John Grahame

John Grahame
Grahame with the Lake Erie Monsters in 2011
Born (1975-08-31) August 31, 1975 (age 49)
Denver, Colorado, U.S.
Height 6 ft 2 in (188 cm)
Weight 220 lb (100 kg; 15 st 10 lb)
Position Goaltender
Caught Left
Played for Boston Bruins
Tampa Bay Lightning
Carolina Hurricanes
Avangard Omsk
National team  United States
NHL draft 229th overall, 1994
Boston Bruins
Playing career 1997–2012

John Gillies Mark Grahame (born August 31, 1975) is an American former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the National Hockey League with the Boston Bruins, Tampa Bay Lightning and Carolina Hurricanes. He won the Stanley Cup with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2004.

Playing career

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Grahame played in the USHL for the Sioux City Musketeers before he was drafted in the ninth round, 229th overall by the Boston Bruins in the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. He then elected to play three years of collegiate hockey with the Lake Superior State Lakers of the CCHA, and would later become the only Lakers goaltender to play more than 50 games in the NHL or win the Stanley Cup.

John turned professional in the 1997–98 season, and was assigned by the Bruins to start for the Providence Bruins. In his second pro year, Grahame returned to the P-Bruins and took the team to the playoffs, leading them to victory in the Calder Cup.

In the 1999–2000 campaign, Grahame started the season back in Providence, but was called up to the Boston Bruins mid-season to back up Byron Dafoe in the Bruins' net, where he played credibly and was second in balloting to the league's all-rookie team. However, a broken ankle in the 2000 offseason took a long time to heal, and Grahame struggled to recapture his form.[1] He played for the next three seasons in Boston before being traded midseason in 2003 to the Tampa Bay Lightning. The following season, Grahame returned to standard, having the best season of his career as a backup for the Stanley Cup-winning club. Grahame's presence allowed starter Nikolai Khabibulin to get extended rest when he needed.

He became Tampa Bay's starting goalie in the 2005–06 NHL season, but was criticized publicly by head coach John Tortorella after consecutive poor starts which contributed to the Lightning being eliminated in the first round of the Playoffs.[2]

Grahame signed a two-year, $2.8 million contract with the Carolina Hurricanes on July 1, 2006.[3] He was placed on waivers by the Hurricanes on January 4, 2008. The Hurricanes called up Michael Leighton from the team's AHL affiliate, the Albany River Rats, to replace him as the team's backup goaltender after Grahame began the season with a 4–6–1 record. The Hurricanes recalled Grahame on January 21.

During this time, Grahame played a single game for the United States Olympic team in the 2006 Winter Olympics, and also was the starter for the United States National Team in the 2007 World Championships.

In May 2008, after the conclusion of the Hurricanes' season, as a free agent, Grahame signed with Avangard Omsk of the new Kontinental Hockey League.

On December 12, 2009, Grahame signed a professional tryout contract for the 2009–10 season with the Philadelphia Flyers AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Phantoms. After playing in 12 games with the Phantoms, Grahame signed a contract with the Colorado Avalanche and was assigned to the injury-hit Lake Erie Monsters on March 3, 2010.[4] He played in 14 games, recording only 4 wins, with the Monsters to finish the season and was re-signed on a one-year contract by the Avalanche on July 2, 2010.[5]

He was brought up to the Avalanche on February 11, 2011, after Craig Anderson went back to Denver for personal reasons. He sat on the bench serving as Peter Budaj's backup for two contests and did not see any playing time. At the end of the 2010–11 season, he retired after the Monsters made it to the playoffs for the first time in their 4-year history.

On March 28, 2012, he briefly came out of retirement and signed a contract with the New York Islanders to serve as a backup for the injury depleted team through the remainder of the 2011–12 season. At the completion of the season he did not manage to feature in a game for the Islanders.[6]

Coaching career

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On September 15, 2011, it was announced the Grahame would become the goaltending coach for the Sioux City Musketeers of the USHL, a team that he had previously played for in his career.[7]

Personal

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He is the son of former professional goaltender Ron Grahame. His father was traded for the draft pick used to select John's future teammate Ray Bourque. His mother, Charlotte was a member of the front office of the Colorado Avalanche team that won the Stanley Cup. John and Charlotte are the first mother and son to get their names engraved on the Stanley Cup.

