| Matt Niskanen | |||
|---|---|---|---|
 Niskanen with theWashington Capitals in April 2018 | |||
| Born | (1986-12-06)December 6, 1986 (age 38) Virginia,Minnesota, U.S. | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 204 lb (93 kg; 14 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Defense | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Dallas Stars Pittsburgh Penguins Washington Capitals Philadelphia Flyers | ||
| National team |  United States | ||
| NHL draft | 28th overall,2005 Dallas Stars[1] | ||
| Playing career | 2007–2020 | ||
Matthew Norman Niskanen (born December 6, 1986) is anAmerican former professionalice hockeydefenseman. He played 13 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) with theDallas Stars,Pittsburgh Penguins,Washington Capitals, andPhiladelphia Flyers from 2007 to 2020.
He was drafted by the Stars in the first round, 28th overall, in the2005 NHL Entry Draft. Niskanen won theStanley Cup as a member of the Capitals in2018.
Niskanen isAmerican-Finn and he has roots fromFinland.[2][3]
Niskanen played ice hockey forVirginia High School in theMinnesota State High School League from 2003 to 2005,[4] and was on the Blue Devils' roster at their first state hockey tournament appearance in 2005.[5] In addition to hockey, Niskanen playedbaseball andAmerican football,[6] and appeared in the state quarterfinals for the Mountain Iron-Buhl Rangersnine-man football team in 2004.[5] He chose to commit to hockey after his high school graduation, citing it as his strongest sport.[6]
Niskanen attended theUniversity of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). At the2005 NHL Entry Draft, he was selected in the first round, 28th overall, by theDallas Stars.
In 2005-06, his freshman season for theBulldogs men's ice hockey team, he recorded 14 points in 38 games. Before that, Niskanen played for the Virginia/Mountain Iron-Buhl boys' hockey team and helped bring the Blue Devils to their first state high school tournament appearance in school history. During 2006–07, his sophomore season at UMD, he scored 9 goals and 22 assists in 39 games. Niskanen was named to the 2006–07 All WCHA First Team,[7] and the All WCHA academic Team.[8]
Niskanen decided to leave college and turn professional after his sophomore season at UMD.[9] On March 19, 2007, he signed an amateur tryout contract with theIowa Stars—the Dallas Stars'American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate at the time—for the remainder of the2006–07 season. He later signed a three-year NHL contract with the Dallas Stars which began in2007–08. He subsequently made the Stars' 2007–08 NHL roster out of training camp.
Niskanen made his NHL regular season debut against theColorado Avalanche on October 3, 2007 to open the2007–08 season. He recorded his first NHL points against theBoston Bruins two nights later with two assists. His first NHL goal came on October 29, 2007, against theSan Jose Sharks. Niskanen had an excellent rookie start with the Stars, leading the team in plus/minus at mid-season, which resulted in his being invited to the Young Stars game during the2008 NHL All-Star weekend.
On February 21, 2011, Niskanen was traded (along with teammateJames Neal) to thePittsburgh Penguins in exchange for defensemanAlex Goligoski.[10]
During the2013–14 season, on March 4, 2014, Niskanen had his first multi-goal game with a two-goal effort in a 3–1 win over theNashville Predators away at theBridgestone Arena.[11] In the final year of his contract with the Penguins and approaching free agency, Niskanen finished the season establishing new career highs in goals (10) and assists (36) for 46 points.
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On July 1, 2014, Niskanen signed a seven-year, $40.25 million contract as a free agent with theWashington Capitals.[12]
In the2017–18 season, Niskanen continued to play top-four pairing minutes with the Capitals, posting 7 goals and 29 points in 68 games. He recorded nine points and appeared in all 24 games of the playoffs while logging over 25 minutes of ice time to help the Washington Capitals claim their firstStanley Cup.
Returning for his 12th season in the NHL in2018–19, Niskanen contributed with 8 goals and 17 assists for 25 points in 80 regular season games for the Capitals. He posted 2 assists in 7 playoff games; the Capitals exited the playoffs with a first-round defeat to theCarolina Hurricanes.
On June 14, 2019, with two-years still remaining on his contract, Niskanen was traded by the Capitals to thePhiladelphia Flyers in exchange for defencemanRadko Gudas.[13] In the2019–20 season, Niskanen played alongsideIvan Provorov on the Flyers' top pairing and placed second among Flyers defensemen with 33 points in 68 games. On February 21, Niskanen was fined $5,000 USD, the maximum allowable under theNHL Collective Bargaining Agreement, for aslashing penalty againstColumbus Blue Jackets forwardGustav Nyquist.[14] At the time that the2019–20 NHL season was suspended due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, Niskanen had recorded 124 hits, 84 blocked shots, and eight goals.[15]
During the2020 Stanley Cup playoffs, Niskanen was suspended for one game for across-check againstMontreal Canadiens wingerBrendan Gallagher that fractured Gallagher's jaw.[16] Niskanen produced one goal and one assist in 15 postseason games for Philadelphia.
With one season remaining on his contract, Niskanen announced his sudden retirement from professional hockey on October 5, 2020, at the age of 33.[17] His agent Neil Sheehy reported that the decision resulted from uncertainty surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic and the medical protocols taken by the NHL.[18]
Niskanen has represented theUnited States at various international competitions at the junior and professional level. His first time representing the United States in international competition was at the2006 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships. In 2016, he was chosen to represent the United States in the2016 World Cup of Hockey, along with fellow CapitalsJohn Carlson andT. J. Oshie,.[19]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 2003–04 | Virginia High School | HS-MN | 32 | 24 | 37 | 61 | 28 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2004–05 | Virginia High School | HS-MN | 29 | 27 | 38 | 65 | 34 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2005–06 | University of Minnesota Duluth | WCHA | 38 | 1 | 13 | 14 | 40 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | University of Minnesota Duluth | WCHA | 39 | 9 | 22 | 31 | 42 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006–07 | Iowa Stars | AHL | 13 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 12 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 10 | ||
| 2007–08 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 78 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 36 | 16 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 10 | ||
| 2008–09 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 80 | 6 | 29 | 35 | 52 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2009–10 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 74 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 18 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Dallas Stars | NHL | 45 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2010–11 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 18 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 20 | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | ||
| 2011–12 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 75 | 4 | 17 | 21 | 47 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2012–13 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 40 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 12 | 15 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 11 | ||
| 2013–14 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 81 | 10 | 36 | 46 | 51 | 13 | 2 | 7 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2014–15 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 82 | 4 | 27 | 31 | 47 | 14 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 0 | ||
| 2015–16 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 82 | 5 | 27 | 32 | 38 | 12 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | ||
| 2016–17 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 78 | 5 | 34 | 39 | 32 | 13 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 19 | ||
| 2017–18 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 68 | 7 | 22 | 29 | 36 | 24 | 1 | 8 | 9 | 8 | ||
| 2018–19 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 8 | 17 | 25 | 41 | 7 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 2019–20 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 68 | 8 | 25 | 33 | 29 | 15 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | ||
| NHL totals | 949 | 72 | 284 | 356 | 489 | 140 | 6 | 36 | 42 | 74 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | Result | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | United States | WJC | 4th | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | |
| 2009 | United States | WC | 4th | 9 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | |
| 2016 | United States | WCH | 7th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Junior totals | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||||
| Senior totals | 12 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 2 | ||||
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| College | ||
| All-WCHAFirst Team | 2007 | |
| NHL | ||
| NHL YoungStars Game | 2008 | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 2018 | [20] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dallas Stars first round draft pick 2005 | Succeeded by |