Bill Guerin

Lore & Background

Guerin was drafted in the 1989 NHL entry draft fifth overall by the New Jersey Devils and played with the team from 1991 to 1998, winning the Stanley Cup in 1995. Midway through the 1997–98 season, Guerin was traded (with Valeri Zelepukin) to the Edmonton Oilers for Jason Arnott and Bryan Muir. In November 2001, Guerin was traded to his hometown team, the Boston Bruins. After a 41-goal season in 2001–02, Guerin signed a five-year contract with the Dallas Stars.

He performed below expectations with the Stars. Dallas bought out the remainder of his contract after a disappointing season in 2005–06 in which he recorded just 37 points (13 goals, 24 assists) in 70 games. The Stars had to pay two-thirds of the remaining salary on his contract spread over twice as many years; this meant $6.7 million over two years became $4.466 million over four years. On July 3, 2006, Guerin signed a one-year, $2 million contract with the St. Louis Blues.

Playing on a line with former Oiler teammate Doug Weight, Guerin revived his career, easily eclipsing his disappointing goal-scoring mark from the 2005–06 season. He was named to the 2007 All-Star Game (hosted by the Stars) to represent the Blues. Despite numerous criticisms of his play during his time as a Star, Guerin received a standing ovation from the Dallas fans at the All-Star Game in recognition of his career achievements. On February 2, 2007, Guerin became the 214th NHL player to play in 1,000 games.

Later that month, he was traded to the San Jose Sharks for Ville Nieminen, prospect Jay Barriball, and a conditional first-round pick (either New Jersey's in 2007 or San Jose's in 2008). During the subsequent offseason, Guerin signed a two-year contract with the New York Islanders. On July 9, 2007, he was named captain of the Islanders, making him the 11th captain in team history. On March 4, 2009, Guerin was traded to the Pittsburgh Penguins for a conditional draft pick.

The pick, a 2009 fourth-round pick if the Penguins made the playoffs, was later turned into a 2009 third-round pick once the Penguins advanced to the second round of the 2009 Stanley Cup playoffs. Guerin won the Stanley Cup on June 12, 2009, with the Penguins, defeating the Detroit Red Wings by a final score of 2–1 for game seven at Joe Louis Arena.

Reader's Guide

On June 6, 2011, the Penguins hired Guerin as their player development coach. On June 6, 2014, Penguins general manager Jim Rutherford announced that Guerin would be promoted to assistant general manager of the team. Rutherford said that Guerin would be focusing on developing the analytical side of the game. Following consecutive Stanley Cup triumphs in 2016 and 2017, the Penguins announced that Guerin's duties would expand to include the role of general manager of their American Hockey League (AHL) affiliate, the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins, made vacant via the departure of Jason Botterill to the NHL's Buffalo Sabres. On August 21, 2019, Guerin was named the fourth general manager of the Minnesota Wild. On March 21, 2022, Guerin was named the TSN TradeCentre GM of the Day, for his transactions at the 2022 NHL Trade Deadline.