 Guerin in 2015 | |||
| Born | (1970-11-09)November 9, 1970 (age 54) Worcester, Massachusetts, U.S. | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 6 ft 2 in (188 cm) | ||
| Weight | 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb) | ||
| Position | Right Wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | New Jersey Devils Edmonton Oilers Boston Bruins Dallas Stars St. Louis Blues San Jose Sharks New York Islanders Pittsburgh Penguins | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | 5th overall,1989 New Jersey Devils | ||
| Playing career | 1991–2010 | ||
William Robert Guerin (born November 9, 1970) is an American former professionalice hockey player and the current general manager of theMinnesota Wild. He previously was the assistant general manager of thePittsburgh Penguins and general manager of theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins.
Guerin played 18seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL), winning twoStanley Cup championships with theNew Jersey Devils and Pittsburgh Penguins.
Internationally, Guerin represented theUnited States in the Olympics in1998,2002 and2006, and participated in twoIce Hockey World Championships. Guerin is the first player ofHispanic descent to play in the NHL.[1][2]
Guerin was drafted in the1989 NHL Entry Draft fifth overall by theNew Jersey Devils and played with the team from 1991 to 1998, winning theStanley Cup in 1995. Midway through the1997–98 season, Guerin was traded (along withValeri Zelepukin) to theEdmonton Oilers in exchange forJason Arnott andBryan Muir.
In November 2001 Guerin was traded to his hometown team, theBoston Bruins.[3]
After a 41-goal season in2001–02, Guerin left the Bruins as a free agent and signed a five-year contract with theDallas Stars.[4] He performed below expectations during his tenure with the Stars. After a disappointing season in2005–06 in which he recorded just 40 points, Dallas opted to buy-out the remainder of his contract. The conditions of buyouts in the NHL meant that the Stars would have to pay him two-thirds of the remaining salary on his contract spread out over twice as many years; this meant $6.7 million over one year became $4.4 million over two years.
On July 3, 2006, Guerin signed a one-year, $2 million contract with theSt. Louis Blues.[5] Playing on a line with former Oiler teammateDoug Weight, Guerin revived his career, easily eclipsing his disappointing goal-scoring mark from the 2005–06 season. He was named to the2007 All-Star Game (hosted by the Stars) to represent the Blues. Despite numerous criticisms of his play during his time as a Star, Guerin received a standing ovation from the Dallas fans in recognition as his status as a longtime fan favorite.
On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games.[6] Later that month, he was traded to theSan Jose Sharks[7] in exchange forVille Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball and a conditional first-round pick (either New Jersey's in2007 or San Jose's in2008). During the subsequent off-season, Guerin signed a two-year contract with theNew York Islanders.[8] On July 9, 2007, he was named captain of the Islanders, making him the 11thcaptain in team history.[9]
On March 4, 2009, Guerin was traded to thePittsburgh Penguins in exchange for a conditional draft pick. The pick, a2009 fourth-round pick if the Penguins made the playoffs, was later turned into a 2009 third-round pick once the Penguins advanced to the second round of the2009 Stanley Cup playoffs.[10] Guerin won theStanley Cup on June 12, 2009, with the Penguins, defeating theDetroit Red Wings by a final score of 2–1 forGame 7 atJoe Louis Arena. His 14 years between Stanley Cups as a player was the third-longest wait in NHL history, behindChris Chelios (16) andMark Recchi (15).
After vocal encouragement for his return from the crowd and teammates at Pittsburgh's Stanley Cup parade on June 15, as well as expressing his own affection for the city and team, Guerin signed a one-year contract extension with the Penguins on June 29 at a greatly reduced salary to play through the2009–10 season. He became the first player to have a 20-goal season with seven different teams and one of only three to have a 20-goal season with five or more different teams (the two others beingEddie Shack andRay Sheppard).Ray Shero, the general manager for the Penguins opted not to offer Guerin a contract for the2010–11 season. On September 7, 2010, thePhiladelphia Flyers invited Guerin to try out at training camp, but on October 4, the Flyers released him prior to the start of the regular season.
On December 6, 2010, Guerin announced his retirement as a player from the NHL as a Pittsburgh Penguin.[11] At the time of his retirement, Guerin ranked seventh all-time among Americans in the NHL with 429 goals.[12]
On June 6, 2011, the Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach.[13] On June 6, 2014, Penguins general managerJim Rutherford announced that Guerin would be promoted to assistant general manager of the team. Rutherford said that Guerin would be focusing on developing the analytical side of the game. Following consecutive Stanley Cup triumphs in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins announced that Guerin's duties would expand to include the role of general manager of theirAmerican Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, theWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, made vacant via the departure ofJason Botterill to the NHL'sBuffalo Sabres.[14]
On August 21, 2019, Guerin was named the fourth general manager of theMinnesota Wild.[15]On March 21, 2022, Guerin was named theTSN TradeCentre GM of the Day, for his transactions at the2022 NHL Trade Deadline.
