Chad Kilger

Chad William Lawrence Kilger (born November 27, 1976) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player. He played for several National Hockey League teams, most recently the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Chad Kilger
Kilger (left) alongside Hal Gill in 2008.
Born	November 27, 1976 Cornwall, Ontario, Canada
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Weight	224 lb (102 kg; 16 st 0 lb)
Position	Right Wing
Shot	Left
Played for	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim Winnipeg Jets Phoenix Coyotes Chicago Blackhawks Edmonton Oilers Montreal Canadiens Toronto Maple Leafs
NHL Draft	4th overall, 1995 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim
Playing career	1995–2008

Playing career

As a youth, Kilger played in the 1990 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Seaway Valley minor ice hockey team from Cornwall, Ontario.[1]

Kilger played two seasons of junior ice hockey in the Ontario Hockey League with the Kingston Frontenacs. He was subsequently drafted fourth overall by the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft. He made the team that fall, but on 7 February 1996 he was traded with Oleg Tverdovsky and a third-round draft pick to the Winnipeg Jets for Teemu Selänne, Marc Chouinard and a fourth-round draft choice, and subsequently spent most of his playing time with Winnipeg's minor league affiliate, the Springfield Falcons.

Kilger's numbers did not improve until he came to the Chicago Blackhawks. In 86 games in parts of two seasons with the Blackhawks, he scored 36 points. In March 1999, he was traded to the Edmonton Oilers with Daniel Cleary, Ethan Moreau, and Christian Laflamme for Boris Mironov, Dean McAmmond and Jonas Elofsson, and in December 2000, he was sent to the Montreal Canadiens for Sergei Zholtok. He had early success, but as his ice time dropped so did his point totals. In his first season with the Canadiens he averaged 17:57 in ice time. In March 2004, he was put on waivers and claimed by the Toronto Maple Leafs.[2]

Kilger set the unofficial hockey record for the hardest shot on December 3, 2006, when he was clocked at 106.6 mph, beating the old record held by former Sharks defenseman Shawn Heins (106.0 mph). The old NHL record was held by former Capitals defenseman Al Iafrate, whose record was 105.2 mph.[3] Kilger's unofficial record was surpassed when Sheldon Souray fired a 106.7 mph shot at the Edmonton Oilers' skills competition in 2009.

Failure to report to Florida

On the NHL trade deadline date, February 26, 2008, the Leafs dealt Kilger to the Florida Panthers for a third-round draft pick. He immediately requested a leave of absence from Panthers' management, which was granted. However, he did not report to the team at the pre-arranged time, and on March 5, the Panthers suspended him indefinitely without pay.[4] Kilger failed to report to training camp at the beginning of the 2008–09 season, and was officially confirmed to be retired on July 10, 2009.[5]

Personal

Kilger and his family currently reside in Cornwall, Ontario, where all three of his children were born.[2] His father, Bob Kilger was a former Liberal member of Parliament and formerly the mayor of the city of Cornwall. Chad was hired as a firefighter for the City of Cornwall post retirement.[6]

Career statistics

				Regular season						Playoffs
Season	Team	League		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1992–93	Cornwall Colts	CJHL		55	30	36	66	26		6	0	0	0	0
1993–94	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL		66	17	35	52	23		6	7	2	9	8
1994–95	Kingston Frontenacs	OHL		65	42	53	95	6		5	2	7	10	0
1995–96	Mighty Ducks of Anaheim	NHL		45	5	7	12	22		—	—	—	—	—
1995–96	Winnipeg Jets	NHL		29	2	3	5	12		4	1	0	1	0
1996–97	Springfield Falcons	AHL		52	17	28	45	36		16	5	7	12	56
1997–98	Springfield Falcons	AHL		35	14	14	28	33		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Phoenix Coyotes	NHL		10	0	1	1	4		—	—	—	—	—
1997–98	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		22	3	8	11	6		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Chicago Blackhawks	NHL		64	14	11	25	30		—	—	—	—	—
1998–99	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		13	1	1	2	4		4	0	0	0	4
1999–2000	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		40	3	2	5	18		3	0	0	0	0
1999–2000	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		7	4	2	6	4		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Edmonton Oilers	NHL		34	5	2	7	17		—	—	—	—	—
2000–01	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		43	9	16	25	34		—	—	—	—	—
2001–02	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		75	8	15	23	27		12	0	1	1	9
2002–03	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		60	9	7	16	21		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Montreal Canadiens	NHL		36	2	2	4	14		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Hamilton Bulldogs	AHL		2	1	0	1	0		—	—	—	—	—
2003–04	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		5	1	1	2	2		13	2	1	3	0
2005–06	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		79	17	11	28	63		—	—	—	—	—
2006–07	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		82	14	14	28	58		—	—	—	—	—
2007–08	Toronto Maple Leafs	NHL		53	10	7	17	18		—	—	—	—	—
OHL totals				131	59	88	147	118		12	12	4	16	18
NHL totals				714	107	111	218	363		36	3	2	5	13

References

1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved 2019-01-31.
2. "Well-travelled Chad Kilger knows all about NHL trading deadline deals". Canadian Press. 2008-02-18. Retrieved 2008-02-18.
3. Weekes, Don (2007). Crease-Crashing Hockey Trivia. Canada: Greystone Books. p. 128. ISBN 9781553653288.
4. "Panthers suspend Kilger without pay". The Canadian Press. 2008-03-05. Archived from the original on 2008-03-08. Retrieved 2008-03-05.
5. "Feds have bungled gun dispute". Standard-Free Holder. 2009-01-06. Archived from the original on 2009-07-12. Retrieved 2009-02-18.
6. "Ex-Leaf joins fire department". Canoe.ca. 2009-01-06. Retrieved 2009-02-18.

External links

• Chad Kilger career statistics at The Internet Hockey Database