| Joffrey Lupul | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Lupul with theToronto Maple Leafs in 2011 | |||
| Born | (1983-09-23)September 23, 1983 (age 42) Fort Saskatchewan,Alberta, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Left wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Anaheim Ducks Edmonton Oilers Philadelphia Flyers Toronto Maple Leafs Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | ||
| NHL draft | 7th overall,2002 Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | ||
| Playing career | 2003–2016 | ||
Joffrey Lupul (born September 23, 1983) is a Canadian former professionalice hockeyforward. In his professional career, Lupul played in the NHL for theAnaheim Ducks,Edmonton Oilers,Philadelphia Flyers andToronto Maple Leafs. He was selected seventh overall at the2002 NHL entry draft by Anaheim, beginning his NHL career with the organization and later playing a second stint with the team prior to joining the Maple Leafs in 2011. A right-hand-shooting natural right winger earlier in his career, Lupul made the transition to become a left winger after joining Toronto.
Two years into his three-yearmajor junior career with theWestern Hockey League (WHL)'sMedicine Hat Tigers, Lupul was drafted by theMighty Ducks of Anaheim as the team's first choice, seventh overall, at the2002 NHL entry draft. TheLondon Knights'Rick Nash was chosen first and Lupul's Tigers teammateJay Bouwmeester went third that year. The following season, Lupul made the finalroster forCanada and played in the2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships inHalifax,Nova Scotia.
Lupul made the jump directly to the Anaheim lineup his first season out of the WHL, but the following season, during the2004–05 NHL lockout, he was assigned to the team'sAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theCincinnati Mighty Ducks, for the entireseason. However, in his third professional season, Lupul was a regular with Anaheim and during the team's run in the2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, he became the first player in NHL playoff history to cap a three-goal game with an overtime goal after he tallying all Duck goals in a 4–3 win over theColorado Avalanche in Game 3 of theWestern Conference Semifinals.[1]
After the2005–06 season, Lupul was traded to the Western Conference championEdmonton Oilers (along withLadislav Šmíd and draft picks) in exchange forChris Pronger on July 4, 2006.[2]
On July 1, 2007, after just one season with Edmonton in which he scored 16 goals, Lupul was traded (alongside Oilers captainJason Smith) to thePhiladelphia Flyers in exchange forJoni Pitkänen,Geoff Sanderson and a third-round draft pick in2009.[3]
During the2007–08 season, his first with the Flyers, Lupul was diagnosed with a spinal cord contusion after a collision with teammateDerian Hatcher in a game against theToronto Maple Leafs on January 5, 2008.[4] Lupul made his return to the lineup just over one month later, on February 9 in a game against theNew York Rangers. On April 22, Lupul scored the series-winning goal in the first overtime of Game 7 in theEastern Conference Quarterfinals between Philadelphia and theWashington Capitals. After helping the Flyers reach the Eastern Conference Finals, in which Philadelphia fell torivalsPittsburgh, Lupul agreed to a four-year contract extension with the team on July 21.[5]
On June 26, 2009, following his second season with Philadelphia and just one year into his four-year contract, Lupul was traded by the Flyers to the Anaheim Ducks at the2009 NHL entry draft (along withLuca Sbisa and two first-round picks) in exchange for Chris Pronger, the second time in Lupul's career he had been part of a trade involving the Ducks with Pronger going the other way.[6]
Back surgery in December 2009 and a subsequent blood infection limited him to just 23 games during the2009–10 season. He ultimately missed a total of 12 months of playing time—the final 59 games of that season and carrying over into the first 28 games of the following2010–11 season.
On February 9, 2011, nearing the end of his second season back with Anaheim, but having played only 49 games during his second stint, Lupul was traded (alongsideJake Gardiner and a conditional draft pick in2013) to the Toronto Maple Leafs in exchange forFrançois Beauchemin, marking the third time Lupul had been involved in a trade with the Ducks organization.[7] Originally, the deal excluded Lupul, however he was included as a salary dump to keep the Ducks under thesalary cap.[8][9] After being traded to Toronto, he made the transition from right to left wing and finished with 18 points in 28 games to finish the2010–11 season.
