Alex Tanguay Alexandre Joseph Jean Tanguay ( born November 21 , 1979 ) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey winger who played for the Colorado Avalanche , Calgary Flames , Montreal Canadiens , Tampa Bay Lightning and Arizona Coyotes in the National Hockey League ( NHL ) and briefly for HC Lugano in the Swiss National League A in 2004 . An offensive player , he is best known for his passing and playmaking ability . An alumnus of the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League ( QMJHL ) , Tanguay is the team ' s all - time leading scorer and had his jersey retired . During his junior career , he was also a member of Canada ' s under - 20 team at the 1998 IIHF World Championships . Selected in the first round , 12th overall , by the Colorado Avalanche at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft , he began his NHL career with Colorado in 1999 . Tanguay won a Stanley Cup with Colorado in 2001 , scoring the championship - winning goal in Game 7 against the New Jersey Devils . Individually , he was nominated for the Calder Memorial Trophy following his rookie season and was chosen to the 2004 NHL All - Star Game during his six - year tenure with Colorado . In July 2006 , he was traded to the Flames and spent two years with the club before single - season stints with the Montreal Canadiens and Tampa Bay Lightning . In July 2010 , he returned to Calgary , signing as an unrestricted free agent . After three seasons with Calgary , he returned to Colorado for the 2013 – 14 season . In February 2016 , Tanguay was traded from the Avalanche to the Arizona Coyotes . On February 16th 2017 , Tanguay retired . Playing career . Junior . Following a season of midget AAA hockey with the Cap - de - Madeleine Estacades , Tanguay joined the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League ( QMJHL ) for the 1996 – 97 season . He played 70 games , scored 27 goals and 68 points and was named to the QMJHL All - Rookie Team . The following season , he improved to 47 goals and 85 points in 51 league games . He was a member of the 8th place Canadian junior team at the 1998 World Junior Hockey Championship , finishing second in team - scoring with three points in seven games . In a draft in which they had four first - round selections , the Colorado Avalanche made Tanguay their first pick , 12th overall , at the 1998 NHL Entry Draft . He was invited to Colorado ' s training camp that fall , and impressed the team such that he made the team as an 18 - year - old . However , Tanguay and the Avalanche were unable to come to terms on a contract and he was instead returned to Halifax for the 1998 – 99 QMJHL season . A few games into his third season with the Mooseheads , he tied a franchise record with five points in one game , an 11 – 3 victory over the Baie - Comeau Drakkar on October 9 , 1998 , then tied another record with four goals in a 6 – 1 defeat of the Drummondville Voltigeurs six nights later . However , he suffered a concussion early in the season which forced him out of the lineup for 28 games . Though he was limited to 31 contests in 1998 – 99 , he scored 27 goals and 61 points . Tanguay finished his junior career as the Mooseheads ' all - time leader in goals ( 101 ) , assists ( 113 ) and points ( 214 ) . In honour of his accomplishments , the team retired his # 18 jersey in 2005 . Having replaced his agent following his earlier inability to sign with Colorado , Tanguay agreed to a contract with the Avalanche during the season and was assigned to Colorado ' s American Hockey League affiliate , the Hershey Bears , after his junior season ended . He scored one goal and two assists in five regular season games and added two assists in five playoff games . Colorado Avalanche . Tanguay made his NHL debut on October 5 , 1999 , against the Nashville Predators and scored his first point that night , recording an assist on a Claude Lemieux goal as part of a 3 – 2 Colorado win . He scored at least one point in his first five NHL games , including his first NHL goal on October 8 against Peter Skudra of the Pittsburgh Penguins . He was named to play in the YoungStars Game as part of 2002 NHL All - Star weekend , but did not play due to injury . Though he struggled at times adjusting to play in the NHL , he finished the season second in the league amongst rookies with 51 points , 19 behind rookie - leader Scott Gomez . In his sophomore season of 2000 – 01 , Tanguay improved to 77 points and finished sixth in the NHL in plus / minus at + 35 . He enjoyed an 11 - game point streak in November 2000 , scoring six goals and 13 assists in that span . He was a key contributor for the Avalanche in the post season , recording 21 points . In game seven of the 2001 Stanley Cup Finals , Tanguay scored two goals , including the game - winner , and added an assist in a 3 – 1 victory against the New Jersey Devils . His efforts led Colorado to its second Stanley Cup championship in franchise history . After falling to 48 points over 70 games in , Tanguay rebounded in to score 67 points . During the season , he had a career best 16 - game point streak which set a Colorado team record . He also scored his first career NHL hat trick on March 22 , 2003 , against the Chicago Blackhawks . He was nearly traded to the Boston Bruins early in the season when both he and the team were struggling . Colorado had offered Tanguay and Martin Skoula to Boston for Martin Lapointe and Kyle McLaren , though the deal failed to materialize . He improved to a new personal best of 79 points in , good enough for ninth place in league scoring , while his 54 assists tied him for fourth in the NHL The league named him to the Western Conference team at the 2004 All - Star Game . While the was season cancelled by a labour dispute , Tanguay signed to play for HC Davos of the Swiss National League A . He appeared in