Chris Higgins (ice hockey)

Lore & Background

Higgins played college hockey for the Yale Bulldogs of the ECAC Hockey Conference, earning ECAC Rookie of the Year as a freshman and ECAC Player of the Year as a sophomore. He was the first ECAC player selected in the first round of the NHL draft since Normand Lacombe in 1983. After signing with the Canadiens, he spent two seasons with their AHL affiliate, the Hamilton Bulldogs, before joining the NHL full-time in 2005–06. He was named an alternate captain for the Canadiens in the 2007–08 season and recorded his first NHL hat-trick on November 11, 2008, against the Ottawa Senators.

Traded to the New York Rangers in June 2009, Higgins struggled offensively and was dealt to the Calgary Flames in February 2010. He scored his first goal with the Flames on March 9, 2010, an empty-netter against the Detroit Red Wings, but suffered a foot injury two days later that ended his season. He signed with the Florida Panthers as a free agent in July 2010, but was traded to the Vancouver Canucks at the 2011 trade deadline. With the Canucks, he reached the Stanley Cup Finals, playing through a broken left foot sustained in the second round. He re-signed with Vancouver to a two-year contract in July 2011.

Reader's Guide

Chris Higgins' NHL career is notable for his early success as a 20-goal scorer with the Montreal Canadiens, where he achieved personal bests of 27 goals and 52 points in the 2007–08 season. His tenure with the Canadiens included being named an alternate captain and recording a hat-trick, but his production declined thereafter. After being traded to the New York Rangers and then the Calgary Flames, he failed to regain his earlier form, though he contributed to the Flames briefly before a foot injury cut his season short. His most significant playoff run came with the Vancouver Canucks in 2011, where he scored four goals and eight points in 25 games, including three game-winners, tying a franchise record for most game-winning goals in a single playoff season. Despite playing with a broken foot, he helped the Canucks reach Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Finals. Higgins' career illustrates the volatility of NHL performance and the impact of injuries, as well as the value of depth forwards in deep playoff runs. He later transitioned into coaching, becoming the skills and development coach for the Vancouver Canucks.

Did You Know?

• He recorded his first NHL hat-trick on November 11, 2008, in a 4–0 win against the Ottawa Senators.
• During the 2011 playoffs, Higgins tied Geoff Courtnall (1994) for the most game-winning goals in a single postseason by a Canucks player, with three.
• He played through a staphylococcal infection in his foot that was initially misdiagnosed as 'skate bite' and then a spider bite.