| Nathan Gerbe | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Gerbe with theCarolina Hurricanes in 2013 | |||
| Born | (1987-07-24)July 24, 1987 (age 38) | ||
| Height | 5 ft 4 in (163 cm) | ||
| Weight | 176 lb (80 kg; 12 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Center | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Buffalo Sabres Carolina Hurricanes Genève-Servette HC Columbus Blue Jackets | ||
| NHL draft | 142nd overall,2005 Buffalo Sabres | ||
| Playing career | 2008–2021 | ||
Nathan David Gerbe (born July 24, 1987) is an American former professionalice hockey player. Selected by theBuffalo Sabres in the fifth round (142nd overall) of the2005 NHL Entry Draft, Gerbe played for the Sabres,Carolina Hurricanes andColumbus Blue Jackets during hisNational Hockey League (NHL) career. At 5 ft 4 in (1.63 m) tall, Gerbe is the shortest skater in NHL history, and the second shortest player in NHL history behind goaltenderRoy Worters.
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As a youth, Gerbe played in the 2001Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with the Detroit Honeybakedminor ice hockey team.[1]
Gerbe played for theBoston College Eagles of theHockey East conference in theNCAA, and was drafted by theBuffalo Sabres of theNational Hockey League (NHL) with the 142nd pick in the2005 NHL Entry Draft.[2]
In the2008 Frozen Four, he scored five goals in the final two games, leading his team to the championship, and was named thetournament's most outstanding player.[3] He was also a finalist for theHobey Baker Award in the2007–08 season.[4]
On May 6, 2008, Gerbe signed his first professional contract, a three-year, entry-level with the Buffalo Sabres.[5] During his tenure with the Sabres, he was referred to as a "Tasmanian Devil," a reference to his smaller size, but rough style of play.[6] In an interview, Gerbe revealed that he idolized NHL playerMartin St. Louis who was also known for his small size and on-ice ability.[7] He was assigned to thePortland Pirates, the Sabres'American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, to start the 2008–09 season,[8] but after the Sabres slumped early, on December 6, 2008, he was recalled by the team,[9] playing in his first NHL regular season game, a 4–3 win over theTampa Bay Lightning.[10] On December 13, Gerbe recorded his first NHL point against theNew Jersey Devils by assisting aDrew Stafford goal.[11] Gerbe was returned to the Sabres AHL affiliate, thePortland Pirates, after six games.[12] He was named to the 2009 AHL All-Star Classic, but could not play due to injury.[13][14] He was awarded theDudley "Red" Garrett Memorial Award for rookie of the year in the2008–09 season of the AHL and finished with 30 goals and 56 points in 57 games.[15] He was also named to the AHL All-Rookie Team.[16]
Despite having a good training camp[17] Gerbe was assigned to Portland to start the 2009–10 season.[18] He scored his first career NHL goal on December 9, 2009, against theWashington Capitals.[19] On December 30, it was announced that Gerbe had been named to the 2010 AHL All-Star Classic.[20] He was recalled on March 28, 2010. After registering a goal and three points in eight games, on April 17, Gerbe was sent back to Portland to help the AHL team in their playoff run.[21] On April 26, he scored his first NHL postseason goal in a 4–3 loss to theBoston Bruins, which eliminated the Sabres from the playoffs.[22]
Gerbe broke through as a regular for Sabres in the2010–11 season, playing on the third and fourth lines.[23] On January 21, 2011, he scored two goals in five seconds against theNew York Islanders, setting a franchise record for the fastest two goals by one player.[24] He scored the only two goals in a 2–0 win over theMontreal Canadiens on March 22.[25] Gerbe finished the season playing in 64 games, scoring 16 goals and 31 points.
