Dick Tärnström (born January 20, 1975) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

retired professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

defenceman Defence or defense (in American English) in ice hockey is a player position that is primarily responsible for preventing the opposing team from Goal (ice hockey), scoring. They are often referred to as defencemen, D, D-men or blueliners (the la ...

. During the majority of his 21-year-long playing career, Tärnström played for

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

of the Swedish top-tier league

Elitserien Elitserien (literally, "the Elite League") is the name of several Swedish nationwide sport leagues. In many sports, Elitserien is the highest league, with the second highest named Allsvenskan. Elitserien leagues at present: * Elitserien (badmint ...

(SEL). He was the

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for AIK during the five last seasons of his career. He also spent five years in the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; french: Ligue nationale de hockey—LNH, ) is a professional ice hockey league in North America comprising 32 teams—25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. It is considered to be the top ranked professional ...

(NHL), playing for the

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference ( ...

Pittsburgh Penguins The Pittsburgh Penguins (colloquially known as the Pens) are a professional ice hockey team based in Pittsburgh. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division of the Eastern Conference, and have playe ...

Edmonton Oilers The Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton. The Oilers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference. They play their home games at Rogers Place, which ...

, and

Columbus Blue Jackets The Columbus Blue Jackets (often simply referred to as the Jackets) are a professional ice hockey team based in Columbus, Ohio. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. In January 2013, while playing for

, Tärnström was forced to retire due to a

spinal disc herniation Spinal disc herniation is an injury to the cushioning and connective tissue between vertebrae, usually caused by excessive strain or trauma to the spine. It may result in back pain, pain or sensation in different parts of the body, and physical ...

injury.

Playing career

Tärnström started his professional career in

of the Swedish top-tier league

(SEL). He was drafted as 272nd overall, in the eleventh round by the

in the

1994 NHL Entry Draft The 1994 NHL Entry Draft was the 32nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Hartford Civic Center on June 28–29, 1994. The last active players in the NHL from this draft class were Patrik Elias and Eric Boulton, who both played their last NHL g ...

. During the 2003–04 season, he became the first defenceman in the history of the

to lead the team in scoring for an entire season, compiling 52 points in 80 games. The Penguins acquired Ric Jackman at the trade deadline, and the two flourished together, combining for the "Ric and Dick show" on the powerplay. Through a 2010 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette series of Penguins "Teams of the Decades" Tärnström was named to the Penguins team of the '00s. He is still the only defenceman ever to lead the Penguins in scoring for a season. During the lockout-season, 2004–05, Tärnström played in

Södertälje SK Södertälje Sportklubb, also known as Södertälje SK and often referred to as SSK, is a Swedish professional ice hockey club playing in HockeyAllsvenskan, the second highest level of pro hockey in Sweden. Södertälje were charter members of Eli ...

in Sweden. Tärnström requested a trade from the

and on January 26, 2006, he went to the

in exchange for

Cory Cross Cory Cross (born January 3, 1971) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman, who played twelve seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). Draft Cross was selected by the Tampa Bay Lightning first overall in the 1992 NHL Supplemen ...

and

Jani Rita Jani Markus Rita (born July 25, 1981) is a Finnish former professional ice hockey winger who last played with Jokerit of the Russian KHL, for whom he played most of his career. Playing career Despite limited NHL experience, Rita has played exte ...

. Tärnström was part of the Cinderella Edmonton Oilers team that made a run to the

Stanley Cup The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

Finals. However, the Oilers lost in game 7 of the finals to the

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, ...

. Tärnström had 0 goals and 2 assists in the 2006 Playoffs. During the 2006–07 season, Tärnström played with

HC Lugano Hockey Club Lugano, often abbreviated to HC Lugano or HCL, is a professional ice hockey club based in Lugano, Switzerland. The team competes in the National League (NL) and has won seven Swiss championships. History The founding of HC Lugano took ...

of the Nationalliga A. Tärnström returned to the NHL by signing a contract with the Oilers on July 1, 2007. He was traded on February 1, 2008 to the

in exchange for Curtis Glencross. In the 2008–09 season, Tärnström returned to play for

of the Swedish second-tier league

HockeyAllsvenskan HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey sports league, league, and the second-highest league in the Sweden, Swedish ice hockey system (after the Swedish Hockey League, SHL). Since the 2009–10 ...

(Swe-2). He was appointed the team's

. The plan was to help AIK promote back to the top-tier league

(SEL) due to AIK's

financial Finance is the study and discipline of money, currency and capital assets. It is related to, but not synonymous with economics, the study of production, distribution, and consumption of money, assets, goods and services (the discipline of fina ...

problems at that time. AIK were promoted to the SEL in the 2009–10 season, and Tärnström would remain in the team until he was forced to retire in January 2013 due to a

injury.

Personal life

Tärnström's son Oliver Tärnström is an ice hockey centre playing for Rögle BK J20 of the J20 Nationell. Oliver was drafted by the

New York Rangers The New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in the New York City borough of Manhattan. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home ...

in the 2020 NHL Entry Draft in the 3rd round with the 92nd overall draft pick.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

*
Dick Tärnström
a
nhpla.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tarnstrom, Dick 1975 births Living people AIK IF players Bridgeport Sound Tigers players Columbus Blue Jackets players Edmonton Oilers players HC Lugano players New York Islanders draft picks New York Islanders players People from Sundbyberg Municipality Pittsburgh Penguins players Södertälje SK players Swedish ice hockey defencemen Sportspeople from Stockholm County