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Mike Commodore

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Mike Commodore
Commodore with the Detroit Red Wings in 2012
Born (1979-11-07) November 7, 1979 (age 45)
Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta, Canada
Height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight 227 lb (103 kg; 16 st 3 lb)
Position Defence
Shot Right
Played for New Jersey Devils
Calgary Flames
Carolina Hurricanes
Ottawa Senators
Columbus Blue Jackets
Detroit Red Wings
Tampa Bay Lightning
Admiral Vladivostok
National team  Canada
NHL draft 42nd overall, 1999
New Jersey Devils
Playing career 2000–2014

Michael W. Commodore (born November 7, 1979) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman. Commodore played for several teams in the National Hockey League (NHL). In 2006, he won the Stanley Cup as part of the Carolina Hurricanes. Commodore was selected by the New Jersey Devils in the second round (42nd overall) of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft.

Playing career

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Commodore played his collegiate years at the University of North Dakota Fighting Sioux, playing three years and winning the NCAA Championship in 2000. He was drafted 42nd overall by the New Jersey Devils in the 1999 NHL Entry Draft. He was traded to the Anaheim Ducks and then to the Calgary Flames,[1][2] playing in the 2004 Stanley Cup Finals. Calgary's depth on the blue line left no place for Commodore in the regular lineup, and he was traded to the Carolina Hurricanes prior to the start of the 2005–06 NHL season.[3] Commodore and the Hurricanes ended up becoming NHL champions at the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals.

Mike Commodore of the Calgary Flames skates in a pre-game warm-up during the 2003-04 season

During both final runs, Commodore became noted for his red playoff beard and afro hair.[4] As the Hurricanes were received at the White House in 2006, president George W. Bush joked that "I'm not sure what is prettier, the Stanley Cup, or Mike Commodore's hair."[5] Both times Commodore followed the finals having his hair shaved for organizations which helped the Jimmy V Foundation cancer research. The first time he had his hair shaved was at his mother's former school, Fort High.[6] The second time, Commodore held ten eBay auctions for the highest bidders which would allow them to have a chance to shave his head and keep his hair.[7] During the 2006 playoffs, Commodore also had fans copying a bathrobe he wore before the pre-game skate.[8][9]

Along with Rhett Warrener, he played a role in Paul Brandt's music video, "Convoy", as a truck driver.

In the 2006-07 regular season, Commodore tied Mike Komisarek of the Montreal Canadiens for most shorthanded goals scored among defensemen, with two.[10]

He was a member of the 2007 Canadian IIHF World Championship team that won gold in a 4–2 win against Finland in Moscow.

Commodore with the Columbus Blue Jackets in 2010.

On February 11, 2008, Commodore was dealt to the Ottawa Senators along with Cory Stillman from Carolina for Joe Corvo and Patrick Eaves.[11]

Commodore was signed as an unrestricted free agent by the Columbus Blue Jackets on July 1, 2008 to a five-year contract worth $18.75 million. He scored five goals as well as adding 19 assists during his first season in Columbus that saw the Blue Jackets appear in their first ever Stanley Cup Playoff series against the Detroit Red Wings, which Detroit won in a 4-0 sweep. Commodore recorded 18 penalty minutes during the series.

Commodore cleared waivers on January 17, 2011, and was assigned to the Springfield Falcons of the AHL.

The Detroit Red Wings signed Commodore to a one-year contract worth $1 million on July 1, 2011.[12] After signing, Commodore was offered to pick his own jersey number, which incited several Internet petitions to suggest the number 64, in reference to the Commodore 64. The idea was supported by both the team and Commodore himself, but he decided against it.[13][14]

On February 27, 2012, Commodore was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning for a conditional seventh-round draft pick after playing only 17 games for Detroit.[15]

With the 2012 NHL lockout affecting his free agent status, Commodore was signed to a professional try-out contract midway into the 2012–13 season on November 20, 2012.[16] He was released on January 23, 2013.[17]

Commodore played in the Kontinental Hockey League during the 2013–14 season.

