Dan Cloutier
Daniel Cloutier is a Canadian ice hockey executive and former player. Previously a goaltender, he holds an executive position with the Ontario Hockey League Guelph Storm, the team with which he completed his junior career. In his 10-year National Hockey League career, Cloutier played with the New York Rangers, Tampa Bay Lightning, Vancouver Canucks and Los Angeles Kings, spending the majority of his career in Vancouver. He employed a combination of both butterfly and stand-up goaltending and was known for wearing the uncommon birdcage-style helmet.
Cloutier played junior hockey in the OHL for four seasons with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds and Guelph Storm, making two Memorial Cup appearances in 1993 and 1996. Following his second OHL season, he was selected 26th overall by the Rangers in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He began his professional career spending time in the minor leagues with the Rangers' American Hockey League affiliates, before joining the NHL team full-time in 1998–99. After three seasons playing within the Rangers organization, he was traded to the Lightning, where he spent one-and-a-half years.
In February 2001, he was acquired by the Canucks. Cloutier enjoyed his most successful years as an NHL goaltender with Vancouver, recording three consecutive 30-win seasons between 2001–02 and 2003–04. In the 2006 off-season, he was dealt to Los Angeles, where he struggled with injuries and a decline in play. His contract was bought out by the team following the 2007–08 season. As part of an attempted comeback in 2009, he first signed a deal to try out with the Detroit Red Wings at the team's training camp, then played briefly with the AHL's Rockford IceHogs, before retiring due to chronic injury problems. Internationally, Cloutier was part of two Canadian teams. He won a gold medal at the 1995 World Junior Championship and was a fourth-string goaltender at the 2001 IIHF World Championship.
After his time with the Kings, Cloutier served as an assistant coach to his older brother, Sylvain, with the Corpus Christi IceRays of the Central Hockey League for one season. Following his retirement, he became a goaltending coach for the Barrie Colts of the OHL.
Playing career
Junior career
As a 15-year-old, Cloutier played Junior B with the St. Thomas Stars of the Western Ontario Hockey League. He recorded a 5.83 goals against average over 14 games in his lone season with the team in 1991–92.The following season, Cloutier began a four-year career in the Ontario Hockey League, debuting with the Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds. He played in 12 games with the Greyounds, recording a 4.62 GAA in the regular season. In the 1993 OHL playoffs, Cloutier appeared in an additional four games, winning one and losing two, as part of the Greyhounds' run to the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals. Although they lost the league championship to the Peterborough Petes four-games-to-one, the Greyhounds still qualified for the 1993 Memorial Cup as the tournament's host team. The Greyhounds met the Petes again in the Memorial Cup final, defeating them by a 4–2 score. Cloutier did not appear in any Memorial Cup games, in lieu of starter Kevin Hodson. During his rookie season in the OHL, he also played in five games at the Junior A level with the Timmins Golden Bears of the Northern Ontario Junior Hockey Association.
Cloutier assumed the starting position with the Greyhounds in 1993–94, posting 28 wins, 14 losses and 6 ties, along with a 3.56 GAA and.890 save percentage. Appearing in an additional 14 playoff games, he led the Greyhounds to the OHL semifinals, where they were defeated by the Detroit Jr. Red Wings.
In the off-season, Cloutier was selected by the New York Rangers 26th overall in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He was the third-ranked goaltender playing in North America by the NHL Central Scouting Bureau and the fourth goaltender taken in the draft. Appearing in his first NHL training camp in September 1994, he was returned to the OHL by the middle of the month.
During his third junior season in 1994–95, Cloutier recorded a 4.41 GAA in 45 games. As a team, the Greyhounds struggled and finished out of the playoffs. In the off-season, Cloutier was signed by the Rangers to an NHL contract on July 7, 1995.
Despite his NHL contract, Cloutier remained in the OHL for the 1995–96 season. In his 12th game of the season with Sault Ste. Marie, he suffered a shoulder injury that sidelined him for two months. During his return to the lineup in a game against the Windsor Spitfires on January 2, 1996, he reaggravated the injury. While continuing to recover, he was dealt to the Guelph Storm at the trade deadline on January 10 in exchange for goaltender Andy Adams and two draft picks. Splitting the campaign between the Greyhounds and Storm, he recorded a 2.85 GAA in 30 games. As the Storm finished the season with lowest GAA in the league, Cloutier and backup Brett Thompson were jointly awarded the Dave Pinkney Trophy. Cloutier additionally received OHL Second All-Star Team honours. In the playoffs, he recorded a 3.14 GAA in 16 games. However, for the second time in four years, his team was defeated in the J. Ross Robertson Cup Finals by the Peterborough Petes. Despite losing the OHL title, Guelph earned a berth into the 1996 Memorial Cup as the OHL's representative; the Petes had an automatic bye into the tournament as the host team. The Storm lost all three of their round-robin games, failing to qualify for the Memorial Cup playoffs. Cloutier had a 4.00 GAA in the three contests.
