New York Rangers Players Codexery

Ryan Malone

First Pittsburgh-born player to suit up for the Penguins.

Last updated

Ryan Gregory Malone (born December 1, 1979), known as "Bugsy", is a retired American professional ice hockey forward. He played in the National Hockey League for the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning, and New York Rangers. In 2003, he became the first player born and trained in Pittsburgh to appear in an NHL game for the Penguins.

Pittsburgh Penguins

The Penguins selected Malone in the fourth round, 115th overall, of the 1999 NHL entry draft. He grew up near Pittsburgh, attending Upper St. Clair High School for two years. For his junior year, he played hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota—a school later attended by Zach Parise and Sidney Crosby. As a senior, he played for the Omaha Lancers of the United States Hockey League and attended Millard North High School.

After graduating high school, he played four seasons at St. Cloud State University. Following his final college season, he played three games in the 2002–03 season with the American Hockey League's Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. He played 81 games in his rookie NHL season with Pittsburgh in 2003–04, finishing third on the team in scoring behind Dick Tärnström and Aleksey Morozov. He did not rejoin the Penguins until the 2005–06 season, spending the 2004–05 lockout playing in Finland, Italy, and Switzerland.

During the 2006–07 season, Malone played on a line with Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi. On December 13, 2006, he recorded his first four-point NHL game against the Philadelphia Flyers. Two days later, he scored his first NHL hat-trick against the New York Islanders. With that, Malone and his father, Greg Malone, became only the second father-son duo in NHL history to score hat-tricks for the same team, following Ken Hodge Sr. and Ken Hodge Jr. On February 19, 2007, he achieved another oddity against the Islanders by scoring his second career hat-trick with a goal in the first minute of each period.

In January 2008, Malone and defenseman Darryl Sydor were named alternate captains for the Penguins after Mark Recchi left and Gary Roberts suffered a long-term injury. In Game 1 of the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Niklas Kronwall checked Malone and broke his nose. In Game 5, Malone took a Hal Gill slapshot to the face, opening a gash on his cheek and damaging his nose again; he returned for the rest of the game.

Lore & Background

Malone was born near Pittsburgh and attended Upper St. Clair High School for two years before playing hockey at Shattuck-St. Mary's in Faribault, Minnesota, and later with the Omaha Lancers of the USHL. He played four seasons at St. Cloud State University before turning professional. Malone made his NHL debut with the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 2003–04 season, finishing third on the team in scoring. During the 2004–05 lockout, he played in Finland, Italy, and Switzerland.

Playing on a line with Sidney Crosby and Mark Recchi in 2006–07, Malone recorded his first four-point NHL game and his first NHL hat-trick. He and his father, Greg Malone, became the second father-son duo in NHL history to score hat-tricks for the same team. In January 2008, he was named an alternate captain for the Penguins. During the 2008 Stanley Cup Finals, Malone suffered a broken nose from a check by Niklas Kronwall and later took a slapshot to the face from Hal Gill, returning to the game.

After signing a seven-year, $31.5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning in 2008, Malone won a silver medal with the United States at the 2010 Winter Olympics. In April 2014, he was arrested for DUI and cocaine possession in Tampa, Florida. The Lightning bought out the final year of his contract in June 2014, making him an unrestricted free agent.

Reader's Guide

Malone's tenure with the New York Rangers was brief. He signed a one-year, two-way contract worth $700,000 on September 11, 2014. After being placed on waivers on November 2, 2014, an injury to Mats Zuccarello allowed the Rangers to use Malone for another game without an emergency call-up. He was officially assigned to the Rangers' AHL affiliate, the Hartford Wolf Pack, on November 10, 2014.

In six games with the Rangers, Malone recorded six shots on goal and 14 hits. On February 3, 2015, after telling the Rangers he was no longer interested in playing professionally, the team placed him on waivers to terminate his contract. He cleared waivers on February 4, and his contract was terminated, making him a free agent. Malone later attempted a comeback in 2017 with a professional try-out contract with the Minnesota Wild, but was released after missing selection to the U.S. Olympic team for the 2018 Winter Olympics.

Career statistics and honours

Medals

Regular season and playoffs

Regular seasonPlayoffs
SeasonTeamLeagueGPGAPtsPIMGPGAPtsPIM
1995–96Upper St. Clair High SchoolHS–PA——————————
1996–97Upper St. Clair High SchoolHS–PA——————————
1997–98Shattuck–Saint Mary'sHS–Prep5041448569—————
1998–99Omaha LancersUSHL51142236811224623
1999–00St. Cloud State UniversityWCHA389213068—————
2000–01St. Cloud State UniversityWCHA367182552—————
2001–02St. Cloud State UniversityWCHA4124254976—————
2002–03St. Cloud State UniversityWCHA2716203685—————
2002–03Wilkes–Barre/Scranton PenguinsAHL30112—————
2003–04Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL8122214364—————
2004–05BluesSM-l921336—————
2004–05Ritten SportITA1061720644836
2004–05HC Ambrì–PiottaNLA—————10002
2005–06Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL7722224463—————
2006–07Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL641615317150000
2007–08Pittsburgh PenguinsNHL77272451103206101625
2008–09Tampa Bay LightningNHL7026194598—————
2009–10Tampa Bay LightningNHL6921264768—————
2010–11Tampa Bay LightningNHL54142438511833624
2011–12Tampa Bay LightningNHL6820284882—————
2012–13Tampa Bay LightningNHL2462822—————
2013–14Tampa Bay LightningNHL575101567—————
2014–15New York RangersNHL60004—————
2014–15Hartford Wolf PackAHL2445929—————
2017–18Iowa WildAHL1202216—————
2022Team Fuhr3ICE10415——————
NHL totals647179191370693439132249

International

YearTeamEventResultGPGAPtsPIM
2004United StatesWCBronze93032
2006United StatesWC7th722412
2010United StatesOGSilver63256
Senior totals22841220

Awards and honours

AwardYear
NHL
All-Rookie Team2004

Tables copied from the source article, totals included as the source gives them: Wikipedia: Ryan Malone (CC BY-SA 4.0). Wide tables scroll sideways.

More in New York Rangers Players

Test yourself

Three questions drawn from this entry’s sources. Pick an answer to check it.

1. In what year was Ryan Malone drafted?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1999.

From the source: “Malone was drafted in the fourth round, 115th overall, by his hometown team, the Pittsburgh Penguins in the 1999 NHL entry draft.”

2. Which team drafted Ryan Malone?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is Pittsburgh Penguins.

From the source: “He played in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Pittsburgh Penguins, Tampa Bay Lightning and New York Rangers.”

3. In what year was Ryan Malone born?

Correct.

Not quite. The answer is 1979.

From the source: “Ryan Gregory Malone (born December 1, 1979), nicknamed "Bugsy", is an American former professional ice hockey forward.”

Answers checked against the source article

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.

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