Personal

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Commodore has a brother, Matt, who also briefly played junior hockey with the Alberta Junior Hockey League Fort Saskatchewan Traders during the 2000-01 season. Politically, Commodore opposes Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.[18][19] In particular, Commodore has been critical of Trudeau's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and Trudeau's economic policy.[20][21]

As of 2017, Commodore occasionally worked as an Uber driver.[22]

Feud with Mike Babcock

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Commodore has been very open over his disapproval of former Toronto Maple Leafs, Detroit Red Wings, and Mighty Ducks of Anaheim head coach Mike Babcock. Commodore has stated he was "screwed over" by Babcock while with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks of the AHL, claiming Babcock refused to play him in favour of new addition Kurt Sauer.[23] The relationship worsened nine years later, after Commodore signed with the Red Wings, who Babcock was coaching. Commodore states this signing is what ended his career in the NHL.[23] Commodore claimed that Babcock misled him by telling him he was wanted as a physical presence; Commodore remained a healthy scratch for a month and a half to start the season before playing in two games, and was then scratched again until December, only reentering the line up when, according to Commodore, Red Wings general manager Ken Holland ordered Babcock to play him.[23] Commodore would go on to say he was traded out of Detroit "because Holland felt bad [for me]", referring to his lack of playing time.[23] Commodore (along with Hall of Fame defenseman Chris Chelios[24]) also held against Babcock the fact that he healthy scratched Mike Modano when he had 1,499 games played. Modano retired following that season and never reached the 1,500 games played milestone.[25] Commodore frequently uses Twitter hashtag "#FuckBabs" in his tweet, a slogan he created.

Following his retirement, Commodore has lashed out at Babcock multiple times, particularly on Twitter where he constantly refers to the coach as a "piece of shit."[26] Commodore has also said he hopes Babcock "gets hit by a truck."[27]

Commodore engaged in a notable Twitter rant on November 20, 2019, expressing glee at Babcock's firing from the Maple Leafs earlier that day.[28][22]

Babcock addressed Commodore's criticisms in an appearance on Cam Janssen's podcast in March, 2021, stating that Commodore was scratched because he did not perform better than other defenders on the 2011 team (he did not recall much interacting with Commodore in Anaheim), and refuted that Commodore was scratched because of a personal vendetta.[29] Commodore rejected this in a Tweet, saying Babcock 'said the exact opposite on the phone July 1, 2011 you piece of shit.'[30]

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
1996–97 Fort Saskatchewan Traders AJHL 51 3 8 11 244 — — — — —
1997–98 North Dakota Fighting Sioux WCHA 29 0 5 5 74 — — — — —
1998–99 North Dakota Fighting Sioux WCHA 39 5 8 13 154 — — — — —
1999–00 North Dakota Fighting Sioux WCHA 38 5 7 12 154 — — — — —
2000–01 Albany River Rats AHL 41 2 5 7 59 — — — — —
2000–01 New Jersey Devils NHL 20 1 4 5 14 — — — — —
2001–02 Albany River Rats AHL 14 0 3 3 31 — — — — —
2001–02 New Jersey Devils NHL 37 0 1 1 30 — — — — —
2002–03 Cincinnati Mighty Ducks AHL 61 2 9 11 210 — — — — —
2002–03 Saint John Flames AHL 7 0 3 3 18 — — — — —
2002–03 Calgary Flames NHL 6 0 1 1 19 — — — — —
2003–04 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 37 5 11 16 75 — — — — —
2003–04 Calgary Flames NHL 12 0 0 0 25 20 0 2 2 19
2004–05 Lowell Lock Monsters AHL 73 6 29 35 175 11 1 2 3 18
2005–06 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 72 3 10 13 138 25 2 2 4 33
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 82 7 22 29 113 — — — — —
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 41 3 9 12 74 — — — — —
2007–08 Ottawa Senators NHL 26 0 2 2 26 4 0 2 2 0
2008–09 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 81 5 19 24 100 4 0 0 0 18
2009–10 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 57 2 9 11 62 — — — — —
2010–11 Columbus Blue Jackets NHL 20 2 4 6 44 — — — — —
2010–11 Springfield Falcons AHL 11 0 2 2 20 — — — — —
2011–12 Detroit Red Wings NHL 17 0 2 2 21 — — — — —
2011–12 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 13 0 0 0 17 — — — — —
2012–13 Hamilton Bulldogs AHL 17 0 2 2 26 — — — — —
2012–13 Texas Stars AHL 5 2 0 2 4 1 0 0 0 0
2013–14 Admiral Vladivostok KHL 27 2 2 4 20 4 1 1 2 6
NHL totals 484 23 83 106 683 53 2 6 8 70
Medal record
Representing Canada Canada
Ice hockey
World Championships
Gold medal – first place 2007 Moscow

