Stephen Valiquette (born August 20, 1977) is a Canadian 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 h ...
goaltender
In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as the goalie) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays in or near t ...
. Valiquette played 46 games 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 ...
, nearly all for 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 ...
, before finishing his playing career in Europe.
Valiquette is currently employed as a studio analyst for
MSG Network
The MSG Network (MSG) is an American regional cable and satellite television network, and radio service owned by MSG Entertainment, Inc.—a spin-off of the main Madison Square Garden Company operation (itself a spin-off of local cable provider ...
covering the Rangers.
Professional career
While playing junior hockey for the
Sudbury Wolves of the
Ontario Hockey League
The Ontario Hockey League (OHL; french: Ligue de hockey de l'Ontario (LHO)) is one of the three major junior ice hockey leagues which constitute the Canadian Hockey League. The league is for players aged 16–19. There are exceptions for overa ...
(OHL), Valiquette was drafted by the
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference and was founded on June 5, 1967, after Jack Kent ...
of the National Hockey League (NHL) in the
1996 NHL Entry Draft
The 1996 NHL Entry Draft was the 34th NHL Entry Draft. It was held at the Kiel Center in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 22, 1996.
The last active player in the NHL from this draft class was Zdeno Chára, who retired after the 2021–22 season.
...
in the eighth round.
Playing two more seasons in the OHL with the Wolves and the
Erie Otters
The Erie Otters are a Major junior ice hockey team based in Erie, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Midwest division of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), one of only three American teams in the circuit. The team name refers to the North Am ...
, Valiquette never actually played for the Kings organization, and in 1998, now a
free agent
In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...
, signed with the
New York Islanders.
Valiquette played in six NHL games for the Islanders in
1999-2000, but otherwise played for a variety of teams in the
East Coast Hockey League
The ECHL (formerly the East Coast Hockey League) is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Shrewsbury, New Jersey, with teams scattered across the United States and Canada. It is a tier below the American Hockey League (AHL).
The E ...
(ECHL) and
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 ...
(AHL) through 2003. When Valiquette made his playing debut in 2000, he was the tallest goaltender
to ever play a game in the NHL at 6-foot-6.
Ben Bishop
Benjamin Manning Bishop III (born November 21, 1986) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender under contract to the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League (NHL). Bishop previously played for the St. Louis Blues, Ottawa Se ...
, standing 6-foot-7, has since surpassed Valiquette as the tallest NHL goaltender.
In July 2003, Valiquette signed as a free agent with the
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 ...
.
Three months later, he was claimed on
waivers by the
Florida Panthers in the NHL waiver draft on October 3, 2003. Six days later he was claimed back by the Edmonton Oilers. He appeared in one game with Edmonton, playing 14 minutes. Valiquette spent the balance of the
2003–04 season with the
Toronto Roadrunners
The Toronto Roadrunners were an ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Ricoh Coliseum. In their only season the Roadrunners featured players such as Jani Rita, Brad Winchester, Jamie Wright a ...
of the AHL, playing in 35 games.
On March 3, 2004, Valiquette was traded by the Oilers, along with forward
Dwight Helminen and a second-round selection in the
2004 draft to 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 ...
for center
Petr Nedvěd
Petr Nedvěd (born December 9, 1971) is a Czech-born Canadian former professional ice hockey player who spent 15 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) between 1990 and 2007.
Early career
Nedvěd was born in Liberec, Czechoslovakia to Jaro ...
and goaltender
Jussi Markkanen
Jussi Markkanen (born May 8, 1975) is a Finnish professional ice hockey executive and former goaltender. He is currently serving as general manager of SaiPa. Markkanen played extensively in various European professional leagues as well as the N ...
.
Valiquette spent the
2004–05 season with the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the
Hartford Wolf Pack, during the
NHL lockout
The NHL lockout may refer to any of the four labour actions in the history of the National Hockey League:
* The 1992 NHL strike, which postponed 30 games of the 1991–92 season
* The 1994–95 NHL lockout, which cancelled many of the games of ...
. That season, he and teammate
Jason LaBarbera shared the
Harry "Hap" Holmes Memorial Award, awarded to the goalie (or goalies) with the league's lowest team
goals against average
Goals against average (GAA) also known as "average goals against" or "AGA" is a statistic used in field hockey, ice hockey, lacrosse, soccer, and water polo that is the mean of goals allowed per game by a goaltender or goalkeeper (depending ...
.
In fact, Valiquette owned the league's lowest goals against average with 1.77.
He then signed with
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl
Hockey Club Lokomotiv (russian: ХК Локомотив, en, Locomotive HC), also known as Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, is a Russian professional ice hockey team, based in the city of Yaroslavl, playing in the top level Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) ...
of the
Russian Superleague
The Russian Superleague (russian: Чемпионат России Суперлига, ''Russian Championship Superleague''), commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was consi ...
on April 26, 2005.
In July 2006, the Rangers brought Valiquette back, and re-signed him.
On March 3, 2007, he won his first game in the NHL in almost three years.
With the departure of starting goalie
Kevin Weekes
Kevin Weekes (born April 4, 1975) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender who played 348 games in the National Hockey League (NHL). He is now a studio analyst for NHL Networks' ''On the Fly'', '' NHL Tonight'', and ESPN's The Po ...
to the
New Jersey Devils, in July 2007, Valiquette became the back-up to
Henrik Lundqvist
Henrik Lundqvist (; born 2 March 1982) is a Swedish former professional ice hockey goaltender. He played his entire 15-season career with the New York Rangers of the National Hockey League (NHL). Before winning the Vezina Trophy in 2012, he ...
