Ben Eager

Ben Eager
Ben Eager in 2012 with the Edmonton Oilers
Born	January 22, 1984 Ottawa, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb)
Position	Left Wing
Shoots	Left
team Former teams	Free Agent Philadelphia Flyers Chicago Blackhawks Atlanta Thrashers San Jose Sharks Edmonton Oilers CSKA Moscow
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	23rd overall, 2002 Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career	2004–present

Benjamin Arthur Eager (born January 22, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger currently an unrestricted free agent who last played for the Chicago Wolves of the American Hockey League (AHL).

He won the Stanley Cup with the Chicago Blackhawks 2010.

Playing career

Eager was drafted in the first round, 23rd overall, by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2002 NHL Entry Draft. He was later traded by the Coyotes, with goaltender Sean Burke and forward Branko Radivojevič, to the Philadelphia Flyers in exchange for centre Mike Comrie.

The 2006–07 season would see Eager lead the NHL in penalty minutes, even though he only played 63 games. That same season, he also won the Pelle Lindbergh Memorial as the Flyer who has most improved from the previous season, as voted by his teammates.

Eager was traded to the Chicago Blackhawks on December 18, 2007 for Jim Vandermeer.

Eager scored his first Stanley Cup playoff goal in Game 2 of Chicago's victory against the Vancouver Canucks on May 2, 2009, in Vancouver. This led to the Blackhawk's 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.

Eager during his tenure with the Chicago Blackhawks.

On June 23, 2010, Eager was traded to the Atlanta Thrashers, alongside Dustin Byfuglien, Brent Sopel, and Akim Aliu, in exchange for the 24th and 54th overall picks in the 2010 NHL Entry Draft, both previously acquired from New Jersey, Marty Reasoner, Joey Crabb and Jeremy Morin.^[1] During the 2010–11 season, Eager delivered a sucker punch to the Toronto Maple Leafs' Colby Armstrong. 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.^[2] Midway through the season, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for a fifth-round pick in 2011.^[3]

Eager signed a three-year, $3.3 million contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Edmonton Oilers on July 1, 2011.^[4]

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.^[5]

On March 13, 2013, Eager was placed on waivers by the Oilers for assignment to their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Oklahoma City Barons.^[6]

Eager left the Oilers organization as a free agent and on July 11, 2014, signed abroad on a one-year contract with CSKA Moscow of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).^[7] He returned mid-season to America, signing for the remainder of the campaign with the Chicago Wolves of the AHL.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999–00	Ottawa Senators Jr.A.	CJHL		50	8	11	19	119		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Oshawa Generals	OHL		61	4	6	10	120		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Oshawa Generals	OHL		63	14	23	37	255		5	0	1	1	13
2002–03	Oshawa Generals	OHL		58	16	24	40	216		8	0	4	4	8
2003–04	Oshawa Generals	OHL		61	25	27	52	204		7	2	3	5	31
2003–04	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		5	0	0	0	0		3	0	1	1	8
2004–05	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		66	7	10	17	232		16	1	1	2	71
2005–06	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		49	6	12	18	256		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		25	3	5	8	18		2	0	0	0	26
2006–07	Philadelphia Phantoms	AHL		3	0	0	0	21		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		63	6	5	11	233		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Philadelphia Flyers	NHL		23	0	0	0	62		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		9	0	2	2	27		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		75	11	4	15	161		17	1	1	2	61
2009–10	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		60	7	9	16	120		18	1	2	3	20
2010–11	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		34	3	7	10	77		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	San Jose Sharks	NHL		34	4	3	7	43		10	1	0	1	41
2011–12	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		63	8	5	13	107		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		14	1	1	2	25		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Oklahoma City Barons	AHL		9	0	2	2	13		13	1	4	5	64
2013–14	Oklahoma City Barons	AHL		44	6	2	8	136		2	0	0	0	4
2013–14	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		7	0	1	1	2		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	CSKA Moscow	KHL		5	0	0	0	2		—	—	—	—	—
2014–15	Chicago Wolves	AHL		26	0	2	2	86		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				407	43	42	85	875		47	3	3	6	148

References

1. "Blackhawks send Byfuglien to Thrashers". NHL.com. Retrieved 2010-06-27.
2. "Thrashers' Eager Suspended Four Games for Sucker Punch". TSN. Retrieved 2011-01-08.
3. "Sharks Acquire Eager from Thrashers for Pick". TSN. Retrieved 2011-01-18.
4. "TSN Free Agent Tracker". The Sports Network. Archived from the original on 29 June 2011. Retrieved 1 July 2011.
5. "Eager Assault".
6. "Oilers Assign Ben Eager to Oklahoma City". Retrieved 16 Mar 2013.
7. "Ben Eager and Chad Billins join CSKA". HC CSKA Moscow. 2014-07-11. Retrieved 2014-07-11.

External links

• Career statistics and player information from NHL.com, or Hockey-Reference.com, or Legends of Hockey, or The Internet Hockey Database