Chris Conner

Christopher Ryan Conner (born December 23, 1983) is an American professional ice hockey winger. He is currently an unrestricted free agent who most recently played for the Binghamton Devils of the American Hockey League (AHL).

Chris Conner
Conner with the Penguins in 2011.
Born (1983-12-23) December 23, 1983
Westland, Michigan, U.S.
Height 5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Weight 180 lb (82 kg; 12 st 12 lb)
Position Winger
Shoots Left
NHL team
Former teams		 Free Agent
Dallas Stars
Pittsburgh Penguins
Detroit Red Wings
Phoenix Coyotes
Washington Capitals
NHL Draft Undrafted
Playing career 2006–present

Early life

Conner grew up in Westland, Michigan and attended Churchill High School in Livonia, Michigan. He lived in the same neighbourhood as current Anaheim Ducks forward Ryan Kesler, and the two grew up together playing hockey since childhood. As a youth, he played in the 1997 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Little Caesars minor ice hockey team.[1]

Playing career

Undrafted, Chris Conner played four seasons of collegiate hockey for Michigan Tech of the WCHA from 2002 to 2006. One of his teammates there was John Scott, who would also play in the NHL.[2] After his senior year, Conner made his professional debut with the Iowa Stars of the AHL at the end of the 2005–06 season.

Chris Conner with the Dallas Stars.

On July 13, 2006, Conner signed as a free agent to a two-year contract with the Dallas Stars.[3] Conner was then assigned to affiliate Iowa for the start of the 2006–07 season, but upon being recalled, scored his first NHL goal during a game against the Colorado Avalanche on December 27, 2006. Conner was re-signed by the Stars at the end of the 2007–08 season to a one-year deal on March 12, 2008.[4]

After splitting the 2008–09 season between the Stars and the Peoria Rivermen, Conner signed a one-year deal with Pittsburgh Penguins on July 7, 2009.[5] Conner appeared in 60 games during the 2010–11 NHL season with Pittsburgh, scoring seven goals with nine assists. He scored the Penguins second goal in an 8–2 loss in Game 5 of Pittsburgh's first-round series against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Conner failed to convert on a penalty shot during the second period of the next game, losing the puck off his stick as he advanced towards Lightning goaltender Dwayne Roloson. Pittsburgh ultimately lost the series in seven games.

On July 7, 2011, Conner signed a one-year, two-way contract with the Detroit Red Wings.[6]

In the following 2012–13 season, Conner signed with the Phoenix Coyotes on a one-year contract. With the lockout in effect, he was directly assigned to the AHL affiliate, the Portland Pirates. He was recalled by the Coyotes to help their playoff push, appearing in 12 games to score 2 points, before being returned to Portland before the end of their season.[7]

On July 5, 2013, Conner signed a one-year, two-way contract to return with the Pittsburgh Penguins that was to pay him $550,000 at the NHL level.[8]

On July 1, 2014, Conner continued his journeyman career in signing a one-year two-way contract with the Washington Capitals.[9] A year later Conner signed a two-year, two-way contract with the Philadelphia Flyers.[10] He led the scoring in the Flyers' AHL affiliate Lehigh Valley Phantoms during the 2015-16 season with 55 points.[11]

As a free agent following the completion of his contract with the Flyers, Conner opted to continue his tenure with the Phantoms in agreeing to a two-year AHL deal on July 6, 2017.[12]

After four seasons with the Phantoms, Conner left the club as a free agent, continuing in the AHL in securing a one-year contract with the Binghamton Devils, affiliate to the New Jersey Devils, on July 17, 2019.[13]

