| Keith Primeau | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Born | (1971-11-24)November 24, 1971 (age 54) | |||||||||||||
| Height | 6 ft 5 in (196 cm) | |||||||||||||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | |||||||||||||
| Position | Centre | |||||||||||||
| Shot | Left | |||||||||||||
| Played for | Detroit Red Wings Hartford Whalers Carolina Hurricanes Philadelphia Flyers | |||||||||||||
| National team |  Canada | |||||||||||||
| NHL draft | 3rd overall,1990 Detroit Red Wings | |||||||||||||
| Playing career | 1990–2005 | |||||||||||||
Medal record
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Keith David Primeau (born November 24, 1971) is a Canadian businessman and ice hockey coach. He is a former professionalice hockeycentre who played 15 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) with theDetroit Red Wings,Hartford Whalers,Carolina Hurricanes andPhiladelphia Flyers.
He was recently the special assistant to the general manager and director of player development of theLas Vegas Wranglers of theECHL, now currently an assistant hockey coach atBishop Eustace Preparatory School, the coach of Revolution in the Revolution Ice gardens, and the owner of a franchise of Bain's Deli inPhiladelphia.[1] He is the older brother ofWayne Primeau.
Primeau was drafted third overall in the1990 NHL Entry Draft by theDetroit Red Wings after playing two years with theNiagara Falls Thunder of theOntario Hockey League (OHL). He split his first two professional seasons with Detroit and their then-American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theAdirondack Red Wings. He set career highs in assists (42), points (73) and plus/minus (+34) in1993–94. He made his onlyStanley Cup Finals appearance while with the Red Wings in1995, losing in a sweep to theNew Jersey Devils. Primeau held out after the club signedIgor Larionov and after playing for Canada in the1996 World Cup of Hockey, Detroit traded him (along withPaul Coffey and a 1997 first-round draft pick, ultimately used to selectNikos Tselios) to theHartford Whalers in exchange forBrendan Shanahan andBrian Glynn a few days following the start of the1996–97 season.[2]
Primeau became a leader with his new team when the franchise moved toNorth Carolina and became theCarolina Hurricanes, being named team captain in1998–99. However, he missed the majority of the1999–2000 NHL season after holding out and was traded to thePhiladelphia Flyers (along with a 2000 fifth-round draft pick, ultimately used to selectKristofer Ottosson) in exchange forRod Brind'Amour,Jean-Marc Pelletier and a 2000 second-round draft pick (Agris Saviels) on January 23, 2000.[3]
With the Flyers for the remainder of the 1999-2000 regular season, Primeau became a replacement forEric Lindros, who only played a few more playoff games in 2000 and ending up holding out the entire 2000-01 season. On May 5, 2000, Primeau scored the game-winning goal in the longest game in modern NHL playoff history (five overtime periods for a total of 152 minutes and one second) againstRon Tugnutt of thePittsburgh Penguins in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals. Only two games, in1933 and1936, were longer.