On June 29, 2011, Gerbe re-signed with the Buffalo Sabres to a three-year deal worth $1.42 million per season, avoiding salary arbitration.[23] Gerbe's season was interrupted thefollowing year by a hit fromMarc-André Bourdon of thePhiladelphia Flyers on December 8, where Gerbe was driven head-first into the boards.[26] This caused him to miss time and he eventually required spinal surgery during the summer.[27]
Upon completion of thelockout-shortened2012–13 season, Gerbe was placed onwaivers by the Sabres on July 3, 2013, with the intention of buying out the remainder of his contract.[28] A free agent, Gerbe later agreed to a one-year, two-way contract with theCarolina Hurricanes on July 26.[29] On June 24, 2014, Nathan Gerbe re-signed with the Hurricanes on a two-year, one-way contract.[30]
On July 1, 2016, having left the Hurricanes as a free agent, Gerbe signed a one-year deal with theNew York Rangers.[31] However, Gerbe did not make the Rangers roster out of training camp and was sent down to the Rangers' AHL team, theHartford Wolf Pack.[32] When Gerbe refused to report to the Wolf Pack, the Rangers placed him on unconditional waivers for release in order to terminate his contract.[33]
On October 14, 2016, Gerbe agreed to a three-year contract with Switzerland'sGenève-Servette HC of theNational League A (NLA).[34] Gerbe made his NLA debut on October 21, on home-ice againstHC Ambrì-Piotta. He scored his first NLA goal on October 29, on home-ice againstHC Lugano in a 5–0 win. He finished his first season with 28 points (11 goals) in 26 games, before adding two assists in four playoffs games. Gerbe appeared in 13 regular season games with Genève-Servette HC in the2017–18 season, scoring five points (one goal), before being taken out of the lineup as a healthy scratch. After an injury sustained during a team practice, Gerbe was put on the trade block by the team.[35][36] He went on to play an additional six games, before being released on January 20, 2018, in order to get rid of his remaining SFr 1.3 million salary. In his playing time with Genève-Servette HC, he put up 35 points (13 goals) in 45 games, over two seasons.[37]
On January 24, 2018, it was announced that theColumbus Blue Jackets signed Gerbe to a one-year, two-way contract for the rest of the2017–18 season.[38] After clearing waivers, Gerbe was assigned to theCleveland Monsters of the AHL.[39] However, afterMarkus Nutivaara was placed on injured reserve, Gerbe was called up to the NHL on February 21.[40] He was reassigned to the Monsters a few days later on February 26, after recording no points in two games.[41] In adding to the depth within the Blue Jackets organization, Gerbe agreed to a two-year, two-way contract extension on March 15.[42]
Before the2018–19 season, the Monsters named Gerbe team captain after going without one the previous season.[43]
After 13 professional seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL), Gerbe announced his retirement on September 14, 2022. The same day he also announced he had joined theNashville Predators organization as the club's forward development coach.[44]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2002–03 | River City Lancers | USHL | 25 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 49 | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2003–04 | U.S. NTDP U17 | USDP | 32 | 14 | 12 | 26 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | U.S. NTDP U18 | NAHL | 26 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 87 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | U.S. NTDP U18 | USDP | 26 | 6 | 11 | 17 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | U.S. NTDP U18 | NAHL | 12 | 7 | 5 | 12 | 25 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | Boston College | HE | 39 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 75 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Boston College | HE | 41 | 25 | 22 | 47 | 76 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Boston College | HE | 43 | 35 | 33 | 68 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 57 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 63 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2008–09 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 10 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 44 | 11 | 27 | 38 | 46 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2009–10 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 10 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2010–11 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 64 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 34 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 18 | ||
| 2011–12 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 62 | 6 | 19 | 25 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Buffalo Sabres | NHL | 42 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 81 | 16 | 15 | 31 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 78 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 47 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016–17 | Genève–Servette HC | NLA | 26 | 11 | 17 | 28 | 22 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2017–18 | Genève–Servette HC | NL | 19 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 85 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 24 | 4 | 14 | 18 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2017–18 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2018–19 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 41 | 10 | 22 | 32 | 69 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 30 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2019–20 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 30 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 22 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 2020–21 | Columbus Blue Jackets | NHL | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2020–21 | Cleveland Monsters | AHL | 13 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 435 | 63 | 88 | 151 | 196 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 18 | ||||
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing United States | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 | 2007 Mora | |
| IIHF U18 Championships | ||
 | 2005 České Budějovice | |
 | 2004 Minsk | |
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | United States | U17 | 4th | 5 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 4 | |
| 2004 | United States | WJC18 |  | 6 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 20 | |
| 2005 | United States | WJC18 |  | 6 | 4 | 4 | 8 | 14 | |
| 2006 | United States | WJC | 4th | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2007 | United States | WJC |  | 7 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 2 | |
| Junior totals | 31 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 46 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-Hockey EastSecond Team | 2006–07 | |
| All-NCAAAll-Tournament Team | 2007,2008 | [45] |
| All-Hockey EastFirst Team | 2007–08 | |
| AHCAEast First-Team All-American | 2007–08 | |
| Hockey EastAll-Tournament Team | 2008 | [46] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | NCAA Ice Hockey Scoring Champion 2007–08 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by Brock Bradford | William Flynn Tournament Most Valuable Player 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | NCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player 2008 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | AHL Rookie of the Year 2008–09 | Succeeded by |