Joe Vitale (ice hockey)

Playing career

Joe Vitale grew up playing hockey in St. Louis, starting with the 1999 Quebec International Pee-Wee Hockey Tournament as part of the Blues’ minor system. He attended Christian Brothers College High School, where he helped the team win three state titles and go undefeated twice. After that, he spent two seasons with the St. Louis Jr. Blues in the Central States Hockey League, winning a national championship in 2003–04. The following year, he played for the Sioux Falls Stampede in the USHL. The Pittsburgh Penguins selected him 195th overall in the 2005 NHL Draft, and he then headed to Northeastern University. As a freshman in 2005–06, he earned Hockey East Rookie of the Week honors and the school’s Ed Arrington Memorial Rookie of the Year Award. The next season, he became an alternate captain and made the Hockey East All-Academic Team. In his junior year, he was named All-New England, New England’s Most Improved Player, a Second Team All-Hockey East selection, and Northeastern’s MVP. His college run ended when the Huskies lost to Cornell in the first round of the NCAA tournament—their first appearance in 15 years. Over 143 games at Northeastern, he posted 34 goals, 60 assists, 94 points, and 268 penalty minutes.

Turning pro, Vitale signed a one-year entry-level contract with the Penguins on April 3, 2009, for the 2009–10 season, and also inked an amateur tryout with their AHL affiliate, Wilkes-Barre/Scranton. He notched his first professional goal and assist on April 4, 2009, against Albany, finishing the regular season with four points in five games and playing all 12 playoff contests. In 2009–10, he appeared in 74 AHL games, scoring six goals and adding 26 assists for 32 points. The Penguins extended his deal by two years in January 2010. He made his NHL debut on February 10, 2011, against the Los Angeles Kings, and scored his first NHL goal six days later, beating Colorado’s Peter Budaj. A two-year, $1.1 million extension followed on February 3, 2012. As a free agent, Vitale signed a three-year contract with the Arizona Coyotes on July 1, 2014. In his second season there, he fractured an orbital bone in a fight with Boston’s Kevan Miller on October 17, 2015, leading to lingering concussion issues that ended his season on February 11, 2016. On June 24, 2016, the Coyotes traded him, along with two draft picks, to the Detroit Red Wings for Pavel Datsyuk’s cap hit and a pick. He never played for Detroit due to the concussion and retired in July 2017. Back in St. Louis, he became the Blues’ radio color analyst on KMOX starting August 15, 2018, and later added television duties on FanDuel Sports Network Midwest.