Jason Allison

Jason Allison
Born	May 29, 1975 North York, ON, CAN
Height	6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight	215 lb (98 kg; 15 st 5 lb)
Position	Centre
Shot	Right
Played for	Washington Capitals Boston Bruins Los Angeles Kings Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft	17th overall, 1993 Washington Capitals
Playing career	1993–2006

Jason Paul Allison (born May 29, 1975) is a former professional ice hockey centre who played 552 games in the National Hockey League. His most productive seasons were with the Boston Bruins, where he briefly served as team captain.

Allison was born in North York, Ontario, but grew up in Toronto, Ontario.

Playing career

Allison attended Humber Summit Middle School and Westview in Toronto, Ontario. His brother Todd attended the same schools. He played AAA Hockey with the Toronto Red Wings Hockey Club.

Allison was drafted 17th overall in the 1993 NHL Entry Draft by the Washington Capitals, amidst a stellar junior career for the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League (OHL).

Allison played parts of two seasons with the Los Angeles Kings where, for a brief time, he teamed with former stars Žigmund Pálffy and Adam Deadmarsh. He has also played for the Boston Bruins and Washington Capitals. His best season was 2000–01 when he had 95 points. Allison has played 552 games in his career, racking up 154 goals and 331 assists for 485 points. He also has 25 points in 25 career playoff games. Allison missed most of the 2002–03 season and all of the following season because of a neck injury and concussion.

Prior to the 2005–06 season, Allison signed a one-year contract with the Toronto Maple Leafs worth $1.5 million, with bonus incentives for good performance.^[1] Allison suffered a hand injury in a game against the Montreal Canadiens, and had to have surgery on his hand, which sidelined him for the remainder of the season. In the 66 games he played in before the injury, he scored 17 goals and had 60 points for the Maple Leafs.

After the 2005–06 season, Allison became an unrestricted free agent. Toronto chose not to re-sign Allison because new head coach Paul Maurice and GM John Ferguson, Jr. did not feel he would be a proper fit for their new, young, fast-paced team.

Allison subsequently did not sign with a team for the 2006–07 NHL season, despite rumours of multiple contract offers. Whilst in retirement Allison operated a horse farm north of Toronto ^[2]

Attempted comeback

On August 28, 2009, Allison received an invitation to the Toronto Maple Leafs September 2009 Training Camp and trained with them through the beginning of the preseason. Allison had not played professionally since 2005–06; in explaining the invitation, Brian Burke, the general manager of the Maple Leafs, said: "He had some personal issues and some major physical issues at that time. He has solved all of those. In my mind, he is a guy who might give us a lift and he deserves that opportunity,"^[3]

In an interview after his first exhibition game back, Allison was as confident as ever. "I didn't contribute much, but that's to be expected, I'm just shaking the cobwebs off. I fully anticipate regaining my previous form as a point per game player."

Allison's bid to make the team on a tryout ended up falling short. The training invite yielded a memorable moment, when Allison fought with the Philadelphia Flyers' Darroll Powe during an exhibition game and ripped his helmet in half with his bare hands.^[4] It was not enough, however, and by September 28, Maple Leafs head coach Ron Wilson confessed that Allison was "out of the plans."^[5]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1991–92	London Knights	OHL		65	11	19	30	15		7	0	0	0	0
1992–93	London Knights	OHL		66	42	76	118	50		12	7	13	20	8
1993–94	London Knights	OHL		56	55	87	142	68		5	2	13	15	13
1993–94	Washington Capitals	NHL		2	0	1	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	London Knights	OHL		15	15	21	36	43		—	—	—	—	—
1994–95	Portland Pirates	AHL		8	5	4	9	2		7	3	8	11	2
1994–95	Washington Capitals	NHL		12	2	1	3	6		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Portland Pirates	AHL		57	28	41	69	42		6	1	6	7	9
1995–96	Washington Capitals	NHL		19	0	3	3	2		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Washington Capitals	NHL		53	5	17	22	25		—	—	—	—	—
1996–97	Boston Bruins	NHL		19	3	9	12	9		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Boston Bruins	NHL		81	33	50	83	60		6	2	6	8	4
1998–99	Boston Bruins	NHL		82	23	53	76	68		12	2	9	11	6
1999–00	Boston Bruins	NHL		37	10	18	28	20		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Boston Bruins	NHL		82	36	59	95	85		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		73	19	55	74	68		7	3	3	6	4
2002–03	Los Angeles Kings	NHL		26	6	22	28	20		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		66	17	43	60	76		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				552	154	331	485	441		25	7	18	25	14
OHL totals				202	123	203	326	176		24	9	26	35	21

International

Medal record
Competitor for  Canada
Ice hockey
World Junior Championships
	1994 Ostrava
	1995 Alberta

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1994	Canada	WJC			7	3	6	9	2
1995	Canada	WJC			7	3	12	15	6
Junior int'l totals					14	6	18	24	8

Awards and honours

Award	Year
OHL
CHL First All-Star Team	1994
CHL Player of the Year	1994
CHL Top Scorer Award	1994
OHL First All-Star Team	1994
Red Tilson Trophy	1994
Eddie Powers Trophy	1994
William Hanley Trophy	1994
NHL
All-Star Game	2001

References

1. "Allison emerging as a leader". Canoe.ca. 2006-11-12. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
2. "Cap will be fit for Kings". Boston.com. 2008-09-06. Retrieved 2008-09-06.
3. Mike Ulmer (2009-09-01). "Ulmer Catches Up With Burke". National Hockey League. Retrieved 2010-01-02.
4. Greg Wyshynski (2009-09-20). "For Next Trick, Jason Allison will rip phone book in half". Yahoo! Sports. Retrieved 2009-09-20.
5. "Leafs Lose Final Preseason Game". The Sports Network. 2009-09-28. Retrieved 2009-09-28.

External links

• Jason Allison's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database