| Marty McSorley | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 McSorley in 2009 | |||
| Born | (1963-05-18)May 18, 1963 (age 62) | ||
| Height | 6 ft 1 in (185 cm) | ||
| Weight | 235 lb (107 kg; 16 st 11 lb) | ||
| Position | Defence/Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Baltimore Skipjacks Pittsburgh Penguins Edmonton Oilers Los Angeles Kings New York Rangers San Jose Sharks Boston Bruins | ||
| NHL draft | Undrafted | ||
| Playing career | 1982–2001 | ||
Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a Canadian former professionalhockey player, who played in theNational Hockey League (NHL) from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he could play both the forward and defense positions. He was alsohead coach of theSpringfield Falcons of theAmerican Hockey League from 2002 to 2004. He was a valued teammate ofWayne Gretzky when they played together for theEdmonton Oilers andLos Angeles Kings, serving as anenforcer.
In2000, his assault ofDonald Brashear with his stick, in which Brashear suffered a severe concussion, led to McSorley's suspension, criminal conviction, and later his retirement from hockey.[1]
McSorley was born inHamilton, Ontario and grew up nearCayuga, Ontario. He made his NHL debut in October 1983 with thePittsburgh Penguins but rose to fame after a trade in September 1985 sent him to theEdmonton Oilers. His arrival and physical presence soon made Edmonton's incumbent enforcerDave Semenko expendable, and McSorley became known as "Wayne Gretzky's bodyguard".[2]
This title followed him to Los Angeles in 1988, when both he and Gretzky, along withMike Krushelnyski, were obtained by therivalLos Angeles Kings. With the Kings, McSorley's bruising style made him a fan favorite; but he strove to improve his game beyond his work as an enforcer, earning great respect around the league for his hard work ethic, his fine team play, and his articulate intelligence off the ice.[2]
In the 1992–93 NHL regular season, McSorley led all defensemen in shorthanded goals with three.[3]
The Kings reached the1993 Stanley Cup Finals against theMontreal Canadiens, but in Game 2 with the Kings up 2–1, McSorley was caught with an illegal stick, which led to the Canadiens tying the game and winning it in overtime. Montreal eventually took the series in five games. McSorley had ten points in the playoffs and was the only King to score during the final game. Some suggested that he was the second most dominant King after Gretzky in the playoffs.[2]
McSorley was traded in August 1993 to thePittsburgh Penguins in exchange for offensive forwardShawn McEachern. He had played only 47 games for Pittsburgh when the Kings re-acquired him on February 16, 1994.[4] Back with the Kings, he assisted on Gretzky's goal which brokeGordie Howe's all-time goal-scoring record. On March 14, 1996, McSorley left the Kings' organization for good when he was traded to theNew York Rangers in a multi-player deal.
After completing the1995–96 season with the Rangers, McSorley returned to the West Coast upon being acquired by theSan Jose Sharks in August 1996. He spent two injury-plagued seasons with the Sharks, then returned to Edmonton as a free agent in October 1998. Confined to a part-time role in his second stint in Edmonton, he left after one season and signed with theBoston Bruins in December 1999.[5]
In a game between the Bruins and theVancouver Canucks inVancouver on February 21, 2000, McSorley swung his stick and hitDonald Brashear in the head with 4.6 seconds left in the game. Brashear fell backward and hit his head hard on the ice, losing consciousness and suffering a Grade IIIconcussion. McSorley was charged with assault and suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the 1999–2000 season and the playoffs, missing 23 games. On October 6, 2000, Judge William Kitchen of theProvincial Court of British Columbia found him guilty ofassault with a weapon for his attack on Brashear. He was sentenced to 18 months probation. The trial was the first for an on-ice attack by an NHL player sinceDino Ciccarelli's 1988 trial.[6]
After his conviction, his NHL suspension was extended to one full year through February 21, 2001.[7] It was the longest suspension for an on-ice incident in modern NHL history.[8] McSorley's contract expired during the suspension, and he would never play in another NHL game.