Career statistics

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Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP W L T OTL MIN GA SO GAA SV% GP W L MIN GA SO GAA SV%
1994–95 Lake Superior State CCHA 28 16 7 3 — 1616 75 2 2.78 .887 — — — — — — — —
1995–96 Lake Superior State CCHA 29 21 4 2 — 1658 67 2 2.42 .904 — — — — — — — —
1996–97 Lake Superior State CCHA 37 19 3 4 — 2197 134 3 3.66 .876 — — — — — — — —
1997–98 Providence Bruins AHL 55 15 31 4 — 3053 164 3 3.22 .898 — — — — — — — —
1998–99 Providence Bruins AHL 48 37 9 1 — 2771 134 3 2.90 .896 19 15 4 1209 48 1 2.38 .912
1999–00 Providence Bruins AHL 27 11 13 2 — 1528 86 1 3.38 .902 13 10 3 839 35 0 2.50 .917
1999–00 Boston Bruins NHL 24 7 10 5 — 1344 55 2 2.46 .910 — — — — — — — —
2000–01 Providence Bruins AHL 16 4 7 3 — 893 47 0 3.16 .899 17 8 9 1043 46 2 2.65 .923
2000–01 Boston Bruins NHL 10 3 4 0 — 471 28 0 3.57 .867 — — — — — — — —
2001–02 Boston Bruins NHL 19 8 7 2 — 1079 52 1 2.89 .897 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Boston Bruins NHL 23 11 9 2 — 1352 61 1 2.71 .902 — — — — — — — —
2002–03 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 17 6 5 4 — 914 34 2 2.23 .920 1 0 1 111 2 0 1.08 .958
2003–04 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 29 18 9 1 — 1688 58 1 2.06 .913 1 0 0 34 2 0 3.53 .882
2005–06 Tampa Bay Lightning NHL 57 29 22 — 1 3152 161 5 3.06 .889 4 1 3 188 15 0 4.79 .847
2006–07 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 28 10 13 — 2 1515 72 0 2.85 .897 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Carolina Hurricanes NHL 17 5 7 — 1 848 53 0 3.75 .875 — — — — — — — —
2007–08 Albany River Rats AHL 7 4 3 — 0 415 21 0 3.04 .912 — — — — — — — —
2008–09 Avangard Omsk KHL 20 9 10 — 1 1195 57 3 2.86 .896 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Adirondack Phantoms AHL 12 2 10 — 0 717 34 0 2.84 .896 — — — — — — — —
2009–10 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 14 4 7 — 3 837 48 0 3.44 .883 — — — — — — — —
2010–11 Lake Erie Monsters AHL 34 19 12 — 2 2009 80 1 2.39 .911 5 2 3 303 13 0 2.58 .918
NHL totals 224 97 86 14 4 12,363 574 12 2.79 .898 6 1 4 333 19 0 3.42 .883

See also

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Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
CCHA All-Tournament Team 1996 [8]
AHL
Calder Cup (Providence Bruins) 1999
NHL
Stanley Cup (Tampa Bay Lightning) 2004

References

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  1. ^ "John Grahame profile". Legends of Hockey. March 20, 2005. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  2. ^ Tim Wharnsby (April 28, 2006). "Tortorella pulls Grahame after second, blasts own goalie's poor performance". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 10, 2008.
  3. ^ "Hurricanes sign John Grahame". Carolina Hurricanes. July 1, 2006. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  4. ^ "Avs sign John Grahame to minor league deal". Denver Post. March 3, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  5. ^ "Avalanche signs Quincey, Winnik and six others". Colorado Avalanche. July 2, 2010. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  6. ^ "Grahame agrees to terms for remainder of 2011-12 season". New York Islanders. March 28, 2012. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
  7. ^ Jordan Berger (September 15, 2011). "NHL Veteran Returns to Coach Musketeers". Retrieved September 15, 2011.[permanent dead link‍]
  8. ^ "2012-13 CCHA Media Guide". ISSUU.com. Retrieved May 27, 2018.
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