Colby Armstrong

Colby Armstrong
Armstrong during his tenure with the Pittsburgh Penguins
Born	November 23, 1982 Lloydminster, SK, CAN
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	195 lb (88 kg; 13 st 13 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Right
Played for	Pittsburgh Penguins Atlanta Thrashers Toronto Maple Leafs Montreal Canadiens Vaxjo Lakers HC
National team	Canada
NHL Draft	21st overall, 2001 Pittsburgh Penguins
Playing career	2002–2014

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 12-year career. He currently serves as an NHL analyst for Sportsnet. Armstrong's younger brother, Riley Armstrong, also played in the NHL, with the San Jose Sharks.

Early life

Armstrong grew up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, in the city's northeastern neighborhood of Erindale. In the off-season, he lives southeast of Saskatoon in the village of Clavet. He played hockey with the Saskatoon Red Wings and the Saskatoon Blazers. Additionally, as a child he was a figure-skater. He, along with Los Angeles Kings forward Jarret Stoll, Philadelphia Flyers brothers Brayden and Luke Schenn and Eric Gryba of the Edmonton Oilers, all attended St. Joseph High School in Saskatoon.

Playing career

Armstrong was drafted by the Pittsburgh Penguins in the first round of the 2001 NHL Entry Draft as the 21st pick overall.

In the 2005–06 season, Armstrong made his NHL debut, and had a superb rookie season, in which he played 47 games and tallied 40 points (16 goals and 24 assists) and had a team-high plus-minus rating of +15.

Armstrong had three overtime goals for the Penguins in the 2006–07 season, beating Kari Lehtonen of the Atlanta Thrashers, Ed Belfour of the Florida Panthers and Henrik Lundqvist of the New York Rangers. The Penguins and Armstrong avoided an arbitration hearing in the 2006–07 off-season by re-signing him to two-year, $2.2 million contract.^[1]

Armstrong became very close friends with former teammate Sidney Crosby while playing for the Penguins.

Armstrong was a member of Canada's 2007 IIHF World Championship-winning team. His only goal of the tournament was the game-winning goal in the gold medal game against Finland in Moscow, which Canada won 4–2.

Pittsburgh traded Armstrong on February 26, 2008, to the Atlanta Thrashers, alongside Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen and a first-round draft pick, in exchange for Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.^[2] He then scored 11 points in 18 games to finish out the 2007–08 season with Atlanta.

On July 16, 2009, Armstrong re-signed with the Thrashers to a one-year, $2.4 million contract. He served as one of the team's alternate captains during the 2009–10 season.

On July 1, 2010, Armstrong signed as an unrestricted free agent with the Toronto Maple Leafs on a three-year, $9 million contract.^[3] With his first two seasons largely affected by injury and inconsistent play, on June 30, 2012, he was bought-out by the Maple Leafs from his final season of his contract.

With the opening of free agency the next day on July 1, 2012, Armstrong was signed to a one-year, $1 million contract with the Montreal Canadiens.^[4] During the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, Armstrong predominately played on the fourth line as a part of a revitalized Canadiens team, contributing with just five points in 37 games to help qualify the Habs for the 2013 playoffs.

On July 27, 2013, Armstrong left the NHL as a free agent and signed his first European contract with the Växjö Lakers of the Swedish Hockey League.^[5]

Broadcasting career

Since the 2014–15 season, Armstrong was hired by Rogers Media and now serves as an analyst for Sportsnet's national coverage of the NHL.

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1998–99	Saskatoon Blazers	SMHL		33	21	19	40	103		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		1	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1999–00	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		68	13	25	38	122		2	0	1	1	11
2000–01	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		72	36	42	78	156		21	6	6	12	29
2001–02	Red Deer Rebels	WHL		64	27	41	68	115		23	6	10	16	22
2002–03	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		73	7	11	18	76		3	0	0	0	4
2003–04	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		67	10	17	27	71		24	3	1	4	45
2004–05	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		80	18	37	55	89		10	4	2	6	14
2005–06	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		47	16	24	40	58		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins	AHL		31	11	18	29	44		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		80	12	22	34	67		5	0	1	1	11
2007–08	Pittsburgh Penguins	NHL		54	9	15	24	50		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		18	4	7	11	6		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		82	22	18	40	75		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Atlanta Thrashers	NHL		79	15	14	29	61		—	—	—	—	—
2010–11	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		50	8	15	23	61		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		29	1	2	3	9		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		37	2	3	5	12		4	0	0	0	15
2013–14	Vaxjo HC	SHL		37	12	7	19	26		10	0	1	1	20
	NHL totals			476	89	120	209	376		9	0	1	1	26

Transactions

• On June 23, 2001, the Pittsburgh Penguins selected Colby Armstrong in the first-round (#21 overall) of the 2001 NHL draft.^[6]
• On August 12, 2005 the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Colby Armstrong.^[7]
• On July 21, 2006 the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Colby Armstrong to a 1-year contract.^[8]
• On July 12, 2007 the Pittsburgh Penguins re-signed Colby Armstrong to a 2-year/$2.4 million contract.^[9]
• On February 26, 2008 the Pittsburgh Penguins traded Colby Armstrong, Angelo Esposito, Erik Christensen and a 2008 first-round pick (#29-Daultan Leveille) to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Marián Hossa and Pascal Dupuis.^[10]
• On July 16, 2009 the Atlanta Thrashers re-signed Colby Armstrong.
• On July 1, 2010 the Toronto Maple Leafs signed unrestricted free agent Colby Armstrong to a 3-year contract.
• On July 1, 2012 the Toronto Maple Leafs bought out the contract of Colby Armstrong making player an unrestricted free agent.
• On July 1, 2012 the Montreal Canadiens signed unrestricted free agent Colby Armstrong to a 1-year contract.^[11]

References

1. "Pens re-sign Armstrong". pittsburghlive.com. 2006-07-21. Retrieved 2007-01-12.
2. "Penguins get Hossa, hoping he's the missing piece to their Cup". ESPN. 2008-02-27. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
3. "Maple Leafs ink Colby Armstrong". The Globe and Mail. 2010-07-01. Retrieved 2010-07-02.
4. "Canadiens sign Free Agents Prust, Bouillon, Armstrong". Montreal Gazette. 2012-07-01. Retrieved 2012-07-01.
5. "Colby Armstrong official profile". Twitter. 2013-07-27. Retrieved 2013-07-27.
6. "NHL Entry Draft Year by Year Results". NHL. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
7. "PENGUINS RE-SIGN RIGHT WING COLBY ARMSTRONG - Pittsburgh Penguins". Pittsburgh Penguins. August 12, 2005. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
8. "PENGUINS RE-SIGN ARMSTRONG TO ONE-YEAR DEAL - Pittsburgh Penguins - News". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 21, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
9. "Penguins Re-Sign Colby Armstrong - Pittsburgh Penguins - News". July 12, 2007. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
10. "PENS ACQUIRE HOSSA, DUPUIS FROM ATLANTA - Pittsburgh Penguins - News". Pittsburgh Penguins. February 26, 2008. Retrieved January 14, 2013.
11. "Canadiens sign Colby Armstrong to a one-year contract - Montréal Canadiens - News". Montreal Canadiens. July 2, 2012. Retrieved January 14, 2013.

External links

• Colby Armstrong's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Colby Armstrong on Twitter