During his suspension, he attempted to continue playing hockey in the United Kingdom with theLondon Knights, where his elder brotherChris was coaching, but this move was blocked by theInternational Ice Hockey Federation, in deference to the NHL.[9] A similar intention to play in Germany for theMunich Barons also failed. He joined theGrand Rapids Griffins of theInternational Hockey League and dressed for 14 games.
In the autumn of 2001, following the completion of his suspension, McSorley again looked towards the other side of the Atlantic. He considered purchasing the then strugglingCardiff Devils team with his brother,[10] to become a player-coach and to help develop interest in the sport in the UK. He appeared as a guest player for both the Devils and theBritish national ice hockey team during a series of games in November 2001,[11] but the deal to purchase the Devils failed to come through.
McSorley coached theSpringfield Falcons of theAmerican Hockey League between 2002 and 2004.
From 1995 to 1997, McSorley appeared in four movies in small roles:Bad Boys (1995),Forget Paris (1995),Con Air (1997) andDo Me A Favor (1997).
During the2005–06 NHL season, McSorley worked forFox Sports West inLos Angeles, providing in-studio analysis of games involving theLos Angeles Kings or theMighty Ducks of Anaheim. He provided color commentary for theSan Jose Sharks games on FSN Bay Area in2006-07. His time in that role ended mysteriously midway through the Sharks' playoff series with Detroit when the Sharks announced McSorley would not return for the broadcast of Game 3 for personal reasons. No further explanation was given.[12]
He appeared in one episode ofCSI: Miami in 2005 as rink manager Andrew Greven. On July 30, 2007, McSorley guest starred onABC Family'sGreek as himself playing a hockey goaltender. In February 2008, McSorley was featured as one of the pros onPros vs Joes onSpike TV.
Canadian singer-songwriterKathleen Edwards referred to McSorley in her song "I Make the Dough, You Get the Glory", with the lyric, "You're theGreat One, I'm Marty McSorley..., I make the dough, but you get the glory." McSorley appears in the song'smusic video.[13]
McSorley is currently a TV analyst forSportsnet and occasionallyHockey Night in Canada. He is a regular atStaples Center during Kings hockey games.[14]
He appeared as himself in season 4, episode 1 ofShoresy.
McSorley currently resides in Arizona. He married beach volleyball playerLeanne Schuster in August 2002.[15] They have three children.[14]
Bold indicates led league
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1980–81 | Hamilton Kilty B's | GHL | 40 | 16 | 17 | 33 | 72 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 58 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 234 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Belleville Bulls | OHL | 70 | 10 | 41 | 51 | 183 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | ||
| 1983–84 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 72 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 224 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1984–85 | Baltimore Skipjacks | AHL | 58 | 6 | 24 | 30 | 154 | 14 | 0 | 7 | 7 | 47 | ||
| 1984–85 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 15 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 15 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1985–86 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 59 | 11 | 12 | 23 | 265 | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 50 | ||
| 1985–86 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 9 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 41 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 159 | 21 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 65 | ||
| 1986–87 | Nova Scotia Oilers | AHL | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 60 | 9 | 17 | 26 | 223 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 67 | ||
| 1988–89 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 66 | 10 | 17 | 27 | 350 | 11 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 33 | ||
| 1989–90 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 75 | 15 | 21 | 36 | 322 | 10 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 18 | ||
| 1990–91 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 61 | 7 | 32 | 39 | 221 | 12 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 58 | ||
| 1991–92 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 71 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 268 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 21 | ||
| 1992–93 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 81 | 15 | 26 | 41 | 399 | 24 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 60 | ||
| 1993–94 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 47 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 139 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 18 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 55 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1994–95 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 41 | 3 | 18 | 21 | 83 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | Los Angeles Kings | NHL | 59 | 10 | 21 | 31 | 148 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1995–96 | New York Rangers | NHL | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 21 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | ||
| 1996–97 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 57 | 4 | 12 | 16 | 186 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 56 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 140 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1998–99 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 46 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 101 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 27 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Grand Rapids Griffins | IHL | 14 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| NHL totals | 961 | 108 | 251 | 359 | 3,381 | 115 | 10 | 19 | 29 | 374 | ||||
| Preceded by | Co-winner of theNHL Plus/Minus Award (withTheoren Fleury) 1991 | Succeeded by |
| International | |
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| National | |
