Auspicious 1st games for players with new NHL clubs

[The Panther]

I'm talking about NHL players who get traded to another NHL club and then have a very auspicious (i.e., successful) first game with the second (or third... or fourth) club.

Examples:

Ray Bourque, Colorado
March 7th, 2000
In Calgary, after a rough first period, the Avalanche paste Calgary 8-3. Bourque gets one assist and goes +4.

Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles
October 6, 1988
First game was vs. Detroit. Gretzky scores on his first shot on goal as a King and adds three assists as the Kings hammer the Wings 8-3.

Click to read more...

 

[FrozenJagrt]

JS Giguere had a shutout in his first game with the Leafs. Heck, he also had a shutout in his second game. For a brief moment, I thought their goaltending woes were a thing of the past...

 

[Bear of Bad News]

Craig Anderson's Ottawa debut was a 47-save shutout of Toronto where he had to go 3-for-3 in the shootout to secure the victory.

 

[Staniowski]

Joey Mullen scored three points in each of his first two games in Calgary (after scoring six points over his final three games in St. Lou).

Pierre Turgeon scored three points his first game in Montreal, the start of a 13-game point streak (20 points).

 

[Jimmy Firecracker]

Brian Leetch had 3 assists in his first game with the Leafs after being traded there at the ‘04 trade deadline.

 

[MadLuke]

Bure scored 2 goals in just 12 minutes in his first games as panthers.
Bit the opposite with the Rangers, played an incredible 28:38 for a game with no overtime as a Rangers.

 

[Brodeur]

The finish was perhaps more memorable than anything Ilya Kovalchuk did individually (he had two assists) but in his first game as a Devil, New Jersey came back from being down 3-1 with 3 minutes left to win 4-3 in regulation.

 

[carjackmalone]

Kirk McLean and Greg Adam’s get traded to Vancouver from New Jersey for Patrick Sundstrom

First game in Vancouver season opener Canucks win 4-0 McLean gets the shutout and Adam’s scores 4 goals

 

[sr edler]

^ Yes, Bure with the Panthers had 2 goals in his 1st game, but also 13 goals in his first 11 games, including a hat-trick I think on Patrick Roy in that crazy Avalanche game, and this was directly coming off a hold-out, meaning no training camp or anything with the team, just training by himself in I think Moscow. This was also in the midst of a fairly low scoring era, and he came right off the bat scoring at a 1.45 PPG clip.

 

[pnep]

I'm talking about NHL players who get traded to another NHL club and then have a very auspicious (i.e., successful) first game with the second (or third... or fourth) club.

Examples:

Ray Bourque, Colorado
March 7th, 2000
In Calgary, after a rough first period, the Avalanche paste Calgary 8-3. Bourque gets one assist and goes +4.

Wayne Gretzky, Los Angeles
October 6, 1988
First game was vs. Detroit. Gretzky scores on his first shot on goal as a King and adds three assists as the Kings hammer the Wings 8-3.

First Reg. Game, New Franch. (min. 3 PTS)

NEW_FRANCH_1_GAME

tinyurl.com

 

[HighLifeManIsHigh]

Olli Jokinen scored two goals in his Flames’ debut. FINALLY we found a #1 centre to play with Iggy.

Wait

 

[David Suzuki]

Eric Staal scored the overtime winner in his first game in Montreal.

 

[Matty Sundin]

Owen Nolan scored 2 goals and GWG in Leafs debut and had 6 goals and 8 pts his first 6 games as a leaf.

 

[pnep]

First game in Vancouver season opener Canucks win 4-0 McLean gets the shutout

huh?

St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks Box Score: October 8, 1987 | Hockey-Reference.com

Get the latest box score updates on the St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks game played on October 8, 1987 on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

 

[pnep]

Goalie First Reg. Game, New Franch. (Win + SO)

NEW_FRANCH_1_GAME_GOALIES

tinyurl.com

 

[Bear of Bad News]

huh?

St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks Box Score: October 8, 1987 | Hockey-Reference.com

Get the latest box score updates on the St. Louis Blues vs. Vancouver Canucks game played on October 8, 1987 on Hockey-Reference.com

www.hockey-reference.com

In fact, McLean didn't have a shutout with the Canucks until mid-February, 1988.

 

[EpochLink]

Luongo's first game with the Canucks, a 3-1 win making 27 saves.
His first year in Vancouver was one for the ages.

 

[McGarnagle]

After the controversial Thornton trade, I remember Marco Sturm scoring on his first shift as a Bruin barely a minute into the game.

 

[GMR]

Tie Domi had 37 PIMs in his first NHL game.

 

[Michael Farkas]

A goalie getting a 40 save shutout in 1983 after joining a new team is unreal...

 

[GarlicbreadTB]

Not a trade. But this was the infamous Wings vs Avs game in March '97

 

[carjackmalone]

Didn’t John eclair get a hat trick first game in Philly

 

[The Pale King]

A goalie getting a 40 save shutout in 1983 after joining a new team is unreal...

Agreed, but it helps a bit when your opponent is the 82-83 Penguins. In Marcus Mattsson's only other game with the North Stars, he was in net for 6 goals in a 10-4 loss to the Oilers. Gretzky had six points.

But he gets some revenge the following season when he's in net for the Kings, as the goalie who ends Gretzky's 51 game point streak, in a season he put up an .851 SV% no less...

 

[Moose Head]

Didn’t John eclair get a hat trick first game in Philly

No, he has admitted he played terrible his first game on the flyers. He was great the next few though.

 

[MadLuke]

Didn’t John eclair get a hat trick first game in Philly

John LeClair 1994-95 Game Log | Hockey-Reference.com

Gamelogs for John LeClair for 1994-95

www.hockey-reference.com

was a bit later:

7	1995-02-04	7	25-214	MTL		NYI	W	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	0	0				4	0.0
8	1995-02-07	8	25-217	MTL	@	BOS	L	0	2	2	-1	0	0	0	0	0				0
9	1995-02-08	9	25-218	MTL	@	OTT	W	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0				2	0.0
10	1995-02-09	10	25-219	PHI		FLA	L	0	0	0	-1	0	0	0	0	0				2	0.0
11	1995-02-11	11	25-221	PHI	@	NJD	W	1	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	0				3	33.3
12	1995-02-13	12	25-223	PHI		WSH	W	0	1	1	0	0	0	0	0	0				1	0.0
13	1995-02-14	13	25-224	PHI	@	TBL	W	3	2	5	4	0	2	1	0	0				7	42.9