| Mike Gartner | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Hockey Hall of Fame, 2001 | |||
 Gartner with theWashington Capitals in 1981 | |||
| Born | (1959-10-29)October 29, 1959 (age 65) Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | ||
| Height | 6 ft 0 in (183 cm) | ||
| Weight | 190 lb (86 kg; 13 st 8 lb) | ||
| Position | Right wing | ||
| Shot | Right | ||
| Played for | Cincinnati Stingers Washington Capitals Minnesota North Stars New York Rangers Toronto Maple Leafs Phoenix Coyotes | ||
| National team |  Canada | ||
| NHL draft | 4th overall,1979 Washington Capitals | ||
| Playing career | 1978–1998 | ||
Michael Alfred Gartner (born October 29, 1959) is a Canadian former professionalice hockeyright winger who played 19 seasons in theNational Hockey League (NHL) for theWashington Capitals,Minnesota North Stars,New York Rangers,Toronto Maple Leafs andPhoenix Coyotes. He also played one season in theWorld Hockey Association (WHA) for theCincinnati Stingers. He was a two-timeCanada Cup champion with Team Canada.
In 2017, Gartner was named one of the100 Greatest NHL Players in the league's 100-year history. Inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame (HHOF) in 2001, Gartner has been a member of the HHOF Selection Committee since 2009, and its Chair since 2022.
Gartner was born inOttawa,Ontario. As a youth, Gartner played in the 1972Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament with aminor ice hockey team fromToronto.[1]
Gartner was drafted in the 1st round, 4th overall, by theWashington Capitals in the1979 NHL Entry Draft. He started his professional career in the WHA as an underager with theCincinnati Stingers in1978–79. He played on a line withMark Messier and had a successful campaign, finishing second toWayne Gretzky for Rookie-of-the-Year honors. With the WHA folding at the end of the season, he played the next season with the Capitals, and would play for them for the better part of ten seasons. He recorded an assist in his NHL debut on October 11, 1979, versus theBuffalo Sabres, and he wore number eleven for the Caps.
Gartner had a solid season in1979–80, winning the Capitals' Rookie of the Year and MVP awards, as well as being voted by their fans as the team's Most Promising Player. He also led the team with 36 goals. Gartner was traded to theMinnesota North Stars on March 7, 1989, withLarry Murphy forDino Ciccarelli andBob Rouse. He left the Capitals as the team's all-time leader in career goals, assists and points, as of November 2023 he stands third in goals and points and fifth in assists.[2]However, Gartner only lasted one season with Minnesota and was traded to theNew York Rangers on March 6, 1990, forUlf Dahlén, a draft pick and future considerations. He had a strong start with the Rangers scoring two goals in his debut versus thePhiladelphia Flyers. He scored eleven goals and sixteen points in the remaining twelve regular-season games the Rangers played that year. In1991–92, he became the first player in NHL history to score his 500th goal, 500th assist, 1000th point and play in his 1000th game all in the same season. The next season, Gartner became the first Ranger to score at least 40 goals in three consecutive seasons. He also scored four goals in theNHL All-Star Game and earned the All-Star Game MVP award.
Gartner was traded to theToronto Maple Leafs forGlenn Anderson, a minor leaguer, and a draft pick at the trade deadline on March 21,1994.[3] The deal was driven by Rangers head coachMike Keenan who disliked Gartner for his lack of grit and disappointing performances in the playoffs. Rangers general managerNeil Smith convinced his Maple Leafs counterpartCliff Fletcher to agree to the trade by noting that Gartner had one year left on his contract while Anderson was expected to become afree agent at season's end.[4] Gartner played with the Leafs until 1996, when he was traded to thePhoenix Coyotes, who had just re-located fromWinnipeg. Gartner scored the first goal and hat trick in Phoenix history on October 7 against theBoston Bruins, in the franchise's second game since relocation. He played two seasons with the Coyotes before retiring in August 1998.
Gartner was active with theNHL Players Association. He served as president of theNHLPA from 1996 until his retirement in 1998 and served as Chairman of the Goals & Dreams program with theNHLPA. He resigned from the NHLPA on March 19, 2007.[5]
Gartner has been a member of theHockey Hall of Fame Selection Committee in 2009,[6] and its Chair since 2022.[7] He was announced as chair-elect of the Hall as a whole, to replaceLanny McDonald whose term expires in June 2025.[8]
Despite his long impressive career, Gartner never won the Stanley Cup nor played in the Cup Finals, never won an NHL award, and was never named to the postseason All-Star Team, being one of the few NHL players with this distinction to be inducted into theHockey Hall of Fame.Dino Ciccarelli likewise never managed any of these accolades, although he made the Cup Finals twice.
Gartner was a member of the New York Rangers team that would go on to win the championship in 1994, but he was traded to Toronto at the trade deadline. However, Gartner got farther than he ever would in the playoffs that same year, as the Maple Leafs made it to the Western Conference Finals before losing to theVancouver Canucks in 5 games. He was traded close to the NHL trading deadline three times in his career, and had a knack for producing immediately for those teams, as in a combined 35 games with his new teams during the regular season after the mid-season deals, he had 24 goals, 18 assists, 42 points, and a +16 rating.