In the 2000-01 season, his first full year with the Flyers, Primeau led the team in goals (34) and tied his career-high in points (73). Early in the following season, he was named team captain after defencemanÉric Desjardins resigned from the position.[4] After posting nearly identical seasons statistically in2001–02 and2002–03, Primeau was given the task of centering a more defense-oriented line in2003–04.[5] He did well enough in his new role to earn a surprise selection to the2004 NHL All-Star Game, the second of his career.[6][7]
In the2004 Stanley Cup playoffs, Primeau recorded nine goals and seven assists for a total of 16 points; it was the best playoff year of Primeau's career and his play carried the team to within a game of the Stanley Cup finals. In Game 6 of theEastern Conference finals, against theTampa Bay Lightning, Primeau scored the game-tying goal with 1:49 left in regulation. The Flyers won the game, 5–4 in overtime, sending the series back to Tampa for Game 7. The Flyers went on to lose that game by a score of 2–1. Hockey legendPhil Esposito later told Primeau that, "During the '04 playoffs, when you and the Flyers took the Lightning to seven games, you were the most dominating player I ever saw. More thanOrr,Howe,Gretzky, or anyone."[8]
Nine games into the2005–06 season, Primeau suffered a concussion which ended his season. As a result of ongoingpost-concussion syndrome, he officially announced his retirement on September 14, 2006.[9] On February 12, 2007, the Flyers honoured Primeau before a game against the Detroit Red Wings, the team which originally drafted him. An emotional Primeau thanked the fans for welcoming him back.[10]
Primeau has been a resident ofVoorhees Township, New Jersey.[11]
Primeau, along with his brother, Wayne, and Las Vegas Wranglers general manager Ryan Mougenel, own and operate the Durham Hockey Institute. The three of them are also part-owners of theWhitby Fury, a team in theOntario Junior Hockey League (OJHL).[12] Keith's sonCayden played his college hockey at Northeastern University, before signing his entry-level contract with the Montreal Canadiens after his sophomore season.[13] Cayden was a 7th round draft pick of theMontreal Canadiens in the2017 NHL Entry Draft and started 5 games for the silver medal winningUnited States men's national junior ice hockey team in the2019 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.[14][15]
Primeau and his wife Lisa reside inVoorhees, New Jersey with their four children, where they have resided since his January 2000 trade to the Philadelphia Flyers. The family previously resided inFarmington Hills, Michigan earlier in his career.
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1987–88 | Hamilton Kilty B's | GHJHL | 19 | 19 | 17 | 36 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Hamilton Steelhawks | OHL | 47 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 69 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1988–89 | Niagara Falls Thunder | OHL | 48 | 20 | 35 | 55 | 56 | 17 | 9 | 6 | 15 | 12 | ||
| 1989–90 | Niagara Falls Thunder | OHL | 65 | 57 | 70 | 127 | 97 | 16 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 49 | ||
| 1990–91 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 58 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 106 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 25 | ||
| 1990–91 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 6 | 3 | 5 | 8 | 8 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 35 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 83 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | ||
| 1991–92 | Adirondack Red Wings | AHL | 42 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 89 | 9 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 27 | ||
| 1992–93 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 73 | 15 | 17 | 32 | 152 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 26 | ||
| 1993–94 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 78 | 31 | 42 | 73 | 173 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 | ||
| 1994–95 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 45 | 15 | 27 | 42 | 99 | 17 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 45 | ||
| 1995–96 | Detroit Red Wings | NHL | 74 | 27 | 25 | 52 | 168 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 28 | ||
| 1996–97 | Hartford Whalers | NHL | 75 | 26 | 25 | 51 | 161 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 81 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 110 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Carolina Hurricanes | NHL | 78 | 30 | 32 | 62 | 75 | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 23 | 7 | 10 | 17 | 31 | 18 | 2 | 11 | 13 | 13 | ||
| 2000–01 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 71 | 34 | 39 | 73 | 76 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2001–02 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 75 | 19 | 29 | 48 | 128 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 80 | 19 | 27 | 46 | 93 | 13 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | ||
| 2003–04 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 54 | 7 | 15 | 22 | 80 | 18 | 9 | 7 | 16 | 22 | ||
| 2005–06 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 9 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 909 | 266 | 353 | 619 | 1,541 | 128 | 18 | 39 | 57 | 213 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Canada | WCH | 2nd | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | |
| 1997 | Canada | WC |  | 11 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 14 | |
| 1998 | Canada | OG | 4th | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 1998 | Canada | WC | 6th | 6 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 4 | |
| Senior int'l totals | 28 | 8 | 5 | 13 | 43 | ||||
| Year | Location | G | A | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Tampa Bay | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| 2004 | Minnesota | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| All-Star totals | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Sporting positions | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Detroit Red Wings first round draft pick 1990 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Carolina Hurricanes captain 1998–99 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Philadelphia Flyers captain 2001–06 Derian Hatcher,2006 | Succeeded by |
