Paul Andre Cyr (October 31, 1963 – May 12, 2012) was a Canadian 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 h ...

left wing who played for the

Buffalo Sabres The Buffalo Sabres are a professional ice hockey team based in Buffalo, New York. The Sabres compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team was established in 1970, along w ...

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 ...

and

Hartford Whalers The Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut. The club played in the World Hockey Association (WHA) from 1972 until 1979, and in the National Hockey League (NHL) from 1979 to ...

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).

Career

Cyr began his career with the

Nanaimo Clippers The Nanaimo Clippers are a Junior "A" ice hockey team based in Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada. They are members of the Island Division of the British Columbia Hockey League (BCHL). They play their home games at Frank Crane Arena. Franchise ...

of the British Columbia Hockey League, for whom he played the 1979–80 season, and then the

Victoria Cougars The Victoria Cougars were a major league professional ice hockey team that played in the Pacific Coast Hockey Association (PCHA) from 1911 to 1924 under various names, and (after the PCHA's merger with the Western Canada Hockey League) in the W ...

of the

Western Hockey League The Western Hockey League (WHL) is a major junior ice hockey league based in Western Canada and the Northwestern United States. The WHL is one of three leagues that constitutes the Canadian Hockey League (CHL) as the highest level of junior h ...

from 1980 to 1982. He was a member of the first Canadian team to win a gold medal at the

World Junior Hockey Championship The IIHF World Junior Championship (WJC), or simply the "World Juniors" in ice hockey circles, is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF) for national under-20 ice hockey teams from around the world. It is t ...

in 1982. Cyr only made the team after being recalled due to another player's injury. He scored in the Boxing Day game versus the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

. In the tournament, he scored a total of four goals and ten points in the ten games he played. The

drafted Cyr ninth overall in the

1982 NHL Entry Draft The 1982 NHL Entry Draft was the 20th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Montreal Forum in Montreal, Quebec. The National Hockey League (NHL) teams selected 252 players eligible for entry into professional ranks, in the reverse order of the 1981 ...

. He made his debut for the Sabres that year, and played the next six seasons for the team, before being traded midway through the 1987–88 season to the

in exchange for

Mike Donnelly Michael Chene Donnelly (born October 10, 1963) is an American former ice hockey left wing. He played in the National Hockey League between 1986 and 1996 with the New York Rangers, Buffalo Sabres, Los Angeles Kings, Dallas Stars The Dallas Sta ...

and a fifth round draft pick. After two injury-plagued seasons with the Rangers, Cyr signed as a free agent with the

before the 1990–91 season. He had one successful year with the Whalers, appearing in 70 games and scoring 25 points. He was demoted to the

Springfield Indians The Springfield Indians were a minor professional ice hockey franchise, originally based in West Springfield, Massachusetts and later Springfield, Massachusetts. The Indians were founding members of the American Hockey League. They were in existe ...

of the

American Hockey League The American Hockey League (AHL) is a professional ice hockey league based in the United States and Canada that serves as the primary developmental league for the National Hockey League (NHL). Since the 2010–11 season, every team in the le ...

the subsequent year, where remained until his retirement in 1993. Cyr played in a total of 470 games in the NHL over nine seasons, scoring 101 goals and 140 assists.

Personal life and death

In 1987, Cyr was shot in the stomach while vacationing in the Dominican Republic. He recovered. His house burned down during his retirement, which he rebuilt himself. Cyr died of heart failure in May 2012.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

Awards

* WHL Second All-Star Team – 1982

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cyr, Paul 1963 births 2012 deaths Buffalo Sabres draft picks Buffalo Sabres players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Hartford Whalers players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Nanaimo Clippers players National Hockey League first-round draft picks New York Rangers players People from Port Alberni Victoria Cougars (WHL) players