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Bill Guerin

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Bill Guerin
Guerin in 2015
Born (1970-11-09) November 9, 1970 (age 54)
Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Right Wing
Shot Right
Played for New Jersey Devils
Edmonton Oilers
Boston Bruins
Dallas Stars
St. Louis Blues
San Jose Sharks
New York Islanders
Pittsburgh Penguins
National team  United States
NHL draft 5th overall, 1989
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 1991–2010

William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professional ice hockey player and the current general manager of the Minnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of the Pittsburgh Penguins and general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.

Guerin played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL), winning two Stanley Cup championships with the New Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins.

Internationally, Guerin represented the United States in the Olympics in 1998, 2002 and 2006, and participated in two Ice Hockey World Championships. Guerin is the first player of Hispanic descent to play in the NHL.[1][2]

Playing career

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Professional

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Guerin during his time as Islanders captain

Guerin was drafted in the 1989 NHL Entry Draft fifth overall by the New Jersey Devils and played with the team from 1991 to 1998, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995. Midway through the 1997–98 season, Guerin was traded (along with Valeri Zelepukin) to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir.

In November 2001 Guerin was traded to his hometown team, the Boston Bruins.[3]

After a 41-goal season in 2001–02, Guerin left the Bruins as a free agent and signed a five-year contract with the Dallas Stars.[4] He performed below expectations during his tenure with the Stars. After a disappointing season in 2005–06 in which he recorded just 40 points, Dallas opted to buy-out the remainder of his contract. The conditions of buyouts in the NHL meant that the Stars would have to pay him two-thirds of the remaining salary on his contract spread out over twice as many years; this meant $6.7 million over one year became $4.4 million over two years.

On July 3, 2006, Guerin signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.[5] Playing on a line with former Oiler teammate Doug Weight, Guerin revived his career, easily eclipsing his disappointing goal-scoring mark from the 2005–06 season. He was named to the 2007 All-Star Game (hosted by the Stars) to represent the Blues. Despite numerous criticisms of his play during his time as a Star, Guerin received a standing ovation from the Dallas fans in recognition as his status as a longtime fan favorite.

On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the 214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games.[6] Later that month, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks[7] in exchange for Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball and a conditional first-round pick (either New Jersey's in 2007 or San Jose's in 2008). During the subsequent off-season, Guerin signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders.[8] On July 9, 2007, he was named captain of the Islanders, making him the 11th captain in team history.[9]

Guerin fights Jim Slater, April 2010

On March 4, 2009, Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The pick, a 2009 fourth-round pick if the Penguins made the playoffs, was later turned into a 2009 third-round pick once the Penguins advanced to the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.[10] Guerin won the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009, with the Penguins, defeating the Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 2–1 for Game 7 at Joe Louis Arena. His 14 years between Stanley Cups as a player was the third-longest wait in NHL history, behind Chris Chelios (16) and Mark Recchi (15).

After vocal encouragement for his return from the crowd and teammates at Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup parade on June 15, as well as expressing his own affection for the city and team, Guerin signed a one-year contract extension with the Penguins on June 29 at a greatly reduced salary to play through the 2009–10 season. He became the first player to have a 20-goal season with seven different teams and one of only three to have a 20-goal season with five or more different teams (the two others being Eddie Shack and Ray Sheppard). Ray Shero, the general manager for the Penguins opted not to offer Guerin a contract for the 2010–11 season. On September 7, 2010, the Philadelphia Flyers invited Guerin to try out at training camp, but on October 4, the Flyers released him prior to the start of the regular season.

On December 6, 2010, Guerin announced his retirement as a player from the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin.[11] At the time of his retirement, Guerin ranked seventh all-time among Americans in the NHL with 429 goals.[12]

Management career

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On June 6, 2011, the Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach.[13] On June 6, 2014, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford announced that Guerin would be promoted to assistant general manager of the team. Rutherford said that Guerin would be focusing on developing the analytical side of the game. Following consecutive Stanley Cup triumphs in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins announced that Guerin's duties would expand to include the role of general manager of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, made vacant via the departure of Jason Botterill to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres.[14]

On August 21, 2019, Guerin was named the fourth general manager of the Minnesota Wild.[15] On March 21, 2022, Guerin was named the TSN TradeCentre GM of the Day, for his transactions at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.