. On January 31, 2008, against the
Philadelphia Flyers
The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia. The Flyers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference. The team plays its home games in Well ...
, Valiquette recorded the first
shutout
In team sports, a shutout ( US) or clean sheet ( UK) is a game in which one team prevents the other from scoring any points. While possible in most major sports, they are highly improbable in some sports, such as basketball.
Shutouts are usuall ...
of his NHL career, as the Rangers won 4-0.
Ten days later, on February 9, he recorded his second consecutive shutout in a 2–0 win, also against the Flyers. He went on to finish the season 5-5-2. The following year, in a February 6, 2009 game against the
Dallas Stars
The Dallas Stars are a professional ice hockey team based in Dallas. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and were founded during the 1967 NHL expansion as the Minne ...
, he let 10 goals in a single game, a league worst for the season.
Valiquette appeared in his first career NHL playoff games with the Rangers during the first round of the
2009 Stanley Cup Playoffs against the
Washington Capitals
The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...
when he relieved starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist for the third period of games five and six, playing 40 minutes and allowing no goals on nine shots. Over the span of five seasons with the Rangers, Valiquette recorded 14 wins, 4 of them as shutouts.
Shortly after what proved to be his final NHL game, an 8-3 loss to the
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 ...
, in which he gave up all 8 goals, Valiquette was put on waivers, and subsequently sent to the Hartford Wolf Pack, in an effort to restore his game.
He did not play for the Rangers again, and on July 15 Valiquette signed with the
KHL
The Kontinental Hockey League (KHL; russian: Континентальная хоккейная лига (КХЛ), Kontinental'naya khokkeynaya liga) is an international professional ice hockey league founded in 2008. It comprises member clubs b ...
side
HC CSKA Moscow
HC CSKA Moscow (1946–present, russian: ЦСКА Москва, Центральный Спортивный Клуб Армии, ''Central Sports Club of the Army, Moscow'') is a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. The club i ...
,
who bought out his contract after one season.
During the summer of 2011, Valiquette turned down an offer to return to Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, due to a lack of guaranteed playing time. This proved fortunate for him, in light of the
2011 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl plane crash, which killed nearly the entire team and staff.
Unsigned and not playing, it was announced in November 2011 that Valiquette, who runs a goalie school of his own, was taking a position at
Quinnipiac University
Quinnipiac University () is a private university in Hamden, Connecticut. The university grants undergraduate, graduate, and professional degrees through its College of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Engineering, School of C ...
as the volunteer goalie coach for the
men's NCAA team.
However, a couple of days later, the AHL's
Bridgeport Sound Tigers
The Bridgeport Islanders (previously known as the Bridgeport Sound Tigers) are a professional ice hockey team playing in the American Hockey League (AHL). They are the AHL affiliate of the National Hockey League's New York Islanders, who own the f ...
, for whom Valiquette had played while in the Islanders' system, put out a call for an emergency backup, as they were shorthanded due to injuries with their Islanders parent club.
Ultimately, Valiquette wound up not having to play for the Sound Tigers, and moved on to play for
HC Valpellice
HC Valpellice Bulldogs, nicknamed "La Valpe", is a professional ice hockey team in Torre Pellice, near Turin, Italy. The team plays in the country's top division, Serie A. Serie A is also sponsored by Reebok, which provides free equipment and spor ...
of the Italian
Serie A
The Serie A (), also called Serie A TIM for national sponsorship with TIM, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and the winner is awarded the Scudetto and the Cop ...
league, which in 14 games, he led in
save percentage
Save percentage (often known by such symbols as SV%, SVS%, SVP, PCT) is a statistic in various goal-scoring sports that track saves as a statistic.
In ice hockey and lacrosse, it is a statistic that represents the percentage of shots on goal ...
and goals against average.
After his season at HC Valpellice, Valiquette signed with Swedish club
Djurgården
Djurgården ( or ) or, more officially, ''Kungliga Djurgården'' (), is an island in central Stockholm, Sweden. Djurgården is home to historical buildings and monuments, museums, galleries, the amusement park Gröna Lund, the open-air museum ...
of the
HockeyAllsvenskan
HockeyAllsvenskan (previously Allsvenskan and SuperAllsvenskan) is a professional ice hockey league, and the second-highest league in the Swedish ice hockey system (after the SHL). Since the 2009–10 season, the league consists of fourteen team ...
league,
but instead retired due to injury.
Career statistics
Regular season and playoffs
References
External links
Steve Valiquette Official Website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valiquette, Stephen
1977 births
Living people
Bridgeport Sound Tigers players
Canadian ice hockey goaltenders
Dayton Bombers players
Edmonton Oilers players
Erie Otters players
Franco-Ontarian people
Hampton Roads Admirals players
Hartford Wolf Pack players
Lokomotiv Yaroslavl players
Los Angeles Kings draft picks
Lowell Lock Monsters players
New York Islanders players
New York Rangers players
Providence Bruins players
Sportspeople from Etobicoke
Ice hockey people from Toronto
Springfield Falcons players
Sudbury Wolves players
Toronto Roadrunners players
Trenton Titans players
Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia