Tom Gilbert (ice hockey)

Tom Gilbert
Gilbert with the Montreal Canadiens in 2015
Born (1983-01-10) January 10, 1983 (age 41)
Bloomington, Minnesota, U.S.
Height 6 ft 3 in (191 cm)
Weight 206 lb (93 kg; 14 st 10 lb)
Position Defense
Shot Right
Played for Edmonton Oilers
Minnesota Wild
Florida Panthers
Montreal Canadiens
Los Angeles Kings
Nürnberg Ice Tigers
National team  United States
NHL draft 129th overall, 2002
Colorado Avalanche
Playing career 2006–2021

Thomas Kelly Gilbert[1] (born January 10, 1983) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman. Gilbert played 655 regular season games in the National Hockey League (NHL) for five teams over parts of 12 seasons for the Edmonton Oilers, Minnesota Wild, Florida Panthers, Montreal Canadiens and Los Angeles Kings.

Playing career

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Amateur

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Gilbert played his high school hockey for Minnesota powerhouse Bloomington Jefferson High School and was the captain his senior year, 2001. That same year, he switched to forward from defense, which he played as a sophomore and junior.[2]

Professional

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Known by most scouts for his two-way ability in both ends of the ice,[according to whom?] Gilbert was drafted in the fifth round, 129th overall, at the 2002 NHL Entry Draft by the Colorado Avalanche. He was later traded to the Edmonton Oilers on March 9, 2004, in exchange for struggling goaltender Tommy Salo and a sixth-round draft pick in 2005.[3]

Gilbert played junior hockey with the Chicago Steel of the United States Hockey League (USHL). He made his debut at the University of Wisconsin–Madison with the Badgers in 2002. In the 2005–06 season, he ranked third on the team in points, and also scored the winning goal in the 2006 NCAA Championship game against Boston College.

Gilbert playing for the Edmonton Oilers.

Gilbert made his professional debut in the 2006–07 season with the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins of the American Hockey League (AHL). Through 33 games, he was tied for the team lead in points among defensemen.[citation needed]

Due to injuries, Gilbert was called-up to the NHL in January 2007 and made his NHL debut on his 24th birthday against the San Jose Sharks.[citation needed] He scored his first NHL goal on February 20, 2007, against the Ottawa Senators' Martin Gerber in the final seconds of the game to send it to overtime.[4]

On March 4, 2008, Gilbert surpassed Paul Coffey and Marc-André Bergeron for the Oilers' franchise record for most goals scored by a rookie defenseman in a season with his tenth, which came on the power play against Dan Ellis of the Nashville Predators.[5] On April 11, 2008, Gilbert signed a six-year, $24 million contract extension with the Oilers.[6]

At the NHL trade deadline of the 2011–12 season, on February 27, 2012, Gilbert was traded to the Minnesota Wild in exchange for defenseman Nick Schultz. Gilbert finished the season contributing five assists in 20 games.[7]

After the lockout-shortened 2012–13 season, with the Wild experiencing cap constraints, Gilbert was used as compliance buyout of the remaining two-year of his contract, to be released as a free agent on July 3, 2013.[8]

In September 2013, Gilbert attended the Florida Panthers' pre-season training camp as a free agent, later signing a one-year deal with the club on September 28.[9] He established a regular position within the blueline for the Panthers in 2013–14, and by season's end had produced his best season since 2009, with 28 points in 73 games.

On July 1, 2014, having rediscovered his form with the Panthers, Gilbert signed a two-year contract as an unrestricted free agent with the Montreal Canadiens.[10]

Upon expiry of his contract in Montreal, Gilbert signed a 1 year, $1.4 million contract to join his fifth NHL club, the Los Angeles Kings on July 1, 2016.[11] On February 15, 2017, he was traded two weeks before the trade deadline to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a conditional 5th round draft pick (condition not met, pick not transferred).[12] He played out the season with the Capitals AHL affiliate, the Hershey Bears.

As a free agent, Gilbert left North America after 10 seasons in agreeing to a one-year deal with German outfit, the Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers of the DEL, on July 21, 2017.[13] He signed an extension with the team on July 3, 2018.[14]

Career statistics

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Gilbert at the 2008 IIHF World Championship.