The following year,2011–12, Lupul began the year on the opposite wing ofPhil Kessel, putting together a strong first half of the season that led to his invitation to the2012 NHL All-Star Game inOttawa as an alternate captain toZdeno Chára. There, he scored two goals for Team Chara in a 12–9 win over TeamAlfredsson. On March 2, 2012, Toronto fired its head coach,Ron Wilson, and replaced him withRandy Carlyle, Lupul's former head coach in Anaheim. Lupul suffered a severe shoulder separation on March 6 that necessitated immediate season-ending surgery. Nonetheless, he finished with a career-high of 67 points on the year despite playing in just 66 games, marking the first time in his NHL career he scored at least a point-per-game pace.[10] At the end of the season, Lupul was a finalist for theBill Masterton Memorial Trophy—awarded annually to the NHL player best exemplifying qualities in perseverance, sportsmanship and dedication to hockey—which was ultimately awarded toMax Pacioretty of theMontreal Canadiens.[11]
During the2012–13 NHL lockout, Lupul played for theKontinental Hockey League (KHL)'sAvtomobilist Yekaterinburg inYekaterinburg,Russia. After the lockout was resolved and just prior to the start of thetruncated 2012–13 season, Lupul, along with teammateClarke MacArthur, was named an alternate captain of the Maple Leafs under captainDion Phaneuf. Days later, on January 20, 2013, Lupul signed a five-year, US$26.25 million contract extension with Toronto.[12] Only three games into the season, Lupul fractured his right forearm when he was hit by a Phaneuf slapshot while screening opposing goaltenderMarc-André Fleury in a game against Pittsburgh.[13] Lupul subsequently missed 25 games. In his return to the ice on March 16, he scored on his first shift of the night and once again in the second period of the game.[14] However, the Maple Leafs went on to lose the game in a ten-roundshootout to theWinnipeg Jets. Rejuvenated in his return after a long absence, Lupul scored goals in six consecutive games and recorded points in a prolific rate—eight goals and six assists in six games—before he suffered another injury in a game against his former club, the Flyers. While chasing the puck deep in his own zone, Lupul was hit by two Flyers simultaneously, one of which accidentally contacted his head, resulting in aconcussion. He would miss an additional two weeks before making his return on April 16 against Washington. Lupul finished the season with totals of 18 points in 16 games.
With 57 points gained in 48 games, the Maple Leafs qualified for the playoffs for the first time since2004. During Game 2 of theEastern Conference Quarterfinals against theBoston Bruins, Lupul scored two goals to help propel the Leafs to a 4–2 win and even the series at one game apiece. He would score again in Game 4 at theAir Canada Centre when he scored the game's opener, though Toronto would eventually lose in overtime, 4–3. Lupul ended his first playoff series with Toronto with three goals and one assist in seven games as the team fell 5–4 in overtime of Game 7.
On November 14, 2015, Lupul scored his 200th career goal during a 4–2 victory over theVancouver Canucks.[15] On December 1, 2015, Lupul was placed on injured reserve after suffering a lower body injury.[16] Lupul returned but was again injured in February, and was shut down for the season to have surgery.[17] Facing a decline in offensive production and a growing reputation as an injury-prone player (having missed 40% of the Maple Leafs' games over the past four seasons due to injury),[17] Rumours began to circulate as early as February 2016 that there was concern if Lupul could continue to play at the NHL level anymore. With two more years on his contract paying him $5.25 million annually, there was speculation Toronto management was planning to sideline the winger under the Injury Reserve for the duration of his contract, similarly to what was happening with teammateStéphane Robidas following the2014–15 season.[18] At the end of the season, Lupul was not seen at the year-end locker room clean-out or media briefings.
