Pat Verbeek

Pat Verbeek

Verbeek in 2014 before a ceremonial puck drop
Born (1964-05-24) May 24, 1964
Sarnia, ON, CAN
Height 5 ft 9 in (175 cm)
Weight 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for New Jersey Devils
Hartford Whalers
New York Rangers
Dallas Stars
Detroit Red Wings
National team  Canada
NHL Draft 43rd overall, 1982
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 19822002

Patrick Martin Verbeek (born May 24, 1964) is a Canadian former ice hockey player who played for the New Jersey Devils, Hartford Whalers, New York Rangers, Dallas Stars, and Detroit Red Wings during his career. His nickname, "The Little Ball of Hate", was given to him in 1995 by Glenn Healy after fellow New York Rangers teammate Ray Ferraro was tagged as the "Big Ball of Hate".

Verbeek is currently employed as Assistant General Manager with the Tampa Bay Lightning with former Detroit teammate Steve Yzerman, the current General Manager of the Lightning. He previously served as pro scout with the Detroit Red Wings.

Playing career

Verbeek was selected 43rd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1982 NHL Entry Draft. He helped the Devils to their first playoff berth in the 1987–88 season, when he scored what was a club record 46 goals until it was broken in the 2005–06 season by Brian Gionta's 48 goals.

After the 1988–89 season, the Devils traded him to the Hartford Whalers. In his first season, he led the team in goal scoring and in his second he was named team MVP. In 1991, he made the All-Star team for the first time and in the following season, Verbeek was named the Whalers captain. After a short stint with the Rangers, he signed with the Dallas Stars as a free agent,[1] where he won his first Stanley Cup in 1999.

During the 1999–2000 season, he signed with the Detroit Red Wings. In Detroit, he passed the 1,000-point mark, scored his 500th goal, and moved into the top 25 in career goal scoring before returning to Dallas for his final NHL season in 2001–02. After retirement, he became a part-time color analyst for television broadcasts of Red Wings' road games. Verbeek is the only player in NHL history to total over 500 career goals and 2500 career penalty minutes. He left his position as a broadcaster in September 2006, to become a scout for the Red Wings.

On May 15, 1985, one of Verbeek's thumbs was cut off by an auger in a farming accident. Thanks to his father and brother his thumb was saved, and after extensive rehabilitation, Verbeek returned to hockey. He did not miss any regular-season NHL games because of the injury.[2][3]

On April 18, 1988, Verbeek used his skate to cut the leg of Washington Capitals defenseman Rod Langway.[4] The NHL ruled the incident accidental, but the episode added to the Patrick Division rivalry between Washington and New Jersey.

Awards

Career statistics

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1981–82 Sudbury Wolves OHL 66 37 51 88 180
1982–83 Sudbury Wolves OHL 61 40 67 107 184
1982–83 New Jersey Devils NHL 6 3 2 5 8
1983–84 New Jersey Devils NHL 79 20 27 47 158
1984–85 New Jersey Devils NHL 78 15 18 33 162
1985–86 New Jersey Devils NHL 76 25 28 53 79
1986–87 New Jersey Devils NHL 74 35 24 59 120
1987–88 New Jersey Devils NHL 73 46 31 77 227 20 4 8 12 51
1988–89 New Jersey Devils NHL 77 26 21 47 189
1989–90 Hartford Whalers NHL 80 44 45 89 228 7 2 2 4 26
1990–91 Hartford Whalers NHL 80 43 39 82 246 6 3 2 5 40
1991–92 Hartford Whalers NHL 76 22 35 57 243 7 0 2 2 12
1992–93 Hartford Whalers NHL 84 39 43 82 197
1993–94 Hartford Whalers NHL 84 37 38 75 177
1994–95 Hartford Whalers NHL 29 7 11 18 53
1994–95 New York Rangers NHL 19 10 5 15 18 10 4 6 10 20
1995–96 New York Rangers NHL 69 41 41 82 129 11 3 6 9 12
1996–97 Dallas Stars NHL 81 17 36 53 128 7 1 3 4 16
1997–98 Dallas Stars NHL 82 31 26 57 170 17 3 2 5 26
1998–99 Dallas Stars NHL 78 17 17 34 133 18 3 4 7 14
1999–00 Detroit Red Wings NHL 68 22 26 48 95 9 1 1 2 2
2000–01 Detroit Red Wings NHL 67 15 15 30 73 5 2 0 2 6
2001–02 Dallas Stars NHL 64 7 13 20 72
NHL totals 1424 522 541 1063 2905 117 26 36 62 225

See also

References

  1. "Verbeek Healing Well". The New York Times. June 14, 1985. Retrieved June 22, 2007.
  2. "1982 NHL Entry Draft – Pat Verbeek". HockeyDraftCentral.com. Retrieved February 25, 2008.
Preceded by
Randy Ladouceur
Hartford Whalers captain
199295
Succeeded by
Brendan Shanahan
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