| J. T. Brown | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Brown with theMinnesota Wild in January 2019 | |||
| Born | (1990-07-02)July 2, 1990 (age 35) Burnsville, Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (178 cm) | ||
| Weight | 175 lb (79 kg; 12 st 7 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Tampa Bay Lightning Anaheim Ducks Minnesota Wild | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2010–2021 | ||
Joshua Thomas Brown (born July 2, 1990) is an American former professionalice hockeyright winger who played for theTampa Bay Lightning,Anaheim Ducks andMinnesota Wild. He is a TV analyst for theSeattle Kraken.
Brown attended theUniversity of Minnesota Duluth after playing junior hockey in theUnited States Hockey League (USHL) with theWaterloo Black Hawks. In 2011, he was named the Most Outstanding Player after winning the2011 Frozen Four national championship with theBulldogs.
Undrafted in the NHL, Brown signed a two-year, entry-level contract with theTampa Bay Lightning on March 28, 2012. Upon signing with Tampa Bay, Lightning General ManagerSteve Yzerman said, "I'm anxious to see him play."[1] On March 31, 2012, Brown made his NHL debut in Tampa Bay's 3–2 overtime victory against theWinnipeg Jets.[2] On April 7, he recorded his first career NHL assist in a 4–3 overtime win, also coming against the Winnipeg Jets.[3]
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On September 9, 2012, the Tampa Bay Lightning assigned Brown, as well as 17 other players, to theSyracuse Crunch of theAmerican Hockey League (AHL), their top minor league affiliate.[4] This was done in part due to the ongoing2012–13 NHL lockout that cancelled the first half of the2012–13 season until late January.[5] On December 28, 2012, Brown sustained a shoulder injury in a 4–2 Crunch victory over theNorfolk Admirals. Prior to the injury, Brown had six goals, 17 points and four penalty minutes in 26 games for Syracuse.[6] It was revealed later in the day that Brown had suffered a brokencollarbone, which required surgery to repair. Although expected to compete for a roster spot with the Lightning once NHL play resumed, the injury was expected to sideline him for six-to-eight weeks.[7]
On July 7, 2013, Tampa Bay announced that they had re-signed Brown to a one-year, two-way contract. At the end of the season, Brown had skated in 51 games with the Crunch, recording 10 goals and 28 points to go along with 27 penalty minutes. Additionally, he played in 18Calder Cup playoff games with Syracuse, registering four goals and nine points to go along with 18 penalty minutes.[8]
On September 29, 2013, Brown was reassigned to the Crunch by the Lightning as part of roster cuts for the upcoming2013–14 season.[9] On November 11, 2013, however, Tampa Bay recalled Brown from Syracuse. Prior to being recalled, Brown was on a two-game point streak, with a goal and an assist.[10] It was during this time that he received the nickname "Brownov" as the third player on a successful forward line with RussiansVladislav Namestnikov andNikita Kucherov.[11]
On November 16, 2013, Brown scored his first career NHL goal in a 6–3 loss to thePhoenix Coyotes.[12]
On June 6, 2014, the Lightning announced the re-signing of forward Brown to a two-year, one-way contract. He appeared in 63 games with the Lightning during the2014–15 season, posting four goals and 19 points while averaging 13:02 in ice time per game. Brown also played in all fourStanley Cup playoff games in2014, notching two assists in Tampa Bay's four-game series defeat at the hands of theMontreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference First Round. During the post-season, Brown was averaging 14:59 minutes in ice time.[13]
On May 3, 2015, Brown scored his first career Stanley Cup playoff goal in a 6–2 Lightning win over theMontreal Canadiens in the Eastern Conference Second Round in the2015 Stanley Cup playoffs.[14]
On June 24, 2016, the Lightning announced the re-signing of Brown to two-year contract extension. Brown played in 78 regular season games during the past season, recording eight goals and 22 points. Brown was tied for third on the team with a plus-16 rating. Brown set career bests in games played, goals, points, plus/minus and penalty minutes last season. He also appeared in nine Stanley Cup Playoff games, recording two assists and two penalty minutes. Brown has skated in 198 career NHL games, all with the Lightning over four seasons, registering 15 goals and 51 points. He also has skated in 37 playoff games, recording a goal and six points.[15]
On October 15, 2016, Brown skated in his 200th career NHL game, which came during a 3–2 Lightning win over the visitingNew Jersey Devils.[16]
In his sixth season with the Lightning in the2017–18 season, Brown was used in a reduced role. On January 13, 2018, Brown was placed on waivers by the Lightning after appearing in 24 games, and was then claimed by theAnaheim Ducks on January 14.[17] Brown played out the season with the Ducks, contributing with 1 goal and 3 points in 23 games in a fourth-line role.
