Bill Guerin

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Template:Short description Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox ice hockey player 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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name=CHL>Template:Cite web</ref>

Playing career

Professional

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref name="Stars">Template:Cite news</ref> He performed below expectations during his tenure with the Stars. Dallas opted to buy out the remainder of his contract after a disappointing season in 2005–06 in which he recorded just 40 points. 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.<ref name="Blues">Template:Cite web</ref> 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 of his status as a longtime fan favorite.

On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the 214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games.<ref name="Thousand games">Template:Cite web</ref> Later that month, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks<ref name="Sharks">Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref name="Islanders UFA">Template:Cite web Template:Dead link</ref> On July 9, 2007, he was named captain of the Islanders, making him the 11th captain in team history.<ref name="Islanders Captain">Template:Cite web</ref>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> 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 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 before the start of the regular season.

On December 6, 2010, Guerin announced his retirement as a player from the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> At the time of his retirement, Guerin ranked seventh all-time among Americans in the NHL with 429 goals.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Management career

On June 6, 2011, the Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> 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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

On August 21, 2019, Guerin was named the fourth general manager of the Minnesota Wild.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> On March 21, 2022, Guerin was named the TSN TradeCentre GM of the Day, for his transactions at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.

Controversies

Sexual assault coverup allegation

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.<ref name="post-gazette.com">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="auto3">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="startribune.com">Template:Cite web</ref> 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".<ref name="post-gazette.com"/><ref name="auto"/><ref name="auto3"/><ref name="startribune.com"/> The lawsuit was settled in November 2021.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> An internal investigation by the NHL confirmed that he had reported the incident promptly and cleared him of wrongdoing.<ref name="safesport update 2022">Template:Cite web</ref>

The United States Center for SafeSport opened an investigation on Guerin over his alleged role in the whistleblower lawsuit.<ref name="auto1">Template:Cite web</ref> As of April 2022, the organization had not yet released its findings, nor confirmed whether the investigation remained ongoing.<ref name="safesport update 2022" />

Verbal Abuse Investigation

In December 2023, the Wild investigated after an employee filed a verbal abuse complaint against Guerin to human resources. Guerin retained his position, no sanctions were announced, and the Wild refused to comment.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

Guerin was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised in Wilbraham, Massachusetts. He attended Wilbraham & Monson Academy, and played junior hockey for the Springfield Olympics instead of high school hockey. Guerin is of Nicaraguan and Irish descent.<ref name=CHL/>

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.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Staff. "Guerin to Flyers? Speculation Bruin" Template:Webarchive, 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."</ref>

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

Awards and achievements

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

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

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

See also

References

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