Peter Mueller (ice hockey)

Peter Mueller
Born	April 14, 1988 Bloomington, MN, USA
Height	6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight	204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb)
Position	Center
Shoots	Right
SHL team Former teams	Malmö Redhawks Phoenix Coyotes Colorado Avalanche Florida Panthers Kloten Flyers
National team	United States
NHL Draft	8th overall, 2006 Phoenix Coyotes
Playing career	2007–present

Peter R. Mueller (born April 14, 1988) is an American professional ice hockey forward, currently playing with the Malmö Redhawks of the Swedish Hockey League (SHL). He has previously played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Phoenix Coyotes, Colorado Avalanche and the Florida Panthers.

Playing career

Mueller was drafted 8th overall by the Phoenix Coyotes in the 2006 NHL Entry Draft. He plays as a center. He played in the USA Hockey developmental program for the 2004–05 season before moving to the Western Hockey League's Everett Silvertips. He followed former Breck High School teammate Blake Wheeler to the Coyotes, making the transition into the NHL during the 2007–08 season. Because of his outstanding performances in the first half of the 2007–08 season, Mueller was selected to play in the 2008 NHL YoungStars Game in Atlanta.^[1] He netted his first career NHL hat-trick against the Anaheim Ducks on November 7, 2007.

Mueller's 2008–09 season was a small disappointment as he couldn't replicate his 54 point performance of 2007-2008, recording 36 points in 72 games.

In the 2009–10 season, Mueller's production further sagged, leading to a request to be traded.^[2] Mueller scored 17 points in 54 games before on March 12, 2010, he was traded by the Coyotes, along with Kevin Porter, to the Colorado Avalanche for Wojtek Wolski.^[3] Later that day Mueller made his Avalanche debut, scoring a goal in a 4-3 victory over the Anaheim Ducks.^[4] In just 15 games with the Avs, after a 5-4 overtime victory against the San Jose Sharks in which he scored two goals and an assist, Mueller had already eclipsed his offensive production he managed to register with the Coyotes for the entire season before the trade.

On September 10, 2010, the Avalanche signed Mueller to a two year, $4 million deal. He suffered a concussion in an Avalanche regular season game against San Jose late in the 2010 season. He suffered it as a result of a hard check by former Avalanche defenseman, Rob Blake. He suffered another concussion in the last week of the 2010–11 preseason and was put on injured reserve.

Mueller made an anticipated return after a year of absence in the beginning of the 2011–12 season, but post-concussion syndromes forced him to the IR again. On November 25, 2011 it was reported that Mueller, who has been dealing with post-concussion symptoms, now had a groin injury as well. On January 12, 2012, he made another return in a 2-3 OT loss against the Nashville Predators. He scored his first points in almost 2 years on January 18, when he scored two goals and added an assist against the Florida Panthers in a 4-3 OT win.

At the conclusion of his two-year contract with the Avalanche, in which both were decimated by injury, Mueller failed to receive a qualifying offer prior to the opening of NHL free agency on July 1, 2012, making him an unrestricted free agent.^[5] On July 11, 2012 Mueller signed a one-year, $1.725 million contract with the Florida Panthers.^[6]

Despite a lockout shortened 2012–13 season, Mueller returned to full health for the first time since 2010, and featured in 43 games. After initially succeeding on a scoring line alongside eventual Calder Trophy winner, Jonathan Huberdeau and veteran Alexei Kovalev, Mueller slowed in his offensive output to finish with 8 goals and 17 points with the Panthers.

Unable to agree on a new contract with Florida, and with limited NHL interest, Mueller signed his first European contract on a one-year deal with Swiss club, Kloten Flyers of the National League A on September 6, 2013.^[7] In the 2013–14 season, Mueller played a full season to lead the club and finish third in NLA scoring with 46 points. At the conclusion of the season, Mueller accepted an invitation and played for the U.S. at the 2014 IIHF World Championships in Belarus.^[8][9]

