   AHL     4    1    1    2    4  --  --  --  --  --
1991-92  New York Islanders          NHL    45    6   11   17   28  --  --  --  --  --
1992-93  New York Islanders          NHL    77    9   18   27   34  18   2   5   7  18
1993-94  Florida Panthers            NHL    83   18   14   32   54  --  --  --  --  --
1994-95  Florida Panthers            NHL    48    3   13   16   31  --  --  --  --  --
1995-96  Florida Panthers            NHL    82   13   21   34   75  22   4   4   8  34
1996-97  Florida Panthers            NHL    71   10   14   24   64   5   0   1   1   0
1997-98  Florida Panthers            NHL    69   10    5   15   57  --  --  --  --  --
1997-98  Colorado Avalanche          NHL    11    2    1    3   22   7   0   1   1  20
1998-99  Nashville Predators         NHL    80   13   19   32   48  --  --  --  --  --
1999-00  Nashville Predators         NHL    82   13    9   22   66  --  --  --  --  --
2000-01  Nashville Predators         NHL    82    9    9   18   71  --  --  --  --  --
2001-02  Nashville Predators         NHL    63    7    9   16   33  --  --  --  --  --
2001-02  Chicago Blackhawks          NHL    15    1    3    4    6   5   0   0   0   4
2002-03  Toronto Maple Leafs         NHL    66    4   13   17   57   7   0   1   1   4
2003-04  Toronto Maple Leafs         NHL    69    7   10   17   52  10   0   0   0   6
2004-05  DNP - 04/05 Lockout          --    --   --   --   --   --  --  --  --  --  --
2005-06  Boston Bruins               NHL    71    4    6   10   40  --  --  --  --  --
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
         NHL totals                       1097  139  190  329  776  78   7  12  19  90

External links

• Tom Fitzgerald's career stats at The Internet Hockey Database
• Tom Fitzgerald's biography at Legends of Hockey

Preceded by new creation

Nashville Predators captains 1998-2002

Succeeded by Greg Johnson