Josh Gorges

Josh Gorges

Gorges in April 2016.
Born (1984-08-14) August 14, 1984
Kelowna, BC, CAN
Height 6 ft 1 in (185 cm)
Weight 210 lb (95 kg; 15 st 0 lb)
Position Defence
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams
Buffalo Sabres
San Jose Sharks
Montreal Canadiens
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2005present

Joshua Daniel Gorges (born August 14, 1984) is a Canadian professional ice hockey player and an alternate captain for the Buffalo Sabres of the National Hockey League. He is of German ancestry as his grandparents immigrated from Germany to Canada.

Playing career

After going undrafted, Gorges was signed as a free agent by San Jose in 2002. 2005–06 was his first season in the NHL. In 2004–05, he set the Cleveland Barons record for the fastest goal from the start of a game (20 seconds).

Gorges in May 2010.
Gorges with the Sharks in 2006.

He played his junior hockey with the Kelowna Rockets of the WHL, where he helped the Rockets to a Memorial Cup championship in 2004 as their captain.[1] He was also the captain[2] for the WHL in the Canada-Russia challenge in November 2003. Gorges was also a member of Team Canada at the 2004 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships, where he won a silver medal. In 2003, NHL.com wrote an article about him, praising him for his work ethic and for exceeding expectations at every level. Hockeysfuture called him "a solid skater with adequate speed" who "is a good puckmoving defenceman who's effective on the power play with a decent point shot and playmaking abilities". What Gorges lacked in size and strength, he made up for with his discreet and efficient abilities. Hockeysfuture projected him as a future #3 or #4 defenceman.

Upon his arrival in San Jose, Gorges had some success early on as a reserve defenseman. However, as he was called on to play more minutes, he struggled. Many attributed his lack of success to his small size and distinct lack of strength, especially a problem in the more physical Western Conference where forwards like Ryan Getzlaf and Jarome Iginla could manhandle Gorges.

On February 25, 2007, Gorges was traded to the Montreal Canadiens alongside a 2007 first round pick (Max Pacioretty) for Craig Rivet and a 2008 fifth round pick (Jason Demers).

On July 9, 2008, Gorges signed a three-year contract worth US$3.3 million with the Canadiens.

Gorges scored his first NHL goal against the Detroit Red Wings on January 4, 2007, and didn't score again until November 24, 2008 against the New York Islanders, making it his first goal in a Canadiens uniform.

On February 10, 2010, during a game against the Washington Capitals, Gorges was hit on the left side of the head by a slap shot off Mike Green. Gorges remained motionless on the ice for several minutes, with his head bleeding. He eventually was helped up by team doctors and helped to the bench. The Canadiens eventually won the game 6–5 in OT to end the Capitals 14-game win streak.[3] Gorges skated in practice the next day and was quoted as saying "Unless something happens in the next 24 hours, I’ll be in the lineup against the Flyers."[4]

Gorges was widely praised for his performances in the 2010 Stanley Cup Playoffs, with Don Cherry declaring he "should be (Canadiens) captain; if they are ever going to have a captain; this guy is the captain."

On February 19, 2011, Gorges had undergone successful reconstruction surgery on his injured right knee and missed the remainder of the 2010–11 season as a result. In the following off-season on July 22, 2011, Gorges signed a one-year contract with the Montreal Canadiens[5] worth US$2.5 million.[6]

On January 1, 2012 Gorges agreed to re-sign with the Canadiens with a six-year, $3.9 million per year contract.[7]

On July 1, 2014 he was traded by the Canadiens to the Buffalo Sabres for the Minnesota Wild's[8] 2nd round draft pick in 2016 (acquired from the Torrey Mitchell-Matt Moulson trade), after refusing to waive his no-trade clause to be traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs.[9]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01Kelowna RocketsWHL5746102461124
2001–02Kelowna RocketsWHL727344174151788
2002–03Kelowna RocketsWHL5411485976193172016
2003–04Kelowna RocketsWHL621131423817213156
2004–05Cleveland BaronsAHL203364
2005–06San Jose SharksNHL4906631110114
2005–06Cleveland BaronsAHL1823512
2006–07San Jose SharksNHL4713426
2006–07Worcester SharksAHL70112
2006–07Montreal CanadiensNHL70000
2007–08Montreal CanadiensNHL6209932120330
2008–09Montreal CanadiensNHL81419233740117
2009–10Montreal CanadiensNHL823710391902214
2010–11Montreal CanadiensNHL3616718
2011–12Montreal CanadiensNHL822141639
2012–13Montreal CanadiensNHL482791550004
2013–14Montreal CanadiensNHL661131412170226
2014–15Buffalo SabresNHL4606616
2015–16Buffalo SabresNHL772101272
NHL totals 683 16 100 116 337 68 0 9 9 35
Medal record
Representing  Canada
World Junior Championships
2004 Finland

International

Year Team Event Result   GP G A Pts PIM
2004 Canada WJC 2nd 6 0 3 3 4
Junior totals 6 0 3 3 4

Awards

References

  1. Fragapane, Justin. "Memorial Cup memories: Josh Gorges". canadiens.com. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  2. "Gorges named Team WHL captain". Canadian Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 28, 2003. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
  3. Capitals vs. Canadiens – 10/02/2010 – Montréal Canadiens – Recap. Canadiens.nhl.com (2010-02-10). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  4. The ultimate warrior – MontrĂŠal Canadiens – News. Canadiens.nhl.com (2010-02-10). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
  5. "Montreal Canadiens sign defenceman Josh Gorges to one-year contract". The Hockey News. 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  6. "Canadiens sign Gorges to one-year $2.5 million deal". The Sports Network. 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
  7. "Canadiens extend Gorges". The Sports Network. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
  8. https://twitter.com/buffalosabres/status/484011274985275392
  9. "Josh Gorges approves trade to Buffalo". Yahoo! Sports. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.

External links

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