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Today in Hockey History: Aug. 30
Aug. 30 has proven to be a newsworthy day in the history of the National Hockey League. A longtime and successful general manager got his first job, one of the greatest European players of all-time signed his final NHL contract and the face of a franchise hung up his skates for good.
Poile Gets His First Gig
The Washington Capitals made a big move by hiring 32-year-old David Poile, on Aug. 30, 1982, as their new general manager. After finishing up a successful playing career at Northeastern University, Poile took a job with the expansion Atlanta Flames in 1972. Eventually, he worked his way up to the assistant general manager role before being hired by the Capitals.
Poile went out and immediately traded for defenseman Rod Langway from the Montreal Canadiens. Langway won the Norris Trophy, for being the best defenseman in the league, in each of his first two seasons with the team.
(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
The Capitals made their first-ever Stanley Cup playoff appearance in Poile’s first season. They made it to the postseason every season after that until 1996. Polie was fired following the 1996-97 season after the Capitals fail to qualify for the playoffs. He was quickly hired by the Nashville Predators and remains the team’s one and only general manager to this day.
Some of Poile’s most notable draft picks for the Capitals include Kevin Hatcher, Keith Jones, Olaf Kolzig, Peter Bondra and Sergei Gonchar.
Selanne’s Victory Lap
On Aug. 30, 2013, Teemu Selanne signed a final one-year contract with the Anaheim Ducks and announced that the 2013-14 season will be his final one in the NHL. He played 64 games in his 21st season in the league and scored nine goals and 27 points. He added two goals and six points in the final 12 Stanley Cup playoff games of his Hall of Fame career.
(Photo by Garrett Ellwood/NHLImages)
Selanne played in 1,451 NHL games at the time of his retirement with 966 of those during two stints with the Ducks, the third-most in team history. He is still the franchise’s all-time leader with 457 goals and 988 points. Only Ryan Getzlaf has more than Selanne’s 531 assists with the Ducks.
Doan Calls it a Career
A former teammate of Selanne’s, Shane Doan, announced his retirement on Aug. 29, 2017. He began his 21-season career with the Winnipeg Jets in 1995 after they drafted him with the seventh overall pick in the 1995 NHL Entry Draft.
(Amy Irvin / The Hockey Writers)
Doan moved with the team to Arizona after his rookie season. In 2003, he named the Coyotes’ team captain and keeps the “C” on his sweater until his retirement. He spent his entire career with the Jets/Coyotes franchise. He is the all-time leader games played (1,540), goals (402), assists (570) and points (972).
Odds & Ends
The Canadiens acquired goaltender Denis Herron and a second-round draft pick, on Aug. 30, 1979, from the Pittsburgh Penguins for forwards Pat Hughes and Robbie Holland. Herron appeared 86 games for the Canadiens over the next three seasons. He won the Vezina Trophy in 1981 and the Jennings Trophy in 1982 for helping the Canadiens allow the fewest goals in the NHL.
On Aug. 30, 1994, the Canadiens named Kirk Muller the 20th team captain in franchise history. He replaced Guy Carbonneau, who was traded to the St. Louis Blues earlier in the month. Muller’s captaincy only lasts 33 games before he is traded to the New York Islanders, with Mathieu Schneider and Craig Darby, for Pierre Turgeon and Vladimir Malakhov. Mike Keane takes over as captain after Muller is traded.
The Coyotes signed goaltender Zac Bierk on Aug. 30, 2003. Bierk is not best known for his 47 games in the NHL, but rather for being the younger brother of Sebastian Bach, the lead singer of the hard rock band Skid Row. He spent two seasons with the Coyotes, appearing in 20 games with an impressive .924 save percentage and 2.46 goals-against average.
Veteran center Dominic Moore signed with the Boston Bruins on Aug. 30, 2016, after spending the previous three seasons with the New York Rangers. The Bruins were the 10th different team Moore played for in his 13-season career. He played in all 82 games of the 2016-17 season and scored 11 goals and 25 points. He returned for a second stint with the Toronto Maple Leafs the following season, which would be his final in the NHL.
Happy Birthday to You
There have been 16 players born on this date who have played in the NHL.
The first to do so was Duke Dukowski, born on Aug. 30, 1902. He played in 200 games with the Chicago Blackhawks, New York Americans and Rangers between 1927 and 1934. The last Aug. 30 birthday boy to play in the league was defenseman Nikita Tryamkin, who turns 26 today. He played in 79 games for the Vancouver Canucks starting in 2016, before returning to the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL) in Russia.
Other notable players born this date include Jean-Guy Gendron (86), Lowell MacDonald (79) and the previously mentioned Malakhov (52).
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