Regular season and playoffs

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Regular season Playoffs
Season Team League GP G A Pts PIM GP G A Pts PIM
1998–99 Bloomington Jefferson High School HS-MN — — — — — — — — — —
1999–00 Bloomington Jefferson High School HS-MN 18 7 18 25 — — — — — —
2000–01 Bloomington Jefferson High School HS-MN 23 20 18 38 — — — — — —
2000–01 Chicago Steel USHL 1 0 0 0 0 — — — — —
2001–02 Chicago Steel USHL 57 13 15 28 62 4 0 0 0 4
2002–03 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 39 7 13 20 36 — — — — —
2003–04 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 39 6 15 21 36 — — — — —
2004–05 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 41 8 9 17 48 — — — — —
2005–06 University of Wisconsin–Madison WCHA 41 11 19 30 28 — — — — —
2006–07 Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins AHL 48 4 26 30 32 10 1 7 8 10
2006–07 Edmonton Oilers NHL 12 1 5 6 0 — — — — —
2007–08 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 13 20 33 20 — — — — —
2008–09 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 5 40 45 26 — — — — —
2009–10 Edmonton Oilers NHL 82 5 26 31 16 — — — — —
2010–11 Edmonton Oilers NHL 79 6 20 26 32 — — — — —
2011–12 Edmonton Oilers NHL 47 3 14 17 12 — — — — —
2011–12 Minnesota Wild NHL 20 0 5 5 8 — — — — —
2012–13 Minnesota Wild NHL 43 3 10 13 18 5 0 0 0 2
2013–14 Florida Panthers NHL 73 3 25 28 18 — — — — —
2014–15 Montreal Canadiens NHL 72 4 8 12 30 12 2 3 5 14
2015–16 Montreal Canadiens NHL 45 1 1 2 12 — — — — —
2016–17 Los Angeles Kings NHL 18 1 4 5 6 — — — — —
2016–17 Ontario Reign AHL 5 0 1 1 4 — — — — —
2016–17 Hershey Bears AHL 25 3 10 13 6 9 0 2 2 0
2017–18 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 49 1 10 11 30 12 0 7 7 4
2018–19 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 31 3 15 18 18 8 1 0 1 6
2019–20 Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers DEL 43 4 12 16 16 — — — — —
2020–21 Nürnberg Ice Tigers DEL 36 2 9 11 12 — — — — —
NHL totals 655 45 178 223 198 17 2 3 5 16

International

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Year Team Event Result GP G A Pts PIM
2008 United States WC 6th 7 1 3 4 0
Senior totals 7 1 3 4 0

Awards and honors

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Award Year
College
All-WCHA Third Team 2004–05
All-WCHA First Team 2005–06
AHCA West Second-Team All-American 2005–06
All-NCAA All-Tournament Team 2006 [15]

References

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  1. ^ "Tom Gilbert". www.uwbadgers.com. Archived from the original on August 23, 2004. Retrieved January 14, 2022.
  2. ^ Kolehmainen, Tim (January 4, 2012). "The slow road". mnhockeyhub.com. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  3. ^ "Avs add depth and grit". ESPN. March 9, 2004. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  4. ^ "Senators nip Oilers in shootout to give coach Murray 600th victory". cbssports.com. February 20, 2007. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019. defenseman Tom Gilbert netted his first NHL goal with 19.9 seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
  5. ^ Dittrick, Ryan (February 20, 2013). "Tom Gilbert returns to Edmonton for the first time as a member of the Minnesota Wild". NHL.com. Archived from the original on February 25, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  6. ^ "Oilers sign Gilbert to six-year deal". Canada.com. April 11, 2008. Archived from the original on November 7, 2012. Retrieved August 14, 2009.
  7. ^ Andresen, Glen (February 27, 2012). "Wild Acquires Tom Gilbert From Edmonton". NHL.com. Archived from the original on May 28, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  8. ^ "Wild will use compliance buyout on Tom Gilbert". Fox Sports. July 3, 2013. Archived from the original on July 5, 2013. Retrieved July 3, 2013.
  9. ^ "Panthers invite Gilbert to training camp". Florida Panthers. September 21, 2013. Archived from the original on September 26, 2013. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
  10. ^ "Montreal Canadiens sign Gilbert, re-sign Weaver". National Hockey League. July 1, 2014. Archived from the original on July 6, 2014. Retrieved July 1, 2014.
  11. ^ "Kings sign free agent defenseman Tom Gilbert". Los Angeles Kings. July 1, 2016. Archived from the original on July 4, 2016. Retrieved July 1, 2016.
  12. ^ "Kings send D Gilbert to Caps". TSN. February 15, 2017. Retrieved February 15, 2017.
  13. ^ "672 NHL games: Tom Gilbert is coming" (in German). Thomas Sabo Ice Tigers. July 21, 2017. Archived from the original on July 22, 2017. Retrieved July 21, 2017.
  14. ^ "ICE TIGERS VERLÄNGERN MIT TOM GILBERT". icetigers.de (in German). July 3, 2018. Archived from the original on July 4, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2019.
  15. ^ "NCAA Frozen Four Records" (PDF). NCAA.org. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
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