Jeffrey J. Finger (born December 18, 1979) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

former 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 ...

defenseman 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 ...

who played 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 ...

with the

Colorado Avalanche The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference. The Avalanche play thei ...

and the

Toronto Maple Leafs The Toronto Maple Leafs (officially the Toronto Maple Leaf Hockey Club and often referred to as the Leafs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Toronto. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Div ...

Playing career

Finger was drafted 240th overall (8th round) by the

in the

1999 NHL Entry Draft The 1999 NHL Entry Draft was the 37th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 at the FleetCenter in Boston. According to ''Sports Illustrated'' and other sports news agencies, at the time the 1999 draft was considered one of the deepest in tale ...

. While playing junior hockey with the

Green Bay Gamblers The Green Bay Gamblers are a Junior ice hockey#Tier I, Tier I junior ice hockey team in the Eastern Conference of the United States Hockey League (USHL). They play in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, at the Resch Center. History Professional hockey in Gre ...

(USHL) he was selected the league's defenseman of the Year for the 1999–2000 season. In the 2000–2001 season he was named St.Cloud's (WCHA) Outstanding Freshman Hockey Player. Finger resides in

Calumet, Michigan Calumet ( or ) is a village in Calumet Township, Houghton County, in the U.S. state of Michigan's Upper Peninsula, that was once at the center of the mining industry of the Upper Peninsula. Also known as Red Jacket, the village includes the C ...

during the summer and spends much of his time working out and fishing the streams near

Lake Superior Lake Superior in central North America is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface areaThe Caspian Sea is the largest lake, but is saline, not freshwater. and the third-largest by volume, holding 10% of the world's surface fresh wa ...

. Finger played in the final 22 games of the 2006–07 season with the Avalanche. He made his NHL debut on February 20, 2007 against the Calgary Flames and recorded his first NHL point when he assisted on a

Paul Stastny Paul Stastny (born December 27, 1985) is a Canadian-born American professional ice hockey center for the Carolina Hurricanes of the National Hockey League (NHL). He has previously played for the Colorado Avalanche, St. Louis Blues, Winnipeg Jets ...

goal against the

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, ...

on February 27. On March 1 he scored his first NHL goal against

Nikolai Khabibulin Nikolai Alexandrovich Khabibulin (; rus, Николай Александрович Хабибулин, p=xəbʲɪˈbulʲɪn, born January 13, 1973) is a Russian former professional ice hockey goaltender. Known by the nickname "The Bulin Wall", h ...

of the

Chicago Blackhawks The Chicago Blackhawks (spelled Black Hawks until 1986, and known colloquially as the Hawks) are a professional ice hockey team based in Chicago. The Blackhawks compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division i ...

in a 6-1 rout. Finger finished the season with one goal and four assists with 11 penalty minutes and a +10 plus/minus that tied for second on the team, trailing only team leader

Ken Klee Kenneth William Robert Klee (born April 24, 1971) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played most notably with the Washington Capitals in the National Hockey League (NHL). Early life Klee was born in Indianapolis, Indian ...

with a +18. On May 23, 2007, the Avalanche re-signed Finger to a one-year contract for the 2007–08 season. In his first full season with the Avalanche, Finger emerged as a serviceable defenseman and played in a career-high 72 games, scoring 8 goals. On July 1, 2008, the

signed Finger to a four-year deal worth $3.5 million per season. After two seasons with the Maple Leafs, Finger was placed on waivers on October 12, 2010 and sent down to the Leafs' AHL affiliate the following day.

Career statistics

Awards and honors

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Finger, Jeff 1979 births Living people Albany River Rats players American men's ice hockey defensemen Colorado Avalanche draft picks Colorado Avalanche players Green Bay Gamblers players Hershey Bears players Ice hockey players from Michigan Lowell Lock Monsters players People from Houghton, Michigan Reading Royals players St. Cloud State Huskies men's ice hockey players Toronto Maple Leafs players Toronto Marlies players