Mark Fitzpatrick (born November 13, 1968) is a

Canadian Canadians () 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 their being ''C ...

former professional

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey in North America) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an Ice rink, ice skating rink with Ice hockey rink, lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. Tw ...

goaltender In ice hockey, the goaltender (commonly referred to as goalie or netminder) is the player responsible for preventing the hockey puck from entering their own team's net, thus preventing the opposing team from scoring. The goaltender mostly plays ...

. He moved to

Kitimat, British Columbia Kitimat is a district municipality in the North Coast region of British Columbia, Canada. It is a member municipality of the Regional District of Kitimat–Stikine regional government. The Kitimat Valley is part of the most populous urban dist ...

, where he started minor hockey, when he was ten years old. He won the

Memorial Cup The Memorial Cup () is the national championship of the Canadian Hockey League (CHL), a consortium of three Junior ice hockey, major junior ice hockey leagues operating in Canada and parts of the United States. It is a four-team round-robin tou ...

twice as a member of the

Medicine Hat Tigers The Medicine Hat Tigers are a Canadian major junior ice hockey team in the Western Hockey League (WHL) based in Medicine Hat, Alberta. Established in 1970, the team is tied with the Kamloops Blazers for the most Ed Chynoweth Cups as league cha ...

before going on to a professional career with the

Los Angeles Kings The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles. The Kings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Pacific Division (NHL), Pacific Division in the Western Conference (NHL), Western Conference. ...

New York Islanders The New York Islanders (colloquially known as the Isles) are a professional ice hockey team based in Elmont, New York. The Islanders compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference (N ...

Florida Panthers The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Panthers compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division in the Eastern Conference. The team initially played it ...

Tampa Bay Lightning The Tampa Bay Lightning (colloquially known as the Bolts) are a professional ice hockey team based in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the ...

and

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 (N ...

of the

National Hockey League The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...

. Fitzpatrick was drafted 27th overall in the 1987 NHL Entry Draft by the Los Angeles Kings but only spent a season with the Kings organization before he was traded along with Wayne McBean to the New York Islanders on February 22, 1989 for Kelly Hrudey. During his time with the Islanders, he contracted Eosinophilia–myalgia syndrome, a potentially fatal neurological disease, which cost him nearly all of the 1990-91 season. He recovered and returned to the ice in February 1992. His efforts in returning to the league after the illness earned him the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy in 1992. On June 20, 1993, with the

expansion draft An expansion draft, in professional sports, occurs when a sports league decides to create one or more new expansion teams or sports franchising, franchises. This occurs mainly in Sports in North America, North American sports and closed leagues. O ...

for the Florida Panthers and the

Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Mighty may refer to: Businesses *Mighty Audio, an American company known for its product ''Mighty'', a portable audio player *Mighty Animation, an animation studio based in Guadalajara, Mexico Films *''The Mighty'', a 1998 comedy–drama * ''The ...

approaching, the Islanders traded him to the

Quebec Nordiques The Quebec Nordiques (, pronounced in Quebec French, in Canadian English; translated "Northmen" or "Northerners") were a professional ice hockey team based in Quebec City. The Nordiques played in the World Hockey Association (1972–1979) an ...

for Ron Hextall and a swap of first-round picks. Four days later, the Panthers claimed him in the expansion draft. Fitzpatrick spent five seasons with the Panthers serving as backup goaltender to fellow expansion draft pick John Vanbiesbrouck. On January 16, 1998, Fitzpatrick was traded to the Tampa Bay Lightning with Jody Hull for

Dino Ciccarelli Dino Ciccarelli ( , born February 8, 1960) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player who played 19 seasons in the National Hockey League from 1980 to 1999, primarily with the Minnesota North Stars, but also notably with the Detroit Red ...

and Jeff Norton where he only managed 7 wins in 34 games for the struggling Lightning who finished the season with the worst record. Fitzpatrick was traded once more months later to the Chicago Blackhawks for Michal Sykora and spent the season in a backup capacity to Jocelyn Thibault. He moved to

Carolina Hurricanes The Carolina Hurricanes (colloquially known as the Canes) are a professional ice hockey team based in Raleigh, North Carolina. The Hurricanes compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Con ...

for the

1999–2000 NHL season The 1999–2000 NHL season was the 83rd regular season of the National Hockey League. With the addition of the expansion Atlanta Thrashers, 28 teams each played 82 games. This was the first season played in which teams were awarded a point for ...

but spent the majority of the year in the International Hockey League for the Cincinnati Cyclones and just played three games for the Hurricanes. Fitzpatrick spent one more season in the IHL for the Detroit Vipers before retiring in 2001.

Personal life

Fitzpatrick was previously married, from which he has a daughter. The marriage ended after Fitzpatrick was charged with assault and aggravated domestic battery on July 13, 1994 in

Islamorada, Florida Islamorada (also sometimes Isla Morada) is an Incorporation (municipal government), incorporated village in Monroe County, Florida, United States. It is located directly between Miami and Key West on five islands—Tea Table Key, Lower Matecumbe ...

following an argument with his wife while she was seven months pregnant.Accused of Beating Wife, NHL Goalie Now a Father
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Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

Awards

* WHL East Second All-Star Team – 1986 & 1988

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fitzpatrick, Mark 1968 births Living people Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy winners Calgary Canucks players Carolina Hurricanes players Canadian expatriate ice hockey players in the United States Chicago Blackhawks players Florida Panthers players Ice hockey people from British Columbia Ice hockey people from Toronto Los Angeles Kings draft picks Los Angeles Kings players Medicine Hat Tigers players New York Islanders players People from Kitimat Tampa Bay Lightning players Canadian ice hockey goaltenders 20th-century Canadian sportsmen