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2007 Canada WC 1st place, gold medalist(s) 9 0 2 2 14
Senior totals 9 0 2 2 14

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2000 [31]
NHL
Stanley Cup (Carolina Hurricanes) 2006

References

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  1. ^ "Devils trade Sykora to Ducks for 3 players". New York Times. July 7, 2002. Retrieved July 7, 2002.
  2. ^ "Trade deadline deals recapped". ESPN. March 9, 2003. Retrieved March 9, 2003.
  3. ^ https://www.tsn.ca/story/print/?id=131826 [dead link]
  4. ^ "Bad hair days: Oilers, Canes keep beard tradition alive". June 14, 2006.
  5. ^ President Bush Welcomes Stanley Cup Champion Carolina Hurricanes
  6. ^ "Commodore to have red mop shaved in aid of cancer research". Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  7. ^ "V Foundation for Cancer Research - the Canuckers". Archived from the original on July 23, 2013. Retrieved July 23, 2013.
  8. ^ "Carolina Hurricanes - News".
  9. ^ [1][usurped]
  10. ^ "2006-07 NHL Skater Statistics". Hockey-Reference.com. Archived from the original on November 21, 2008.
  11. ^ Allen, Kevin (February 11, 2008). "Sens get Michael Commodore, Stillman from 'Canes for Corvo, Eaves". USA Today. Retrieved August 4, 2009.
  12. ^ "NHL Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on June 29, 2011. Retrieved July 1, 2011.
  13. ^ "Red Wings give blessing, pledges surging". Yahoo! Sports. July 11, 2011. Retrieved July 13, 2011.
  14. ^ "Mike Commodore 64 update: The Dream ends as Commie picks 22". Yahoo! Sports. July 28, 2011. Retrieved July 28, 2011.
  15. ^ Yahoo! Sports Staff (February 27, 2012). "2012 NHL deadline day: Trade tracker & analysis". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved February 27, 2012.
  16. ^ "AHL's Bulldogs sign Michael Commodore to try-out contract". The Sports Network. November 21, 2012. Retrieved November 21, 2012.
  17. ^ "Hamilton Bulldogs release Mike Commodore". The Hamilton Spectator. January 23, 2013. Retrieved January 23, 2013.
  18. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (September 2, 2021). "Folks…Justina Trudeau is a failed substitute drama teacher" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  19. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (July 19, 2021). "Fuck you Health Canada and fuck you Justin Trudeau. Scumbag" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  20. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (July 14, 2021). "Folks…been in Canada 4 days..what an embarrassment..border is a joke..airport is a joke, handling of COVID is a joke" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  21. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (September 20, 2021). "Folks….grab your mouth guards…get ready for the most savage recession of our lifetime. Fuck Trudeau." (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  22. ^ a b Warmington, Joe (November 22, 2019). "Ex-NHLer Mike Commodore targets Mike Babcock in Twitter tirade". Toronto Sun. Post Media. Retrieved June 4, 2023.
  23. ^ a b c d "Mike Commodore rips Mike Babcock, claims Columbus coach waived him over jealousy". Yahoo Sports. December 6, 2013. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  24. ^ WGN Morning News [@WGNMorningNews] (March 18, 2019). "Blackhawks Hall of Famer, Chris Chelios talks about the Hawks chances of a playoff run and coach Q's exit #Blackhawks https://t.co/mJqz3FDLkN" (Tweet). Retrieved September 4, 2021 – via Twitter.
  25. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (February 22, 2017). "FYI....Mike Modano played 1499 games..Babcock healthy scratched so he didn't reach 1500. #FuckBabs" (Tweet). Archived from the original on May 13, 2021. Retrieved September 4, 2021 – via Twitter.
  26. ^ "Mike Commodore rips Mike Babcock in angry Twitter rant". Yahoo Sports. October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  27. ^ "Mike Commodore tweets he hopes Mike Babcock 'gets hit by a truck". SB Nation. October 9, 2015. Retrieved February 14, 2016.
  28. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (November 20, 2019). "Mike Commodore speaking on Mike Babcock's firing" (Tweet). Retrieved February 17, 2022 – via Twitter.
  29. ^ Janssen, Cam [@CamJanssen25] (March 9, 2021). "Mike Babcock taking about the Mike Commodore situation..." (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  30. ^ Commodore, Mike [@commie22] (March 12, 2021). "Hahaha...thanks for clearing that up for me Babs!" (Tweet). Retrieved November 8, 2021 – via Twitter.
  31. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
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