Career statistics
    Regular season   Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
2000–01 Chicago Freeze NAHL 56 17 28 45 18 — — — — —
2001–02 Chicago Freeze NAHL 30 18 15 33 30 — — — — —
2001–02 Compuware Ambassadors NAHL 19 4 9 13 23 — — — — —
2002–03 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 13 24 37 8 — — — — —
2003–04 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 25 14 39 12 — — — — —
2004–05 Michigan Tech WCHA 37 14 10 24 6 — — — — —
2005–06 Michigan Tech WCHA 38 17 12 29 18 — — — — —
2005–06 Iowa Stars AHL 15 2 3 5 0 7 1 1 2 2
2006–07 Iowa Stars AHL 48 19 18 37 24 12 2 5 7 2
2006–07 Dallas Stars NHL 11 1 2 3 4 — — — — —
2007–08 Iowa Stars AHL 55 13 26 39 17 — — — — —
2007–08 Dallas Stars NHL 22 3 2 5 6 1 0 0 0 0
2008–09 Peoria Rivermen AHL 30 16 12 28 10 — — — — —
2008–09 Dallas Stars NHL 38 3 10 13 10 — — — — —
2009–10 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 59 19 37 56 21 4 2 2 4 2
2009–10 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 8 2 1 3 0 1 0 0 0 0
2010–11 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 11 3 6 9 2 — — — — —
2010–11 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 60 7 9 16 10 7 1 0 1 0
2011–12 Grand Rapids Griffins AHL 57 16 37 53 22 — — — — —
2011–12 Detroit Red Wings NHL 8 1 2 3 0 — — — — —
2012–13 Portland Pirates AHL 60 13 27 40 28 1 0 1 1 2
2012–13 Phoenix Coyotes NHL 12 1 1 2 2 — — — — —
2013–14 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 17 6 5 11 8 — — — — —
2013–14 Pittsburgh Penguins NHL 19 4 1 5 2 — — — — —
2014–15 Hershey Bears AHL 61 19 33 52 10 10 2 5 7 2
2014–15 Washington Capitals NHL 2 0 0 0 4 — — — — —
2015–16 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 58 16 39 55 14 — — — — —
2016–17 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 70 22 34 56 10 5 1 3 4 2
2017–18 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 65 17 20 37 22 13 5 4 9 0
2018–19 Lehigh Valley Phantoms AHL 72 16 35 51 16 — — — — —
2019–20 Binghamton Devils AHL 53 12 18 30 6 — — — — —
NHL totals 180 22 28 50 38 9 1 0 1 0

Awards and honors
Award Year  
All-WCHA Second Team 2003–04

References
  1. "Pee-Wee players who have reached NHL or WHA" (PDF). Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament. 2018. Retrieved February 11, 2019.
  2. Branch, John (April 4, 2016). "Coming In From the Cold: John Scott Is Joining the Canadiens". The New York Times. Retrieved August 9, 2016.
  3. "Stars sign LW Chris Conner". Dallas Stars. July 13, 2006. Archived from the original on July 26, 2011. Retrieved March 9, 2009.
  4. "Stars sign three players to contracts". Dallas Stars. March 12, 2008. Archived from the original on May 15, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-09.
  5. "Penguins sign Conner, Lee". Pittsburgh Penguins. July 5, 2009. Retrieved June 8, 2010.
  6. "Wings sign Penguin Chris Conner to one-year contract". dailytribune.com. July 7, 2011. Retrieved July 7, 2011.
  7. "Coyotes assign Bolduc, Conner and Stone to Pirates". Phoenix Coyotes. April 2, 2013. Retrieved April 3, 2013.
  8. "Penguins Sign Forward Chris Conner". National Hockey League. Pittsburgh Penguins. July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 6, 2013.
  9. "Capitals add two Penguins defencemen in free agency". The Washington Post. July 1, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  10. "Flyers sign C Tim Brent, RW Chris Connor, D Davis Drewiske". Philadelphia Flyers. July 1, 2015. Retrieved July 1, 2015.
  11. "Chris Conner Phantoms profile". Lehigh Valley Phantoms. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  12. "Phantoms sign 5 players to AHL contracts". Lehigh Valley Phantoms. July 6, 2017. Retrieved July 6, 2017.
  13. "Devils sign forward Chris Conner to AHL contract". Binghamton Devils. July 17, 2019. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
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