Joffrey Lupul

Lore & Background

Lupul played major junior hockey with the Western Hockey League's Medicine Hat Tigers before being drafted seventh overall in 2002. He made the Anaheim lineup directly out of the WHL, but during the 2004–05 NHL lockout he was assigned to the AHL's Cincinnati Mighty Ducks for the entire season. In the 2006 Stanley Cup playoffs, he became the first player in NHL playoff history to cap a three-goal game with an overtime goal, scoring all Duck goals in a 4–3 win over the Colorado Avalanche in Game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

After the 2005–06 season, Lupul was traded to the Edmonton Oilers as part of a deal for Chris Pronger. He spent one season in Edmonton before being traded to the Philadelphia Flyers. During his first season with the Flyers, he suffered a spinal cord contusion after a collision with teammate Derian Hatcher but returned after about a month. He scored the series-winning goal in overtime of Game 7 in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals against the Washington Capitals. In 2009, he was traded back to Anaheim in another deal involving Pronger. Back surgery and a subsequent blood infection limited him to 23 games in the 2009–10 season, and he missed a total of 12 months of playing time.

In February 2011, Lupul was traded to the Toronto Maple Leafs, where he transitioned from right wing to left wing. In the 2011–12 season, he was invited to the NHL All-Star Game as an alternate captain and finished with a career-high 67 points despite missing games due to season-ending shoulder surgery. He was a finalist for the Bill Masterton Memorial Trophy. During the 2012–13 NHL lockout, he played for Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg in the KHL. Injuries continued to affect his time in Toronto, including a fractured forearm and a concussion. He scored his 200th career goal in November 2015. By February 2016, rumors circulated about whether he could continue playing at the NHL level, and he was placed on long-term injured reserve before the 2016–17 season.

Reader's Guide

Joffrey Lupul's NHL career was marked by both notable achievements and persistent injuries. He was a first-round draft pick who made an immediate impact, most famously becoming the first player in NHL playoff history to score a hat trick capped by an overtime goal during Anaheim's 2006 playoff run. He was traded multiple times, often in deals involving star defenseman Chris Pronger, and played for four NHL teams. His time with the Toronto Maple Leafs saw a career-high 67 points in 2011–12, earning him an All-Star selection and a Masterton Trophy nomination. However, his career was also defined by a series of serious injuries—including a spinal cord contusion, back surgery, a blood infection, a shoulder separation, a fractured forearm, and a concussion—that caused him to miss significant playing time. By the end of his tenure with the Maple Leafs, he had missed 40% of the team's games over four seasons due to injury, leading to speculation about his ability to continue playing. He was placed on long-term injured reserve and did not play in the 2016–17 season.

Did You Know?

• He was traded three times in deals involving Chris Pronger, twice going from Anaheim to another team and once returning to Anaheim.
• After joining Toronto in 2011, Lupul transitioned from right wing to left wing.
• He scored his 200th career NHL goal on November 14, 2015, in a 4–2 victory over the Vancouver Canucks.