Steve Sullivan
Sullivan with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2011
Born (1974-07-06) July 6, 1974
Timmins, Ontario, Canada
Height 5 ft 7 in (170 cm)
Weight 156 lb (71 kg; 11 st 2 lb)
Position Left wing
Shot Right
Played for New Jersey Devils
Toronto Maple Leafs
Chicago Blackhawks
Nashville Predators
Pittsburgh Penguins
Phoenix Coyotes
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 233rd overall, 1994
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1994–2013

Steve Sullivan (born July 6, 1974) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played over 1000 games in the National Hockey League for the New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, Chicago Blackhawks, Nashville Predators, Pittsburgh Penguins and Arizona Coyotes. He was also a former coach and executive with the Coyotes.

Playing career

Early years

In the OHL, Sullivan played with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and won the 1993 Memorial Cup.

New Jersey Devils

Sullivan was taken by the New Jersey Devils in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft ninth round, 233rd overall.[1] He was assigned to play with the Albany River Rats, where he captured a Calder Cup championship in 1995.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Sullivan was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs during the 1996–97 NHL season, where he went on to score a (then) career high 40 points during the 1998–99 NHL season.

Chicago Blackhawks

Sullivan was then picked up off waivers in 1999 by the Chicago Blackhawks.[2] Sullivan posted a new career high of 75 points in the 2001–02 NHL season.

Nashville Predators

Sullivan was traded to the Nashville Predators for a second-round pick in the 2005 NHL Entry Draft (Michael Blunden) and a second-round pick in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft (Ryan Garlock) on February 16, 2004.

Upon arriving in Nashville, Sullivan put up 30 points in 24 games, including a hat trick in his first game with the Predators,[3] and 10 points in his first 3 games with the team. Sullivan was named the NHL's Offensive Player of the Week for October 9–16, 2005.[4]

In February 2007, Sullivan suffered a debilitating back injury in a game against the Montreal Canadiens that forced him out of action for the remainder of the 2006–07 season, all of the 2007–08 season, and the first half of the 2008–09 season. Sullivan made his comeback on January 10, 2009, against the Chicago Blackhawks after nearly 23 months. Due to his successful comeback during the 2008–09 season, Sullivan was awarded the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy for his perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.[5]

Pittsburgh Penguins

On July 1, 2011, he signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with the Pittsburgh Penguins.[6] His early form in the 2011–12 season was disappointing, but as the season went on, he became better accustomed to the Penguins' lineup and finished with 48 points in 79 games. He scored two goals in the Penguins opening round playoff loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.

Final NHL season

On July 4, 2012, Sullivan signed a one-year, $1.85 million deal with the Phoenix Coyotes.[7] Signed with the intention to cover the loss of fellow veteran Ray Whitney, Sullivan got off to a quick start with the Coyotes in the lockout shortened 2012–13 season, scoring a hat-trick in his third game to help defeat the Columbus Blue Jackets on January 24, 2013.[8] On March 28, 2013, Sullivan dressed for his 1,000th NHL game, fittingly against the Nashville Predators.[9] He was honored during the game as the Coyotes defeated the Predators 7-4.[10]

On April 3, 2013, Sullivan was dealt by the Coyotes at the trade deadline to return to his original club, the New Jersey Devils, for a 7th round draft pick.[11] His time between stints with the Devils was 16 year, 45 days, the third longest amount of time between stints with one team in NHL history.[12]

Post-Playing career

On September 8, 2014, the Coyotes announced that they had hired Sullivan as their development coach.[13]