As a free agent from the Ducks in the off-season, Brown opted to return to his home state, securing a two-year $1.375 million contract with the Minnesota Wild on July 1, 2018.[18]
When the2020–21 NHL season began on January 13, 2021, Brown was without a contract. One week later, on January 20, 2021, he signed a one-year contract withIF Björklöven of theHockeyAllsvenskan league.[19]
Brown played with theU.S. national team at the2012 IIHF World Championship. He scored his first goal againstKazakhstan on May 11, 2012.
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On June 21, 2021, Brown joinedRoot Sports Northwest as acolor commentator for theSeattle Kraken.[20] On February 17, 2022, Brown andEverett Fitzhugh called the Kraken's game against theWinnipeg Jets. The pairing was the first all-Black TV broadcast in NHL history.[21][22]
Brown was born inBurnsville, Minnesota and was raised inRosemount, Minnesota. Brown is the son of formerNational Football League (NFL) running backTed Brown, who played eight NFL seasons (1979–1986) for theMinnesota Vikings.[23] In an interview, Brown gave credit to his father for having played a vital role in being able to push his game to new heights. Speaking about his father, "he has always been someone to lean on. He and the rest of my family always have always really supported me. I can't thank them enough."[24]
On February 6, 2015, Brown married Lexi LaFleur.[25] The couple have two children.[26]
On September 28, 2017, before a preseason season game versus the Florida Panthers, Brownraised his fistduring the U.S. national anthem, in an attempt to "bring awareness to police brutality and inequality for minorities."[27] He did the same on an October 7 game also against the Panthers, becoming the first NHL player to protest during the anthem in a regular season game.[27][28] He stated that he had "received death threats" after the protest.[28] In the week following, he and a few teammates met with members of theTampa Police Department after receiving an invitation from the interim police chief.[29] On October 18, Brown announced that he would no longer raise a fist during the anthem, but would continue to work to bring awareness around issues of police brutality and other racial inequalities and injustices.[30][31]
In July 2018, Brown founded a charity marathonFortnite event to raise funds forHockey Is For Everyone.[32]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2005–06 | Rosemount High School | HS-MN | — | 19 | 7 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Rosemount High School | HS-MN | 27 | 24 | 23 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Rosemount High School | HS-MN | 24 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 36 | 14 | 22 | 36 | 28 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Waterloo Black Hawks | USHL | 60 | 34 | 43 | 77 | 64 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | University of Minnesota Duluth | WCHA | 42 | 16 | 21 | 37 | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | University of Minnesota Duluth | WCHA | 39 | 24 | 23 | 47 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 51 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 27 | 18 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 18 | ||
| 2013–14 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 24 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 63 | 4 | 15 | 19 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2014–15 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 52 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 30 | 24 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 78 | 8 | 14 | 22 | 59 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2016–17 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 64 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 73 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Tampa Bay Lightning | NHL | 24 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 23 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 12 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2018–19 | Minnesota Wild | NHL | 56 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 29 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Iowa Wild | AHL | 62 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | IF Björklöven | SWE.2 | 19 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 8 | 14 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 365 | 23 | 49 | 72 | 221 | 41 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 2 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | United States | WC | 7th | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | |
| Senior totals | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||||
| Award | Year | Ref |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| WCHA All-Rookie Team | 2010–11 | [33] |
| NCAAAll-Tournament Team | 2011 | [34] |
| All-WCHAFirst Team | 2011–12 | [35] |
| AHCAWest Second-Team All-American | 2011–12 | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player 2011 | Succeeded by |