Benjamin Arthur Eager (born January 22, 1984) is a

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

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 ...

player. He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks in 2010.

Playing career

Eager was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Phoenix Coyotes in the

2002 NHL Entry Draft __NOTOC__ The 2002 NHL Entry Draft was the 40th NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 22 and 23, 2002 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto, Ontario. Two hundred and ninety-one players were drafted in total: 35 from the Ontario Hockey League (OHL); ...

. He was later traded by the Coyotes, with goaltender

Sean Burke Sean Burke (born January 29, 1967) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey goaltender and the current director of goaltending for the Vegas Golden Knights. He played 18 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the New Jersey Devils, H ...

and forward Branko Radivojevič, to 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 ...

in exchange for centre

Mike Comrie Michael William Comrie (born September 11, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. During his 13-year National Hockey League (NHL) career he played with the Edmonton Oilers, Philadelphia Flyers, Phoenix Coyotes, Ottawa Senators ...

. The 2006–07 season would see Eager lead the NHL in

penalty minutes A penalty in ice hockey is a punishment for an infringement of the rules. Most penalties are enforced by sending the offending player to a penalty box for a set number of minutes. During the penalty the player may not participate in play. Penaltie ...

, even though he only played 63 games. That same season, he also won the

Pelle Lindbergh Memorial Trophy The Philadelphia Flyers are a professional ice hockey team based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. They are members of the Metropolitan Division of the National Hockey League's (NHL) Eastern Conference. The Flyers were founded in 1967 as one of six ...

as the Flyer who has most improved from the previous season, as voted by his teammates. Eager was traded to 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 ...

on December 18, 2007 for

Jim Vandermeer James Patrick Vandermeer (born February 21, 1980) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who last played for the Belfast Giants of the Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Vandermeer previously played for the Philadelphia Flyers, Chi ...

. Eager scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal in Game 2 of Chicago's victory against the

Vancouver Canucks The Vancouver Canucks are a professional ice hockey team based in Vancouver. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division of the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference, and ...

on May 2, 2009, in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

. This led to the Blackhawks' first victory against the Canucks and evened the series at one game apiece. Eager scored his second playoff goal on May 31, 2010, in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Finals against his former club, the Philadelphia Flyers. His goal ended up being the game winner, as the 'Hawks won 2–1. On June 9, 2010, he and the Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup, defeating the Flyers 4–3 in overtime in Game 6. Ben Eager

On June 23, 2010, Eager was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers, alongside

Dustin Byfuglien Dustin Byfuglien ( ; born March 27, 1985) is an American former professional ice hockey player. He previously played for the Chicago Blackhawks, Atlanta Thrashers and Winnipeg Jets. Drafted as a defenseman, he has played both forward and defens ...

Brent Sopel Brent Bernard Sopel (born January 7, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey defenceman who played the majority of his career in the National Hockey League (NHL). Sopel was originally selected 144th overall at the 1995 NHL Entry Draft b ...

, and

Akim Aliu Akim Aliu (born April 24, 1989) is a Nigeria-born Canadian- Ukrainian former professional ice hockey player. He last played for HC Litvínov in the Czech Extraliga (ELH). Aliu was a second round selection of the Chicago Blackhawks, 56th overall, ...

, in exchange for the 24th and 54th overall picks in the

2010 NHL Entry Draft The 2010 NHL Entry Draft was the 48th NHL Entry Draft, held on June 25–26, 2010 at Staples Center in Los Angeles, California, home arena of the Los Angeles Kings. This was the first time Los Angeles hosted the NHL Entry Draft. An unofficial re ...

, both previously acquired from New Jersey,

Marty Reasoner Martin Ernest Reasoner (born February 26, 1977) is an American former professional ice hockey center who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the St. Louis Blues, Edmonton Oilers, Boston Bruins, Florida Panthers, Atlanta Thrashers and ...

Joey Crabb Joseph Michael Crabb (born April 3, 1983), is an American former professional ice hockey winger who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs, Washington Capitals and Florida Panthers. Playing ca ...

and

Jeremy Morin Jeremy Morin (born April 16, 1991) is an American former professional ice hockey left winger. Morin played major junior hockey for the Kitchener Rangers of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL), the team he was drafted from in the second round, 45th ...

. During the 2010–11 season, Eager delivered a

sucker punch A sucker punch (American English), also known as a dog shot, coward punch, king hit or one-punch attack ( Australian and New Zealand English) or cold-cock (American English), is a punch made without warning or while the recipient is distracted ...

to 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 ...

Colby Armstrong Colby Joseph Armstrong (born November 23, 1982) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Atlanta Thrashers, Toronto Maple Leafs and Montreal Canadiens in a 9- ...

. Eager received a five-minute major, a match penalty for intent to injure and was ejected from the game. The NHL further suspended him for four games due to the incident. Midway through the season, he was traded to the

San Jose Sharks The San Jose Sharks are a professional ice hockey team based in San Jose, California. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division in the Western Conference, and are owned by San Jose Sports & Entertainm ...

for a fifth-round pick in 2011. Eager signed a three-year, $3.3 million contract as an unrestricted 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 ...

on July 1, 2011. On October 20, 2012, Eager was charged with assault, assault with bodily harm and assault with a weapon after allegedly beating up the doorman at a pub in the Rosedale neighbourhood of

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

. On March 13, 2013, Eager was placed on waivers by the Oilers for assignment to their

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) affiliate, the

Oklahoma City Barons The Oklahoma City Barons were a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League (AHL). The team's first season was 2010–11. They played their home games at the Cox Convention Center, in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. History On February 9 ...

. Eager left the Oilers organization as a free agent and on July 11, 2014, signed abroad on a one-year contract with

CSKA Moscow CSKA Moscow (russian: ЦСКА Москва) is a Russian sports club based in Moscow. It was created in 1911 in the Russian Empire on base of OLLS (Skiing Society, founded 1901). Later, during the Soviet era, it was a central piece of the big So ...

of the

Kontinental Hockey League 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 ba ...

(KHL). He returned mid-season to America, signing for the remainder of the campaign with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL. In November 2016, Eager was named to the Chicago Blackhawks alumni team to play in the annual NHL Winter Classic.Blackhawks name roster for Winter Classic Alumni Game
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Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Eager, Ben 1984 births Living people Arizona Coyotes draft picks Atlanta Thrashers players Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks players Chicago Wolves players Edmonton Oilers players HC CSKA Moscow players Ice hockey people from Ontario National Hockey League first-round draft picks Oklahoma City Barons players Oshawa Generals players Philadelphia Flyers players Philadelphia Phantoms players San Jose Sharks players Sportspeople from Ottawa Stanley Cup champions Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in Russia