Controversies

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Sexual assault coverup allegation

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In a lawsuit filed on November 3, 2020, in Pennsylvania, it was alleged that Guerin played a role in covering up an alleged sexual assault on the wife of Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins assistant coach Jarrod Skalde by the team's head coach Clark Donatelli.[16][17][18][19][20] The lawsuit, Skalde et al. v. Lemieux Group, L.P. et al., alleges that Guerin, then the general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, "told Skalde to keep quiet about the alleged assault." Guerin denied any wrongdoing on his part, claiming that he had "promptly brought (the allegation) to Pittsburgh Penguins senior management".[16][17][18][19][20] The lawsuit was settled in November 2021.[21] An internal investigation by the NHL confirmed that he had reported the incident promptly and cleared him of wrongdoing.[22]

The United States Center for SafeSport opened an investigation on Guerin over his alleged role in the whistleblower lawsuit.[23] As of April 2022, the organization had not yet released its findings, nor confirmed whether the investigation remained ongoing.[22]

Verbal Abuse Investigation

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In December 2023, the Wild conducted an investigation after an employee filed a verbal abuse complaint against Guerin to human resources.[24] Guerin retained his position, no sanctions were announced, and the Wild refused to comment.[24]

Personal life

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Guerin was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy, and played junior hockey for the Springfield Olympics in lieu of high school hockey. Guerin is of Nicaraguan and Irish descent.[2]

Guerin and his wife Kara have four children and reside in Eden Prairie, Minnesota. They previously lived in Moorestown, New Jersey during his tenure with the Devils.[25][26][27][28][29]

Guerin is honored as the Penguins nominee for the Masterton Trophy during a pregame ceremony in April 2010

Awards and achievements

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Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1985–86 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 48 26 19 45 71 — — — — —
1986–87 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 32 34 20 54 40 — — — — —
1987–88 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 38 31 44 75 146 — — — — —
1988–89 Springfield Olympics NEJHL 31 32 35 67 90 — — — — —
1989–90 Boston College Eagles HE 39 14 11 25 64 — — — — —
1990–91 Boston College Eagles HE 38 26 19 45 102 — — — — —
1991–92 United States Intl 46 12 15 27 67 — — — — —
1991–92 Utica Devils AHL 22 13 10 23 6 4 1 3 4 14
1991–92 New Jersey Devils NHL 5 0 1 1 9 6 3 0 3 4
1992–93 Utica Devils AHL 18 10 7 17 47 — — — — —
1992–93 New Jersey Devils NHL 65 14 20 34 63 5 1 1 2 4
1993–94 New Jersey Devils NHL 81 25 19 44 101 17 2 1 3 35
1994–95 New Jersey Devils NHL 48 12 13 25 72 20 3 8 11 30
1995–96 New Jersey Devils NHL 80 23 30 53 116 — — — — —
1996–97 New Jersey Devils NHL 82 29 18 47 95 8 2 1 3 18
1997–98 New Jersey Devils NHL 19 5 5 10 13 — — — — —
1997–98 Edmonton Oilers NHL 40 13 16 29 80 12 7 1 8 17
1998–99 Edmonton Oilers NHL 80 30 34 64 133 3 0 2 2 2
1999–2000 Edmonton Oilers NHL 70 24 22 46 123 5 3 2 5 9
2000–01 Edmonton Oilers NHL 21 12 10 22 18 — — — — —
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 64 28 35 63 122 — — — — —
2001–02 Boston Bruins NHL 78 41 25 66 91 6 4 2 6 6
2002–03 Dallas Stars NHL 64 25 25 50 113 4 0 0 0 4
2003–04 Dallas Stars NHL 82 34 35 69 109 5 0 1 1 4
2005–06 Dallas Stars NHL 70 13 27 40 115 5 3 1 4 0
2006–07 St. Louis Blues NHL 61 28 19 47 52 — — — — —
2006–07 San Jose Sharks NHL 16 8 1 9 14 9 0 2 2 12
2007–08 New York Islanders NHL 81 23 21 44 65 — — — — —
2008–09 New York Islanders NHL 61 16 20 36 63 — — — — —
2008–09 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 17 5 7 12 18 24 7 8 15 15
2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 78 21 24 45 75 11 4 5 9 2
NHL totals 1,263 429 427 856 1,660 133 39 34 73 152

International

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Year Team Event   GP G A Pts PIM
1989 United States WJC 7 0 3 3 16
1990 United States WJC 7 0 0 0 18
1996 United States WCH 7 0 2 2 17
1998 United States OG 4 0 3 3 2
2002 United States OG 6 4 0 4 4
2004 United States WCH 5 2 2 4 8
2006 United States OG 6 1 0 1 0
Junior totals 14 0 3 3 34
Senior totals 28 7 7 14 31