Gartner was noted for his consistency during his career, as he led his team in goals nine times during his career and scored 30 or more goals each year for the first 15 seasons of his NHL career, setting a record that has since been tied but not surpassed. Despite scoring 50 goals only once in a single season, Gartner became only the fifth player in NHL history to reach 700 goals.
Gartner was also known for his blazing on-ice speed and ability to beat defenders down the ice.[9]
The Washington Capitals retired Gartner's #11 in a ceremony before their game against the Toronto Maple Leafs on December 28, 2008.[10]
During the 1996 Super Skills competition, Gartner had set the record for the fastest skater event with a time of 13.386 (Full course standing start). The record stood for 20 years untilDylan Larkin of theDetroit Red Wings broke it with a skating/running start2016.[11] In the 2017 All-Star Game,Connor McDavid of theEdmonton Oilers set a time of 13.310 beating Gartner (standing start) but not Larkin (running start).[12]
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | ||
| 1975–76 | Toronto Young Nationals | MTHL | 26 | 18 | 18 | 36 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1975–76 | St. Catharines Black Hawks | OMJHL | 3 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 2 | ||
| 1976–77 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OMJHL | 62 | 33 | 42 | 75 | 125 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1977–78 | Niagara Falls Flyers | OMJHL | 64 | 41 | 49 | 90 | 56 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1978–79 | Cincinnati Stingers | WHA | 78 | 27 | 25 | 52 | 123 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | ||
| 1979–80 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 77 | 36 | 32 | 68 | 66 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1980–81 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 48 | 46 | 94 | 100 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1981–82 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 35 | 45 | 80 | 121 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1982–83 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 73 | 38 | 38 | 76 | 54 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 | ||
| 1983–84 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 40 | 45 | 85 | 90 | 8 | 3 | 7 | 10 | 16 | ||
| 1984–85 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 50 | 52 | 102 | 71 | 5 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 9 | ||
| 1985–86 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 74 | 35 | 40 | 75 | 63 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 12 | 4 | ||
| 1986–87 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 78 | 41 | 32 | 73 | 61 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1987–88 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 80 | 48 | 33 | 81 | 73 | 14 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 14 | ||
| 1988–89 | Washington Capitals | NHL | 56 | 26 | 29 | 55 | 71 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1988–89 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 13 | 7 | 7 | 14 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | ||
| 1989–90 | Minnesota North Stars | NHL | 67 | 34 | 36 | 70 | 32 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1989–90 | New York Rangers | NHL | 12 | 11 | 5 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 8 | 12 | ||
| 1990–91 | New York Rangers | NHL | 79 | 49 | 20 | 69 | 53 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 | ||
| 1991–92 | New York Rangers | NHL | 76 | 40 | 41 | 81 | 55 | 13 | 8 | 8 | 16 | 4 | ||
| 1992–93 | New York Rangers | NHL | 84 | 45 | 23 | 68 | 59 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | New York Rangers | NHL | 71 | 28 | 24 | 52 | 58 | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 1993–94 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 10 | 6 | 6 | 12 | 4 | 18 | 5 | 6 | 11 | 14 | ||
| 1994–95 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 38 | 12 | 8 | 20 | 6 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 2 | ||
| 1995–96 | Toronto Maple Leafs | NHL | 82 | 35 | 19 | 54 | 52 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 4 | ||
| 1996–97 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 82 | 32 | 31 | 63 | 38 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | ||
| 1997–98 | Phoenix Coyotes | NHL | 60 | 12 | 15 | 27 | 24 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 18 | ||
| NHL totals | 1,432 | 708 | 627 | 1,335 | 1,159 | 122 | 43 | 50 | 93 | 125 | ||||
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | Canada | WJC | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |
| 1981 | Canada | WC | 8 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 8 | |
| 1982 | Canada | WC | 10 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 6 | |
| 1983 | Canada | WC | 10 | 4 | 1 | 5 | 12 | |
| 1984 | Canada | CC | 8 | 3 | 2 | 5 | 10 | |
| 1987 | Canada | CC | 9 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | |
| 1993 | Canada | WC | 7 | 3 | 4 | 7 | 12 | |
| Junior totals | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 4 | |||
| Senior totals | 52 | 19 | 11 | 30 | 54 | |||
Gartner and his wife Colleen have two sons, Joshua and Dylan, and a daughter Natalie.[17][18] They reside inShanty Bay, Ontario.
Gartner is aborn-again Christian, and was introduced to the faith during his playing days by former Washington teammateJean Pronovost. His son, Josh, played goalie forYale University and right wing for theTuck School of Business A-Team in the Upper Valley Hockey League.[19]
Gartner and his former teammate,Wes Jarvis, are business partners and own three skating rinks in the Greater Toronto Area located inNewmarket, Ontario,Richmond Hill, Ontario, andBarrie,Ontario.[20]
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Washington Capitals first round draft pick 1979 | Succeeded by |
| Sporting positions | ||
| Preceded by | NHLPA President September 13, 1993 – 1998 | Succeeded by |
