| Dustin Penner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Penner with theEdmonton Oilers in 2010 | |||
| Born | (1982-09-28)September 28, 1982 (age 43) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 4 in (193 cm) | ||
| Weight | 247 lb (112 kg; 17 st 9 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Left | ||
| Played for | Anaheim Ducks Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings Washington Capitals | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 2005–2014 | ||
Dustin Penner (born September 28, 1982) is a Canadian former professionalice hockeyforward who played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theAnaheim Ducks,Edmonton Oilers,Los Angeles Kings andWashington Capitals. Undrafted by any NHL team, in 2004, Penner signed with Anaheim after playingcollege hockey at theUniversity of Maine in theNational Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). Penner won theStanley Cup in his first full season with Anaheim in2007, before adding a second Stanley Cup in his first full season with Los Angeles in2012.
Growing up inWinkler, Manitoba, Penner played for hishigh school hockey team, theGarden Valley Collegiate Zodiacs, alongside futureWashington Capitals teammateEric Fehr. After high school, he was cut by manyminor hockey teams,[1] including his localjunior club three times.[2]
With little hope of ever playing hockey professionally,[2] Penner agreed to play withMinot State University-Bottineau, now known as Dakota College at Bottineau, but immediately broke hisfemur, ending his first year with the club. The next year, in the 2001–02 season, he became a very important player for Bottineau, scoring 20 goals with 13 assists in 23 games, also earning the Most Determined Player Award for his improvement and stellar play after recovering from his injury.[3]
Penner then went to an evaluation camp atSaskatoon. He played well there, scoring an average of three points per game. He was scouted by Grant Standbrook, the assistant coach for theUniversity of Maine'sBlack Bears ice hockey team,[4] and was offered ascholarship, which he accepted.[2] Although he did not initially join the team, in the 2003–04 season, he helped lead the Black Bears and to theNCAA Championship game, scoring thegame-winning goal in the semi-finals againstBoston College. Maine then lost the championship title game to theUniversity of Denver 1–0.[5]
Having been undrafted by any NHL team, on May 12, 2004, Penner signed a three-year, entry-level contract with theMighty Ducks of Anaheim. He was assigned to theCincinnati Mighty Ducks, Anaheim'sAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate. He recorded 28 points in his professional rookie season with Cincinnati, then took a major step the next season as he was moved to thePortland Pirates, which became the Mighty Ducks' AHL affiliate in2005–06. He scored 39 goals and 84 points in 57 games with Portland while also making his NHL debut, appearing in 19 games with the Mighty Ducks that season. He was originally called up on November 23, 2005, being sent back and forth from the minors.[6] During the Mighty Ducks'2006 Stanley Cup playoff run, Penner scored 9 points in 13 games until Anaheim was eliminated by theEdmonton Oilers in the Western Conference Finals.
Penner earned a full-time roster spot with the Ducks in2006–07 and broke out with 29 goals and 45 points playing withRyan Getzlaf andCorey Perry on a unit dubbed the "Kid Line".[7] Penner's goal total was the second-highest on the team, only trailing superstarTeemu Selänne. He also set the Ducks' franchise rookie record for most points (surpassed byBobby Ryan in2008–09).[8] During the Ducks'2007 Stanley Cup run, Penner scored the game-winner in Game 1 of the Western Conference Quarter-finals against theMinnesota Wild[9] and Game 4 of theStanley Cup Finals against theOttawa Senators.[10] In Game 5, Penner and the Ducks defeated the Senators 6–2 to win the 2007Stanley Cup. Penner became the first former Maine Black Bear to win theStanley Cup as a player.[11]
After winning the Stanley Cup with the Ducks, Penner's entry-level contract expired and he became arestricted free agent in the off-season. With the Ducks dealing withsalary cap issues and the signing ofTodd Bertuzzi, Edmonton Oilers general managerKevin Lowe jumped at the opportunity and signed Penner to a five-year, $21.25 millionoffer sheet. Lowe was criticized by the media and Ducks general managerBrian Burke.[12] After seven days had passed, the Ducks were ultimately unwilling to match the offer and Penner became an Oiler. Penner remained the most recent player to change teams via an offer sheet for 14 years, until Montreal Canadiens accepted an offer sheet from Carolina Hurricanes forJesperi Kotkaniemi.[13]
In his first season with the Oilers, Penner scored a team-high 23 goals and improved to 47 points. He then began the2008–09 season with a slow start and was publicly criticized by head coachCraig MacTavish for a lack of fitness and competitiveness after being made a healthy scratch for the second consecutive game.[1]
Penner was confirmed to be a part of a planned summertime 2009 blockbuster trade that would seeAndrew Cogliano,Ladislav Šmíd and himself dealt to the Ottawa Senators in exchange for disgruntled All-Star forwardDany Heatley. Ultimately, Heatley exercised the no-trade clause contained in his contract and the trade could not be finalized (shortly after, Heatley accepted a trade to theSan Jose Sharks).