Early career (1996–2001)
Cloutier began his professional career in 1996–97 with the Binghamton Rangers of the American Hockey League, New York's minor league affiliate. He assumed the starting position in Binghamton as a rookie, posting a 3.55 GAA and.892 save percentage to be named to the AHL All-Rookie Team. The following season, New York changed their AHL affiliate to the Hartford Wolf Pack; Cloutier was consequently moved to Hartford for the club's inaugural season in 1998–99. By late-December 1998, he earned a call-up to the Rangers as backup goaltender Jason Muzzatti was demoted to the Wolf Pack. At the time of his call-up, Rangers management established that although he would play backup to Mike Richter, they intended on giving him opportunities to play. In anticipation of Cloutier's NHL debut, the team's goaltending consultant, Sam St. Laurent, described his playing style as a combination of both butterfly and stand-up goaltending.He appeared in his first NHL game on January 3, 1998, replacing Richter seven minutes into a contest against the Washington Capitals. Cloutier stopped all 16 shots he faced to record his first NHL victory by a 3–2 score. He made his first NHL start the following game against the Carolina Hurricanes on January 6, 1998. Stopping 26 shots, he helped the Rangers to a 4–2 win. He played 12 games total in 1998–99, backing Richter up for the remainder of the season, recording 4 wins, 5 losses and a tie with a 2.50 GAA and.907 save percentage. Perhaps his most well-known performance as a Ranger was during a game against the New York Islanders on April 4, 1998, in which he fought opposing goalie Tommy Salo. With seven minutes remaining in a 3–0 loss, several fights broke out between players. While Salo tried to intervene in a fight between the Rangers' P. J. Stock and Islanders' Mariusz Czerkawski, Cloutier attacked the Islanders goaltender. The subsequent goalie fight resulted in Cloutier repeatedly punching Salo in the back of the head before taking it upon himself to stop. He proceeded to skate towards the Islanders bench, challenging the opposing players before being restrained by a referee.
In the 1998 off-season, the Rangers signed goaltender Kay Whitmore who Cloutier competed with to retain his backup position. Whitmore spent the season in the minors as Cloutier was kept on the Rangers roster in 1998–99. Playing in his first full NHL season, Cloutier appeared in 22 games with a 2.68 GAA and.914 save percentage.
The following off-season, Cloutier was traded on the day of the 1999 NHL Entry Draft to the Tampa Bay Lightning. He was sent to Tampa Bay, along with winger Niklas Sundstrom, a first-round selection in 2000 and a third-round selection in 2000, for the Lightning's first-round selection in that year's draft. With the departure of Tampa Bay's previous starter, Bill Ranford, to the Detroit Red Wings and Darren Puppa nearing the end of his career, Cloutier assumed the starting position for his new club. Cloutier's first season as an NHL starter was interrupted on several occasions with numerous injuries and a suspension. He suffered a strained groin early in the campaign on November 18, 1999, forcing him out of two games. On January 14, 2000, he was suspended by the league for four games after an incident with Islanders forward Tim Connolly. After the two collided, Cloutier cross-checked Connolly, then kicked his head while he was lying face-down on the ice. The following month, he re-strained his groin on February 21 and missed four games. Cloutier missed another four contests beginning on March 14 after injuring his neck. His fourth injury of the season occurred on March 28, when he strained his medial collateral ligament and missed five games. He finished the 1999–2000 season appearing in 52 games for the Lightning, recording 9 wins, 30 losses and 3 ties as the team finished second-last in the league. He registered a 3.49 GAA and.885 save percentage.
Injury troubles continued the following season, in 2000–01, as Cloutier was sidelined for nine games early in the season after straining his biceps on October 22, 2000. After recovering, he recorded his first NHL shutout, making 26 saves, in a 3–0 win against the Detroit Red Wings on December 2, 2000. He achieved the feat in his 95th career game in the NHL. During that month, head coach Steve Ludzik began playing backup Kevin Weekes in favour of Cloutier. By the trade deadline, Cloutier was dealt to the Vancouver Canucks on February 7, 2001, in exchange for defenceman Adrian Aucoin and a second-round selection in the 2001 draft.