Steve Sullivan (born July 6, 1974) 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 hock ...

player who played over 1000 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 ...

for the

New Jersey Devils The New Jersey Devils are a professional sports, professional ice hockey team based in Newark, New Jersey. The Devils compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (NHL), Eastern ...

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 ...

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 ...

Nashville Predators The Nashville Predators (commonly referred to as the Preds) are a professional ice hockey team based in Nashville, Tennessee. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference, and ha ...

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 ...

and

Arizona Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. He was also a former coach and executive with the Coyotes.

Playing career

Early years

In the OHL, Sullivan played with the

Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds The Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds (often shortened to Soo Greyhounds) are a Junior ice hockey#Major junior, major junior ice hockey team in the Ontario Hockey League. The Greyhounds play home games at the GFL Memorial Gardens. The present team was ...

and won the

1993 Memorial Cup The 1993 Memorial Cup took place 15–23 May 1993, at the Sault Memorial Gardens in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario. It was the 75th annual Memorial Cup competition and determined the major junior ice hockey champion of the Canadian Hockey League (C ...

New Jersey Devils

Sullivan was taken 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 ...

ninth round, 233rd overall. He was assigned to play with the

Albany River Rats The Albany River Rats were a minor league professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. They played in Albany, New York at the Times Union Center. History Before the formation of the franchise Without a viable indoor arena with a ...

, where he captured a

Calder Cup The Calder Cup is the trophy awarded annually to the playoff champions of the American Hockey League. It was first presented in 1937 to the Syracuse Stars. The cup is made of sterling silver mounted on a base of Brazilian mahogany. In its curr ...

championship in 1995.

Toronto Maple Leafs

Sullivan was traded to the

during the

1996–97 NHL season The 1996–97 NHL season was the 80th regular season of the National Hockey League. The Stanley Cup winners were the Detroit Red Wings, who swept the Philadelphia Flyers in four games and won the Stanley Cup for the first time in 42 years. T ...

, where he went on to score a (then) career high 40 points during the

1998–99 NHL season The 1998–99 NHL season was the 82nd regular season of the National Hockey League. The league expanded to 27 teams with the addition of the Nashville Predators. The Dallas Stars finished first in regular season play, and won the Stanley Cup cham ...

Chicago Blackhawks

Sullivan was then picked up off waivers in 1999 by the

. Sullivan posted a new career high of 75 points in the

2001–02 NHL season The 2001–02 NHL season was the 85th regular season of the National Hockey League. Thirty teams competed in an 82-game regular season. The regular season began on October 3, and the playoffs concluded on June 13, with the Detroit Red Wings defea ...

Nashville Predators

Sullivan was traded to the

for a second-round pick in the

2005 NHL Entry Draft The 2005 NHL Entry Draft was the 43rd NHL Entry Draft. Originally scheduled to be held on June 25, the 2004–05 NHL lockout led to the draft being postponed to July 30. Special procedures were required to determine the order of picks, because ...

(

Michael Blunden Michael Charles Blunden (born December 15, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger. Over his professional career, Blunden has appeared in over 100 National Hockey League (NHL) games with the Ottawa Senators, Tampa Bay Lightnin ...

) and a second-round pick in the

2004 NHL Entry Draft The 2004 NHL Entry Draft was the 42nd NHL Entry Draft. It was held on June 26 and 27, 2004 at the RBC Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. It is especially notable because it was the last NHL event to take place before the beginning of the lockout, ...

(

Ryan Garlock Ryan Garlock (born April 24, 1986) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He most notably played in the American Hockey League (AHL). Playing career Garlock was drafted 45th overall in the 2004 NHL Entry Draft by the Chicago Blackh ...

) on February 16, 2004. Upon arriving in

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...

, Sullivan put up 30 points in 24 games, including a

hat trick A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

in his first game with the Predators, and 10 points in his first 3 games with the team. Sullivan was named the NHL's Offensive Player of the Week for October 9–16, 2005. In February 2007, Sullivan suffered a debilitating back injury in a game against the

Montreal Canadiens The Montreal CanadiensEven in English, the French spelling is always used instead of ''Canadians''. The French spelling of ''Montréal'' is also sometimes used in the English media. (french: link=no, Les Canadiens de Montréal), officially ...

that forced him out of action for the remainder of the season, all of the season, and the first half of the season. Sullivan made his comeback on January 10, 2009, against the

after nearly 23 months. Due to his successful comeback during the 2008–09 season, Sullivan was awarded the

Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy The Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy is awarded annually to the National Hockey League player who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey. It is named after Bill Masterton, the only player in NHL h ...

for his perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to hockey.

Pittsburgh Penguins

On July 1, 2011, he signed a one-year contract worth $1.5 million with the

. His early form in the 2011–12 season was disappointing, but as the season went on, he became better accustomed to the Penguins' lineup and finished with 48 points in 79 games. He scored two goals in the Penguins opening round playoff loss 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 Wells ...

Final NHL season

On July 4, 2012, Sullivan signed a one-year, $1.85 million deal with the

Phoenix Coyotes The Arizona Coyotes are a professional ice hockey team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Coyotes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division in the Western Conference and currently play at the Mull ...

. Signed with the intention to cover the loss of fellow veteran Ray Whitney, Sullivan got off to a quick start with the Coyotes in the

lockout Lockout may refer to: * Lockout (industry), a type of work stoppage **Dublin Lockout, a major industrial dispute between approximately 20,000 workers and 300 employers 1913 - 1914 * Lockout (sports), lockout in sports leagues **MLB lockout, lock ...

shortened

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

season, scoring a hat-trick in his third game to help defeat 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 January 24, 2013. On March 28, 2013, Sullivan dressed for his 1,000th NHL game, fittingly against the Nashville Predators. He was honored during the game as the Coyotes defeated the Predators 7-4. On April 3, 2013, Sullivan was dealt by the Coyotes at the trade deadline to return to his original club, the New Jersey Devils, for a 7th round draft pick. His time between stints with the Devils was 16 year, 45 days, the third longest amount of time between stints with one team in NHL history.

Post-Playing career

On September 8, 2014, the Coyotes announced that they had hired Sullivan as their development coach. On July 26, 2020, Sullivan was named the interim general manager of the Coyotes upon the resignation of

John Chayka John Chayka (born June 9, 1989) is the former general manager of the Arizona Coyotes of the National Hockey League (NHL). Previously, he served as assistant general manager of the Coyotes. Prior to joining the Coyotes, Chayka was part of an analyt ...

, running the NHL franchise till Bill Armstrong was hired as the new general manager in September 2020. Less than 5 months later, Sullivan was let go from this position as assistant general manager and executive vice-president of hockey operations on February 11, 2021.

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

International

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sullivan, Steve 1974 births Living people Albany River Rats players Arizona Coyotes coaches Arizona Coyotes executives Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners Canadian ice hockey left wingers Chicago Blackhawks players Ice hockey people from Ontario Memorial Cup winners Nashville Predators players New Jersey Devils draft picks New Jersey Devils players Phoenix Coyotes players Pittsburgh Penguins players Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds players Sportspeople from Timmins Toronto Maple Leafs players Canadian ice hockey coaches