Despite comments from Lupul earlier in the season and teammateNazem Kadri in the summer implying Lupul wanted to and had the ability to play the following season, he did not participate in pre-season action, and he announced on September 22, 2016, he would sit out the upcoming season due to injury.[17] He was subsequently placed on the long-term injury reserve, with the team stating he had failed his pre-season physical.[17] By mid-February 2017, media reports indicated Lupul had played his final professional hockey game, and that he had been out of contact with the media and one of his agents for months.[19] Lupul was left unprotected by the Maple Leafs in the2017 expansion draft and was thus eligible to be selected by the expansionVegas Golden Knights, although players who were injured for more than one year and were not expected to play again were exempt in the draft under NHL rules, signalling that Lupul may not be injured in the traditional sense.[20] In September 2017, the Leafs declared Lupul had failed his physicals at training camp before the2017–18 season. Lupul then made several posts on hisInstagram account saying he was healthy and accused the Maple Leafs of cheating by designating him injured so his salary could not count against thesalary cap.[21] These accusations prompted the NHL to administer a second physical by an independent doctor, which he subsequently failed and confirmed the Maple Leafs' initial claim he was unfit to play.[22]
| Medal record | ||
|---|---|---|
Representing Canada | ||
| Ice hockey | ||
| World Junior Championships | ||
 | 2003 Halifax | |
Lupul was selected byHockey Canada to play for the nation'sjunior team in the2003 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. He posted two goals and one assist for a total of three points in six games as Canada finished with thesilver medal, falling 3–2 toRussia in the tournament final.
As featured during an NHL Network Online video, Lupul enjoys playingguitar.[23] He is ofUkrainian descent.[nb 1] However, his father's family comes from theRomanian minority in Ukraine. Lupul's maternal grandfather, Tom Mayson, was a former member of theEdmonton Investors Group, the limited partnership that owned theEdmonton Oilers.[27] InRomanian,Lupul's surname means "the wolf".[citation needed]
Lupul became part-owner of theWest Village barDue West in January 2018.[28]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1998–99 | Fort Saskatchewan Rangers AAA | Bantam | 36 | 40 | 50 | 90 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1999–2000 | Fort Saskatchewan Rangers AAA | AMHL | 34 | 43 | 30 | 73 | 47 | 16 | 17 | 19 | 36 | 26 | ||
| 2000–01 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 69 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 39 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 72 | 56 | 50 | 106 | 95 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2002–03 | Medicine Hat Tigers | WHL | 50 | 41 | 37 | 78 | 82 | 11 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 20 | ||
| 2003–04 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 75 | 13 | 21 | 34 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2003–04 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 3 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Cincinnati Mighty Ducks | AHL | 65 | 30 | 26 | 56 | 58 | 12 | 3 | 9 | 12 | 27 | ||
| 2005–06 | Mighty Ducks of Anaheim | NHL | 81 | 28 | 25 | 53 | 48 | 16 | 9 | 2 | 11 | 31 | ||
| 2006–07 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 81 | 16 | 12 | 28 | 45 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007–08 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 56 | 20 | 26 | 46 | 35 | 17 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 2 | ||
| 2008–09 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 79 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 58 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 2009–10 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 23 | 10 | 4 | 14 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Anaheim Ducks | NHL | 26 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Syracuse Crunch | AHL | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 28 | 9 | 9 | 18 | 19 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2011–12 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 66 | 25 | 42 | 67 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg | KHL | 9 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 4 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012–13 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 16 | 11 | 7 | 18 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | ||
| 2013–14 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 69 | 22 | 22 | 44 | 44 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014–15 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 55 | 10 | 11 | 21 | 26 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2015–16 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 46 | 11 | 3 | 14 | 12 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 701 | 205 | 215 | 420 | 407 | 46 | 17 | 10 | 27 | 39 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Canada | WJC |  | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 27 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 27 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| WHL | ||
| East First All-Star Team | 2002 | |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Anaheim Ducks first round draft pick 2002 | Succeeded by |