Penner got off to a strong start in2009–10 season and was fourth in NHL scoring with 11 goals and 11 assists after 18 games played. On October 22, for the first time in his career, he scored five points (two goals and three assists), in a game against theColumbus Blue Jackets. His linemates for that game wereAleš Hemský (one goal and four assists) andSam Gagner (one goal and two assists). At season's end, the Oilers had finished last overall in the NHL, but Penner had recorded career-highs in goals (32) and points (63).
On February 28, 2011, Penner was traded to theLos Angeles Kings in exchange forColten Teubert, a first-round draft pick in2011 (Oscar Klefbom) and a conditional third-round pick in the2012 (Daniil Zharkov).[14]
On January 7, 2012, Penner experienced back spasms while attempting to eat what he described as "delicious pancakes". The injury caused him to miss a game and become the subject of pancake-related jokes among fans.[15]
On May 22, 2012, Penner scored the winning goal in overtime in Game 5 against thePhoenix Coyotes to advance the Kings to the2012 Stanley Cup Finals. On June 11, 2012, Penner won his second Stanley Cup after the Kings defeated theNew Jersey Devils 6–1 in Game 6.
Penner is the 21st NHL player to play for both sides of the "Freeway Face-Off" between the Anaheim Ducks and the Los Angeles Kings, and the only one to win the Stanley Cup with both teams.
On July 1, 2012, Penner signed a one-year, $3.25 million contract extension with Los Angeles.[16]
On July 16, 2013, as a free agent, Penner returned to the Anaheim Ducks after signing a one-year, $2 million contract with the team.[17] During the2013–14 season, he rebounded offensively with the Ducks, reuniting with former line-mates Ryan Getzlaf and Corey Perry.
On March 4, 2014, approach theNHL trade deadline date and having scored a respectable 13 goals and 32 points with Anaheim in 49 games, Penner was traded to theWashington Capitals in exchange for a fourth-round draft pick.[18]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1997–98 | Garden Valley Collegiate | HS-MB | — | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Garden Valley Collegiate | HS-MB | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–00 | Garden Valley Collegiate | HS-MB | — | 34 | 19 | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | MSU-Bottineau | NJCAA | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | MSU-Bottineau | NJCAA | 23 | 20 | 12 | 32 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Maine Black Bears | HE | 43 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 77 | 10 | 18 | 28 | 82 | 9 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 13 | ||
| 2005–06 | Portland Pirates | AHL | 57 | 39 | 45 | 84 | 68 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 0 | ||
| 2005–06 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 19 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | 13 | 3 | 6 | 9 | 12 | ||
| 2006–07 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 82 | 29 | 16 | 45 | 58 | 21 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 2 | ||
| 2007–08 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 23 | 24 | 47 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 78 | 17 | 20 | 37 | 61 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 82 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 38 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 62 | 21 | 18 | 39 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 19 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 2011–12 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 65 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 43 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 32 | ||
| 2012–13 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 33 | 2 | 12 | 14 | 18 | 18 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 8 | ||
| 2013–14 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 49 | 13 | 19 | 32 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2013–14 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 18 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 589 | 151 | 159 | 310 | 354 | 78 | 13 | 22 | 35 | 58 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-NCAAAll-Tournament Team | 2004 | [19] |
| Jack Semler Award | 2004 | |
| NHL | ||
| Stanley Cup champion | 2007,2012 | |