Éric Bélanger

**Éric Bélanger** (born December 16, 1977) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey centre. He played parts of 16 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL). He played for the Los Angeles Kings, Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers, Minnesota Wild, Washington Capitals, Phoenix Coyotes, and Edmonton Oilers. Outside of the NHL, he also played for the HC Bolzano of the Serie A and Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

## Career

Before playing in the NHL, Bélanger played parts of three seasons with the Beauport Harfangs and one season with the Rimouski Océanic of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League (QMJHL).

He was drafted 96th overall by the Los Angeles Kings in the 1996 NHL entry draft. He was immediately sent down to the AHL-affiliate Halifax Citadels. He played 6 games with the Citadels, scoring 4 goals and recording 4 assists for 8 points. On October 6, 2000, the Kings called him up and he made his NHL debut in a 4–1 win against the Washington Capitals. During the second period, Bélanger also scored his first NHL goal against Craig Billington. After the NHL went into a lockout, he decided to head overseas and signed a contract to play for the HC Bolzano of the Serie A. He scored 13 goals and recorded 10 assists for 23 points in 12 games. He returned to the Kings after the lockout ended.

On September 29, 2006, the Kings traded Bélanger along with Tim Gleason to the Carolina Hurricanes in exchange for Oleg Tverdovsky and Jack Johnson. With the Hurricanes, he scored 8 goals and recorded 12 assists for 20 points in 56 games.

On February 9, 2007, the Hurricanes traded Bélanger to the Nashville Predators in exchange for Josef Vašíček. He never played a game for them and was traded the next day to the Atlanta Thrashers in exchange for Vitaly Vishnevskiy. With the Thrashers, he scored 9 goals and recorded 6 assists for 15 points in 24 games.

On July 3, 2007, Bélanger signed a three-year, $5.25 million contract to join the Minnesota Wild. He spent parts of three seasons with the Wild.

On March 3, 2010, the Wild traded Bélanger to the Washington Capitals in exchange for a 2010 second-round pick. With the Capitals, he scored 2 regular season goals and recorded 4 assists for 6 points in 17 games.

On July 3, 2007, Bélanger signed a one-year, $750,000 contract to join the Phoenix Coyotes. With the Coyotes, he scored 13 regular season goals and recorded 27 assists for 40 points in 82 games.

On July 1, 2011, Bélanger signed a three-year, $5.25 million contract to join the Edmonton Oilers. During his two seasons with the Oilers, he did not have much success. He only scored 5 goals and recorded 15 assists for 19 points in 104 games. On July 4, 2013, the Oilers waived and bought out the rest of his contract, making him a free agent.

On July 15, 2013, Bélanger decided to leave the NHL and went overseas after signing a one-year contract to join Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg of the Kontinental Hockey League (KHL).

On September 25, 2013, Bélanger announced that he was retiring from playing professional ice hockey.

## Infobox (ice hockey player)

- **image**: Eric Belanger Oilers.jpg
- **caption**: Bélanger during his time with the Edmonton Oilers on January 5, 2012
- **position**: Centre (ice hockey), Centre
- **shoots**: Left
- **birth place**: Sherbrooke, Quebec
- **height ft**: 5
- **height in**: 11
- **weight lb**: 185
- **league**: National Hockey League, NHL
- **played for**: Los Angeles Kings
HC Bolzano
Carolina Hurricanes
Atlanta Thrashers
Minnesota Wild
Washington Capitals
Arizona Coyotes, Phoenix Coyotes
Edmonton Oilers
Avtomobilist Yekaterinburg
- **draft**: 96th overall
- **draft year**: 1996
- **draft team**: Los Angeles Kings
- **career start**: 1997
- **career end**: 2013