Josh Gorges
| Josh Gorges | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Gorges in April 2016. | |||
| Born |
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 | 2005–present | ||
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).
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 | ||
| 2000–01 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 57 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 24 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2001–02 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 72 | 7 | 34 | 41 | 74 | 15 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 8 | ||
| 2002–03 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 54 | 11 | 48 | 59 | 76 | 19 | 3 | 17 | 20 | 16 | ||
| 2003–04 | Kelowna Rockets | WHL | 62 | 11 | 31 | 42 | 38 | 17 | 2 | 13 | 15 | 6 | ||
| 2004–05 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 20 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 49 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 31 | 11 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Cleveland Barons | AHL | 18 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 47 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Worcester Sharks | AHL | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 62 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 32 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | ||
| 2008–09 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 4 | 19 | 23 | 37 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 7 | ||
| 2009–10 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 39 | 19 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2010–11 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 36 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 82 | 2 | 14 | 16 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 15 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 66 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 12 | 17 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 2014–15 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 46 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 77 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 683 | 16 | 100 | 116 | 337 | 68 | 0 | 9 | 9 | 35 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing  Canada
| ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
.svg.png){kind=icon} | 2004 Finland | |
International
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | Canada | WJC |  |
6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 | ||||
Awards
- 2004: Memorial Cup – George Parsons Trophy (Most Sportsmanlike Player)
- 2003–04: WHL – West First All-Star Team
- 2004: Junior World Championships – Silver medal
- 2004–05: Cleveland Barons rookie of the year
- 2004–05: Cleveland Barons Rubbermaid “Player of the Year” (along with Doug Murray)
- 2011–12: Montreal Canadiens Jacques-Beauchamp-Molson individual team award (Unsung Hero)
References
- ↑ Fragapane, Justin. "Memorial Cup memories: Josh Gorges". canadiens.com. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ↑ "Gorges named Team WHL captain". Canadian Hockey League. Archived from the original on December 28, 2003. Retrieved 2013-06-16.
- ↑ Capitals vs. Canadiens – 10/02/2010 – Montréal Canadiens – Recap. Canadiens.nhl.com (2010-02-10). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
- ↑ The ultimate warrior – MontrĂŠal Canadiens – News. Canadiens.nhl.com (2010-02-10). Retrieved on 2011-12-04.
- ↑ "Montreal Canadiens sign defenceman Josh Gorges to one-year contract". The Hockey News. 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
- ↑ "Canadiens sign Gorges to one-year $2.5 million deal". The Sports Network. 2011-07-22. Retrieved 2011-07-22.
- ↑ "Canadiens extend Gorges". The Sports Network. 2012-01-01. Retrieved 2012-01-01.
- ↑ https://twitter.com/buffalosabres/status/484011274985275392
- ↑ "Josh Gorges approves trade to Buffalo". Yahoo! Sports. 2014-07-01. Retrieved 2014-07-01.