Nieuwendyk Enters Hockey's Shrine

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former Cornell standout Joe Nieuwendyk has been selected to the Hockey Hall of Fame 2011 class.  Nieuwendyk, in his second year of eligibility, will be inducted along with three others during the 2011 Induction Weekend festivities which will run from Friday, November 11 through Sunday, November 13, cumulating with the Induction Celebration Monday, November 14 at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto, Ont.  

Prior to joining the NHL in the 1986-87 season, Nieuwendyk played three seasons at Cornell University.  He excelled in Ithaca, being named a First Team All-ECAC Hockey selection in 1986 and 1987, as well as an All-American.  He was voted as the League’s Rookie of the Year after the 1984-85 season and the League’s Player of the Year after the 1986-87 season.  The productive center played 73 games during his three-year career amassing 68 goals and 91 assists for the Big Red.    

Nieuwendyk’s NHL playing career spanned in three different decades (1980s, 1990s, & 2000s) on five different teams (Calgary Flames, Dallas Stars, New Jersey Devils, Toronto Maple Leafs, & Florida Panthers).  He is one of only ten players in Stanley Cup history to win the Cup with three different teams (1989-Calgary, 1999-Dallas, & 2003-New Jersey).  

The former second round selection in the 1985 NHL Entry Draft (27th overall) played his first full season with Calgary in the 1987-88 season, scoring 51 goals, including 31 power-play goals and eight game-winning goals and became one of only a handful of players to score more than 50 goals in their rookie NHL season.  He won the Calder Trophy as best league rookie and was named to the NHL All-Rookie Team.  While in Calgary, he won a Stanley Cup in 1989 and set career highs with 51 goals (twice), 50 assists, and 95 points.  He served as team captain from 1991 to 1995.

In December of 1995, he was traded to the Dallas Stars where he won another Stanley Cup and was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the most valuable player in the 1999 playoffs.  During the Cup run he would tie a then-record by netting six game-winning goals.  He played in Dallas from 1995 through 2001.  

During the 2001-02 season, he was traded to the New Jersey Devils where he won his third Stanley Cup with his third different team.  In New Jersey Nieuwendyk reached numerous milestones including reaching the marks of 500 goals, 500 assists, and 1,000 points.  After playing just over a season in New Jersey (94 games), he signed with the Toronto Maple Leafs in the summer of 2003.  He played one season with the Maple Leafs before finishing his career with the Florida Panthers.  In his first full season with the Panthers the crafty centerman tallied 56 points in 65 contests.

On December 6, 2006, the four-time NHL All-Star retired from the game due to chronic back problems, ending a career that lasted 20 NHL seasons.  He finished his career with 564 goals and 562 assists for a total of 1,126 points.  

On the international stage, Nieuwendyk represented Canada at the 1986 World Junior Championships, at the 1990 World Championships, and was a two-time member of Canada’s Winter Olympic team (1998 & 2002).

Nieuwendyk was named as the 10th general manager in Dallas Stars franchise history on May 31, 2009.  The former Stars player returned to Dallas from the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he served as special assistant to the general manager in 2008-09.  Prior to joining the Leafs and after his 2006 retirement, Nieuwendyk worked as a special consultant to the general manager with the Florida Panthers.  As assistant general manager, he also helped lead Team Canada at the 2009 IIHF World Hockey Championship when the team won a silver medal.

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