In March 2014, Mueller stated in an interview that he is interested in returning to the NHL following his stay in Switzerland with the Flyers.^[10] On July 29, 2014, Mueller and the St. Louis Blues agreed to terms on a one-year, two-way contract.^[11] On October 8, 2014, after failing to make the Blues roster, Mueller and the club announced the termination of his contract so he could explore his options to play in Europe.^[12] On October 10, 2014, Mueller expectedly returned to his previous club in signing a one-year contract with the Kloten Flyers.^[13] On March 20, 2015, the Kloten Flyers decided not to offer him a contract extension after tailing only 17 points in the 2014–15 NLA season.^[14]

On August 12, 2015, Mueller remained in Europe as a free agent, and signed a one-year deal with Swedish club, Malmö Redhawks of the SHL.^[15]

Career statistics

Regular season and playoffs

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2004–05	USNTDP	NAHL		40	26	26	52	56		—	—	—	—	—
2005–06	Everett Silvertips	WHL		52	26	32	58	44		15	7	6	13	10
2006–07	Everett Silvertips	WHL		51	21	57	78	45		12	7	9	16	12
2007–08	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		81	22	32	54	32		—	—	—	—	—
2008–09	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		72	13	23	36	24		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		54	4	13	17	8		—	—	—	—	—
2009–10	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		15	9	11	20	8		—	—	—	—	—
2011–12	Colorado Avalanche	NHL		32	7	9	16	8		—	—	—	—	—
2012–13	Florida Panthers	NHL		43	8	9	17	18		—	—	—	—	—
2013–14	Kloten Flyers	NLA		49	24	22	46	12		10	2	1	3	4
2014–15	Kloten Flyers	NLA		34	10	7	17	12		—	—	—	—	—
NHL totals				297	63	97	160	98		—	—	—	—	—

International

Medal record
Men's ice hockey
Representing  United States
IIHF World U18 Championships
	2005 Czech Republic
World Junior Hockey Championships
	2007 Sweden

Year	Team	Event	Result		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
2005	United States	WJC18			6	4	3	7	20
2006	United States	WJC	4th		7	2	4	6	26
2007	United States	WJC			7	3	3	6	8
2008	United States	WC	6th		7	0	4	4	0
2014	United States	WC	6th		8	1	3	4	2
Junior totals					20	9	10	19	54
Senior totals					15	1	7	8	2

Awards and honors

Award	Year
WHL
Jim Piggott Memorial Trophy	2005–06
Top Draft Prospect Award	2005–06
NHL
NHL YoungStars Game	2007–08

References

1. "Mueller picked for YoungStars". AZCentral. 2008-01-15. Retrieved 2010-03-05.
2. "Coyotes make seven trades before deadline". KTAR. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
3. "Coyotes get Wolski for Mueller, Porter". NHL. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
4. "Mueller scores in debut as Avs down Ducks". TSN. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2010-03-09.
5. "Avalanche pass on offer for forward Peter Mueller". The Denver Post. 2012-06-25. Retrieved 2012-07-03.
6. "Panthers gamble on Peter Mueller with one-year deal". NBC Sports. 2012-07-11. Retrieved 2012-07-11.
7. "Kloten Flyers sign Peter Mueller, Jim Vandermeer" (in German). Kloten Flyers. 2013-09-09. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
8. "Ex-Tip Peter Mueller back on USA Hockey roster consideration". heraldnet.com. 2014-04-16. Retrieved 2014-04-16.
9. "Fifteen players chosen for U.S. National Team". USA Hockey. 2014-04-17. Retrieved 2014-04-17.
10. "Paulsson probably stays, Mueller want to return to NHL". swisshockey.ch. 2014-03-28. Retrieved 2014-03-28.
11. "Blues agree to 1-year deal with Mueller". St. Louis Blues. 2014-07-29. Retrieved 2014-07-29.
12. "Mueller, Blues mutually agree to terminate contract". NHL.com. 8 October 2014. Retrieved 8 October 2014.
13. "Welcome back Peter Mueller!" (in German). Kloten Flyers. 2014-10-10. Retrieved 2014-10-10.
14. "Kloten Flyers sign three new players, cut ties with three imports". www.swisshockeynews.ch. 2015-03-20. Retrieved 2015-03-21.
15. "Peter Mueller ready for the Redhawks" (in Swedish). Malmö Redhawks. 2015-08-12. Retrieved 2015-08-12.

External links

• Peter Mueller's career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database
• Peter Mueller's career statistics at EliteProspects.com