Mark Streit
Swiss defenceman who captained the Islanders and won a Stanley Cup.
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Mark Streit is a Swiss former professional ice hockey defenceman who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Montreal Canadiens, New York Islanders, Philadelphia Flyers, and Pittsburgh Penguins. He was one of the few swingmen in the NHL who could play both as a defenceman and as a forward, and he was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2020.
Lore & Background
Streit began his professional career in the Swiss Nationalliga A with Fribourg-Gottéron in 1995–96. After a brief stint in the American Hockey League with the Springfield Falcons, he returned to Switzerland and spent five seasons with the ZSC Lions, winning a Swiss championship in 2001 and back-to-back IIHF Continental Cups in 2001 and 2002. He was drafted by the Montreal Canadiens in 2004 at age 26, unusually old for a draftee.
He made his NHL debut with the Canadiens in the 2005–06 season, appearing in 48 games and recording 11 points. In his third season with Montreal, he emerged as an elite defenceman, finishing third in league scoring among defencemen in 2007–08 with 62 points. He was the Canadiens' nomination for the Bill Masterton Trophy that season.
Reader's Guide
Streit's significance lies in his unusual career path: undrafted out of Switzerland, he developed in the Swiss league and was drafted at 26, then became an elite NHL defenceman. He was one of the few swingmen who could play both defence and forward. After a breakout season with Montreal, he signed a five-year, $20.5 million contract with the New York Islanders in 2008, becoming the second-highest paid Swiss professional athlete behind Roger Federer. He was selected to his first NHL All-Star Game in 2009 and led the Islanders in scoring with 56 points, becoming only the second defenceman to lead his team in scoring since the 2004–05 lockout.
He became the first Swiss-born team captain in NHL history when the Islanders appointed him in 2011. After a shoulder injury sidelined him for the entire 2010–11 season, he returned to play for the Philadelphia Flyers and later won the Stanley Cup with the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2017. He returned to Montreal for a brief stint in 2017 before his contract was terminated by mutual agreement, effectively ending his NHL career. He was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2020.
Career statistics and honours
Regular season and playoffs
| Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Season | Team | League | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
| 1994–95 | HC Fribourg–Gottéron | SUI U20 | 30 | 5 | 10 | 15 | — | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — |
| 1995–96 | HC Fribourg–Gottéron | SUI U20 | 9 | 4 | 8 | 12 | — | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | — |
| 1995–96 | HC Fribourg–Gottéron | NDA | 34 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996–97 | HC Davos | SUI U20 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1996–97 | HC Davos | NDA | 46 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 1997–98 | HC Davos | NDA | 38 | 4 | 10 | 14 | 14 | 18 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 20 |
| 1998–99 | HC Davos | NDA | 44 | 7 | 18 | 25 | 42 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 6 | 8 |
| 1999–00 | Tallahassee Tiger Sharks | ECHL | 14 | 0 | 5 | 5 | 16 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Utah Grizzlies | IHL | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 1999–00 | Springfield Falcons | AHL | 43 | 3 | 12 | 15 | 18 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 2000–01 | ZSC Lions | NLA | 44 | 5 | 11 | 16 | 48 | 16 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 37 |
| 2001–02 | ZSC Lions | NLA | 28 | 7 | 16 | 23 | 36 | 14 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 10 |
| 2002–03 | ZSC Lions | NLA | 37 | 4 | 20 | 24 | 62 | 12 | 1 | 7 | 8 | 2 |
| 2003–04 | ZSC Lions | NLA | 48 | 12 | 24 | 36 | 78 | 13 | 5 | 2 | 7 | 14 |
| 2004–05 | ZSC Lions | NLA | 44 | 14 | 29 | 43 | 46 | 15 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 20 |
| 2005–06 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 48 | 2 | 9 | 11 | 28 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2006–07 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 76 | 10 | 26 | 36 | 14 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2007–08 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 81 | 13 | 49 | 62 | 28 | 11 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 8 |
| 2008–09 | New York Islanders | NHL | 74 | 16 | 40 | 56 | 62 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2009–10 | New York Islanders | NHL | 82 | 11 | 38 | 49 | 48 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2011–12 | New York Islanders | NHL | 82 | 7 | 40 | 47 | 46 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | SC Bern | NLA | 32 | 7 | 19 | 26 | 30 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2012–13 | New York Islanders | NHL | 48 | 6 | 21 | 27 | 22 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 |
| 2013–14 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 82 | 10 | 34 | 44 | 44 | 7 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 2014–15 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 81 | 9 | 43 | 52 | 36 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2015–16 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 62 | 6 | 17 | 23 | 18 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 6 |
| 2016–17 | Philadelphia Flyers | NHL | 49 | 5 | 16 | 21 | 22 | — | — | — | — | — |
| 2016–17 | Pittsburgh Penguins | NHL | 19 | 1 | 5 | 6 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 0 |
| 2017–18 | Montreal Canadiens | NHL | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | — |
| NDA/NLA totals | 395 | 64 | 158 | 222 | 380 | 100 | 16 | 39 | 55 | 111 | ||
| NHL totals | 786 | 96 | 338 | 434 | 374 | 34 | 4 | 11 | 15 | 18 | ||
International
| Year | Team | Event | GP | G | A | Pts | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Switzerland | EJC | 5 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 |
| 1996 | Switzerland | WJC | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 4 |
| 1997 | Switzerland | WJC | 6 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 31 |
| 1997 | Switzerland | OGQ | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1998 | Switzerland | WC | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 |
| 1999 | Switzerland | WC | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 2 |
| 2000 | Switzerland | WC | 7 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 |
| 2001 | Switzerland | WC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 2 |
| 2002 | Switzerland | OG | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 0 |
| 2002 | Switzerland | WC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 4 |
| 2003 | Switzerland | WC | 7 | 0 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| 2004 | Switzerland | WC | 7 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| 2005 | Switzerland | OGQ | 3 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 8 |
| 2005 | Switzerland | WC | 7 | 1 | 6 | 7 | 4 |
| 2006 | Switzerland | OG | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 2006 | Switzerland | WC | 6 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| 2007 | Switzerland | WC | 7 | 1 | 3 | 4 | 6 |
| 2009 | Switzerland | WC | 6 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 8 |
| 2010 | Switzerland | OG | 5 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 |
| 2012 | Switzerland | WC | 7 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 6 |
| 2014 | Switzerland | OG | 4 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| 2015 | Switzerland | WC | 8 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 6 |
| 2016 | Team Europe | WCH | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4 |
| Junior totals | 16 | 4 | 2 | 6 | 41 | ||
| Senior totals | 114 | 13 | 38 | 51 | 74 | ||
Awards and honours
| Award | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| NHL | ||
| NHL All-Star Game | 2009 | |
| Stanley Cup champion | 2017 | |
| International | ||
| IIHF Hall of Fame | 2020 | |
| IIHF All-Time Switzerland Team | 2020 | |
Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Mark Streit (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Mark Streit (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Statistics, medals and awards: the tables of the source article.
- Word definitions: the Codexery glossary, each quoted from its Wikipedia article.
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