Transactions

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "NHL diversity milestones". CBSSports.com. March 20, 2014. Archived from the original on October 15, 2012. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  2. ^ a b "The Center Of Hockey: Press Room". Centralhockeyleague.com. Archived from the original on March 2, 2014. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  3. ^ "Bill Guerin found out the Edmonton Oilers traded him from some random dude at West Edmonton Mall". January 12, 2022.
  4. ^ "Bill Guerin bolts Bruins for Stars". CBC.ca. September 18, 2002. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  5. ^ "Blues sign veteran forward Guerin to one-year deal". ESPN.com. 2006. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  6. ^ Rutherford, Jeremy (2007). "Blue Notes: Guerin hits 1,000 games tonight". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Archived from the original on February 7, 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  7. ^ "Guerin switches to San Jose Sharks". CNN.com. 2007. Retrieved February 28, 2007.
  8. ^ Coffey, Phil (2007). "Islanders bolster offense with Guerin". NHL.com. Retrieved July 5, 2007. [dead link]
  9. ^ "Islanders name Guerin new captain". Archived from the original on July 11, 2007. Retrieved July 5, 2007.
  10. ^ "Penguins acquire C Guerin". March 4, 2009.
  11. ^ "Billy Guerin to Retire "As a Pittsburgh Penguin"". PittsburghPenguins.com. December 6, 2010. Retrieved December 6, 2010.
  12. ^ Brehm, Mike (December 6, 2010). "Bill Guerin announces retirement after 18 NHL seasons". USA Today.
  13. ^ "Penguins Name Bill Guerin Player Development Coach".
  14. ^ "Pittsburgh tabs Bill Guerin as new GM of WBS Penguins". Times Leader. June 15, 2017. Retrieved June 16, 2017.
  15. ^ "New GM Guerin arrives in Minnesota with winning pedigree". NHL.com. August 21, 2019. Retrieved August 21, 2019.
  16. ^ a b "Former AHL assistant coach alleges Penguins fired him for reporting sexual assault". www.post-gazette.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  17. ^ a b "Penguins told AHL coach to 'stay quiet' about wife's sexual assault, lawsuit says - TSN.ca". www.tsn.ca. December 8, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  18. ^ a b "Lawsuit: Clark Donatelli Retained by Penguins Despite Sexual Assault Allegations". bleacherreport.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  19. ^ a b "Whistleblower lawsuit against Pittsburgh Penguins mentions Wild GM Bill Guerin". www.startribune.com. December 9, 2020. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  20. ^ a b "Skalde et al v. Lemieux Group, L.P. Et al (3:20-cv-02039), Pennsylvania Middle District Court". www.pacermonitor.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  21. ^ Wyshynsky, Greg (November 9, 2021). "Couple settles sexual assault case with Pens". ESPN.com. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  22. ^ a b Campbell, Ken (April 30, 2022). "'Wild Bill' Guerin Goes to Work". The Hockey News. Retrieved June 4, 2024.
  23. ^ "Report: U.S. Center for SafeSport to Investigate Bill Guerin's Alleged Role in Lawsuit". October 23, 2021.
  24. ^ a b WCCO Staff; Press, The Associated (December 15, 2023). "Wild say they took "appropriate steps" after investigations into possible conduct violations - CBS Minnesota". www.cbsnews.com. Retrieved January 26, 2024.
  25. ^ "Atlantic Youth Hockey League - Player Information - Liam Guerin". Atlantichockey.org. Archived from the original on July 25, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  26. ^ "Dean's nephew Bill Guerin goes for the gold in Torino - Feature". media.www.leprovoc.com. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011.
  27. ^ Bradley, Jeff (January 8, 2003). "ESPNMAG.com - Wicked". ESPN. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  28. ^ "HHOF Site Map". Hhof.com. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved March 26, 2014.
  29. ^ Staff. "Guerin to Flyers? Speculation Bruin", Philadelphia Daily News, November 30, 2001. Accessed March 1, 2011. "Guerin spends his offseasons in Moorestown with his wife, Kara, and their three kids. Kara is from Medford."
[edit]
Preceded by New Jersey Devils first round draft pick
1989 		Succeeded by
Preceded by New York Islanders captain
2007–09 		Succeeded by
Preceded by General manager of the Minnesota Wild
2019–present 		Incumbent
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