In a lawsuit filed on November 3, 2020, in Pennsylvania, it was alleged that Guerin played a role in covering up an allegedsexual assault on the wife ofWilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins assistant coachJarrod Skalde by the team's head coachClark Donatelli.[16][17][18][19][20] The lawsuit,Skalde et al. v. Lemieux Group, L.P. et al., alleges that Guerin, then the general manager of the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, "told Skalde to keep quiet about the alleged assault." Guerin denied any wrongdoing on his part, claiming that he had "promptly brought (the allegation) to Pittsburgh Penguins senior management".[16][17][18][19][20] The lawsuit was settled in November 2021.[21] An internal investigation by the NHL confirmed that he had reported the incident promptly and cleared him of wrongdoing.[22]
TheUnited States Center for SafeSport opened an investigation on Guerin over his alleged role in the whistleblower lawsuit.[23] As of April 2022, the organization had not yet released its findings, nor confirmed whether the investigation remained ongoing.[22]
In December 2023, the Wild conducted an investigation after an employee filed a verbal abuse complaint against Guerin to human resources. Guerin retained his position, no sanctions were announced, and the Wild refused to comment.[24]
Guerin was born inWorcester,Massachusetts, and raised inWilbraham, Massachusetts. He attendedWilbraham & Monson Academy, and played junior hockey for the Springfield Olympics in lieu of high school hockey. Guerin is ofNicaraguan andIrish descent.[2]
Guerin and his wife Kara have four children and reside inEden Prairie, Minnesota. They previously lived inMorristown, New Jersey during his tenure with the Devils.[25][26][27][28][29]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1985–86 | Springfield Olympics | NEJHL | 48 | 26 | 19 | 45 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1986–87 | Springfield Olympics | NEJHL | 32 | 34 | 20 | 54 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1987–88 | Springfield Olympics | NEJHL | 38 | 31 | 44 | 75 | 146 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Springfield Olympics | NEJHL | 31 | 32 | 35 | 67 | 90 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | Boston College Eagles | HE | 39 | 14 | 11 | 25 | 64 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1990–91 | Boston College Eagles | HE | 38 | 26 | 19 | 45 | 102 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | United States | Intl | 46 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 67 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1991–92 | Utica Devils | AHL | 22 | 13 | 10 | 23 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 14 | ||
| 1991–92 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | Utica Devils | AHL | 18 | 10 | 7 | 17 | 47 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1992–93 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 65 | 14 | 20 | 34 | 63 | 5 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 4 | ||
| 1993–94 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 81 | 25 | 19 | 44 | 101 | 17 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 35 | ||
| 1994–95 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 48 | 12 | 13 | 25 | 72 | 20 | 3 | 8 | 11 | 30 | ||
| 1995–96 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 80 | 23 | 30 | 53 | 116 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1996–97 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 82 | 29 | 18 | 47 | 95 | 8 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 18 | ||
| 1997–98 | New Jersey Devils | NHL | 19 | 5 | 5 | 10 | 13 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1997–98 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 40 | 13 | 16 | 29 | 80 | 12 | 7 | 1 | 8 | 17 | ||
| 1998–99 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 80 | 30 | 34 | 64 | 133 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1999–2000 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 70 | 24 | 22 | 46 | 123 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 9 | ||
| 2000–01 | Edmonton Oilers | NHL | 21 | 12 | 10 | 22 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000–01 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 64 | 28 | 35 | 63 | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2001–02 | Boston Bruins | NHL | 78 | 41 | 25 | 66 | 91 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 6 | ||
| 2002–03 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 64 | 25 | 25 | 50 | 113 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 2003–04 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 82 | 34 | 35 | 69 | 109 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 2005–06 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 70 | 13 | 27 | 40 | 115 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2006–07 | St. Louis Blues | NHL | 61 | 28 | 19 | 47 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | San Jose Sharks | NHL | 16 | 8 | 1 | 9 | 14 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 12 | ||
| 2007–08 | New York Islanders | NHL | 81 | 23 | 21 | 44 | 65 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | New York Islanders | NHL | 61 | 16 | 20 | 36 | 63 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2008–09 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 17 | 5 | 7 | 12 | 18 | 24 | 7 | 8 | 15 | 15 | ||
| 2009–10 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 78 | 21 | 24 | 45 | 75 | 11 | 4 | 5 | 9 | 2 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,263 | 429 | 427 | 856 | 1,660 | 133 | 39 | 34 | 73 | 152 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | United States | WJC | 7 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 16 | |
| 1990 | United States | WJC | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 18 | |
| 1996 | United States | WCH | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 17 | |
| 1998 | United States | OG | 4 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2002 | United States | OG | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 4 | |
| 2004 | United States | WCH | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 | |
| 2006 | United States | OG | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 14 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 34 | |||
| Senior totals | 28 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 31 | |||
| Preceded by | New Jersey Devils first round draft pick 1989 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | New York Islanders captain 2007–09 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | General manager of the Minnesota Wild 2019–present | Incumbent |
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