On July 26, 2020, Sullivan was named the interim general manager of the Coyotes upon the resignation of John Chayka,[14] running the NHL franchise till Bill Armstrong was hired as the new general manager in September 2020.[15] Less than 5 months later, Sullivan was let go from this position as assistant general manager and executive vice-president of hockey operations on February 11, 2021.[16][17][18]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1991–92Timmins Golden BearsNOJHL476655121141—————
1992–93Sault Ste. Marie GreyhoundsOHL623627634416381118
1992–93Sault Ste. Marie GreyhoundsMC—————41014
1993–94Sault Ste. Marie GreyhoundsOHL63516211382149162522
1994–95Albany River RatsAHL7531508112414471110
1995–96Albany River RatsAHL5333427512743036
1995–96New Jersey DevilsNHL165498—————
1996–97Albany River RatsAHL15871516—————
1996–97New Jersey DevilsNHL338142214—————
1996–97Toronto Maple LeafsNHL215111623—————
1997–98Toronto Maple LeafsNHL6310182840—————
1998–99Toronto Maple LeafsNHL63202040281333614
1999–2000Toronto Maple LeafsNHL70114—————
1999–2000Chicago BlackhawksNHL7322426452—————
2000–01Chicago BlackhawksNHL8134417554—————
2001–02Chicago BlackhawksNHL782139606751012
2002–03Chicago BlackhawksNHL8226356142—————
2003–04Chicago BlackhawksNHL5615284336—————
2003–04Nashville PredatorsNHL24921301261126
2005–06Nashville PredatorsNHL693137685050220
2006–07Nashville PredatorsNHL5722386020—————
2008–09Nashville PredatorsNHL4111213230—————
2009–10Nashville PredatorsNHL821734513560332
2010–11Nashville PredatorsNHL441012222892132
2011–12Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL791731482062464
2012–13Phoenix CoyotesNHL33571220—————
2012–13New Jersey DevilsNHL92354—————
NHL totals 1,011 290 457 747 587 50 9 14 23 30

International

Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
2000 Canada WC 9 4 1 5 14
2001 Canada WC 7 1 2 3 10
Senior totals 16 5 3 8 24

References

  1. ↑ "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". National Hockey League.
  2. ↑ Milbert, Neil (December 5, 2000). "Castoff Blasts Off". Chicago Tribune. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  3. ↑ Wilson, Kevin (February 15, 2008). "10th: Steve Sullivan debuts with a hat trick vs. San Jose". NHL.com. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  4. ↑ "Sullivan named NHL Offensive Player of the Week". NHL.com. October 17, 2005. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  5. ↑ "Sullivan Wins Masterton Memorial Trophy; Becomes Preds First NHL Award Winner". NHL.com. June 18, 2009. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  6. ↑ "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 2011-06-29. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
  7. ↑ "Steve Sullivan signs with Coyotes". USA Today. 2012-07-04. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  8. ↑ "Sullivan's Hat-trick powers Coyotes past Jackets". National Hockey League. 2013-01-24. Retrieved 2013-01-24.
  9. ↑ "Against the odds, Sullivan to play 1,000th game". National Hockey League. 2013-03-27. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  10. ↑ "Coyotes use six goal first period to defeat Predators". National Hockey League. 2013-03-28. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
  11. ↑ "Devils acquire Steve Sullivan". NJ.com. 2013-04-03. Retrieved 2013-04-03.
  12. ↑ "The Newark Star Ledger. April 7, 2013. section 4 pg. 5".
  13. ↑ "Coyotes name Steve Sullivan as development coach". NHL.com. September 8, 2014. Retrieved June 30, 2018.
  14. ↑ "Coyotes name Steve Sullivan interim GM after John Chayka 'quit' - Sportsnet.ca". www.sportsnet.ca. 26 July 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  15. ↑ "Coyotes hire Bill Armstrong as general manager, was in Blues front office". NHL. 17 September 2020. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  16. ↑ "Arizona Coyotes terminate assistant general manager Steve Sullivan's contract". TSN.ca. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 12 February 2021.
  17. ↑ "Coyotes terminate contract of former assistant GM Steve Sullivan". www.sportsnet.ca. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 2022-12-03.
  18. ↑ "Coyotes name Steve Sullivan interim GM after John Chayka 'quit' - Sportsnet.ca".
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