six games with Davos , scoring six points . He returned to the Avalanche in , and despite missing ten games late in the year with a knee injury , set a personal best with 29 goals , while his 78 points was one short of his career high . Tanguay scored two goals in an April 15 , 2006 , game against the Vancouver Canucks to reach 400 points for his career . Though he was the team ' s second leading scorer , Tanguay continued to be the subject of trade talks throughout the season . Set to become a restricted free agent in July 2006 , the Avalanche chose to trade his negotiating rights to the Calgary Flames at the 2006 NHL Entry Draft in exchange for defenceman Jordan Leopold and two second round draft picks . Tanguay felt that the team chose to trade him after he failed to live up to the team ' s expectations in the playoffs even though he continued to struggle with his knee injury . The Flames quickly signed Tanguay to a three - year contract worth US $ 15 . 75 million . Calgary Flames . Tanguay enjoyed a career season in , his first in Calgary , scoring a career high 81 points in 81 games . He was second on the team in scoring , and led the Flames with 57 assists . Additionally , he played in his 500th career game on February 2 , 2007 , against the Columbus Blue Jackets . The season was a difficult one for Tanguay , as speculation that he would not mesh well with new coach Mike Keenan ' s style resulted in his being the subject of trade rumours throughout the year . Pre - season fears of a conflict with Keenan were realized , as the coach reduced his time on the power play and forced him into a defensive role he was not comfortable with . Unhappy with being pushed into a checking role , and believing that the way Keenan was using him was not allowing him to give the Flames fair value on his contract , Tanguay requested a trade at the Christmas break . He and general manager Darryl Sutter agreed to keep it quiet so as not to become a distraction to the team , although Tanguay ' s request was revealed in the off - season . He suffered offensively , falling to 58 points . Montreal and Tampa Bay . Two years after being acquired by Calgary in a draft - day trade , he left the Flames in another such deal . At the 2008 NHL Entry Draft on June 20 , 2008 , the Flames granted his request and sent Tanguay to the Montreal Canadiens , along with a fifth round draft pick , in exchange for a first round pick in 2008 and a second rounder in 2009 . Tanguay accepted the trade to Montreal despite previously saying he would never want to play for the Canadiens and expressing worries about being a French - Canadian player in the Montreal spotlight . Tanguay recovered offensively to begin the season . He was named Montreal ' s player of the month in October after scoring a team - high six goals and 11 assists . He registered his 500th career point with a goal in a November 20 game against the Edmonton Oilers , and entered December as one of the leading vote getters for the 2009 All - Star Game . He ranked third in team - scoring at the end of the month when he suffered a separated left shoulder as a result of a hit by Evgeny Artyukhin of the Tampa Bay Lightning . He missed two months as a result and appeared in a career - low 50 games . The Canadiens chose not to re - sign Tanguay following the season . He instead agreed to a one - year , $ 2 . 5 million contract with the Tampa Bay Lightning for the season after passing a physical exam on his shoulder . He struggled for most of the season with the Lightning , at one point lamenting that he had " forgotten how to play " . It ended as the worst season of his career , as Tanguay finished with 10 goals , 37 points and had a negative plus - minus ( −2 ) for the first time in his career . Back to Calgary . Tanguay opted to return to Calgary , signing a one - year , $ 1 . 7 million contract for the season . He said that the Flames , who were now coached by Brent Sutter , were one of his top choices and that he felt he had unfinished business with the team . Tanguay added that the team expressed confidence in his abilities even as others doubted him following his injuries . The decision proved successful , as Tanguay re - established himself as one of his team ' s top offensive players . He finished second to Jarome Iginla in team scoring with 69 points , and led the Flames with 47 assists . Following the season , the Flames signed him to a five - year contract extension worth $ 17 . 5 million . An upper body injury forced Tanguay out of the Flames ' lineup for 15 games in 2011 - 12 . The team never identified the injury , which was speculated to be a concussion . He still finished third in team scoring , with 49 points in 64 games . Tanguay again finished third in team scoring in the lockout - shortened 2012 - 13 NHL season , scoring 27 points in 40 games . On February 2 , 2013 , in a 3 – 2 shoot - out defeat to the Chicago Blackhawks , Tanguay registered his 500th career assist on a Dennis Wideman goal . His season was again impacted by injury , as he missed the Flames ' final games of the campaign after suffering a sprained medial collateral ligament in a game against the Phoenix Coyotes . Return to Colorado . With the Flames embracing a rebuild of the team , on June 27 , 2013 , Tanguay was traded back to his original club , the Colorado Avalanche , along with Cory Sarich in exchange for Shane O ' Brien and David Jones . In his homecoming game with the Avalanche in their season opener for the 2013 - 14 season , Tanguay posted 3 assists in a 5 - 0 victory over the Anaheim Ducks . He was instrumental in Colorado ' s league best start to the season until he suffered a knee injury after 13 games in a contest against the Montreal Canadiens on November 2 , 2013 . Tanguay missed the next 36 games before returned to play on January 24 , 2014 , against the Florida Panthers . Tanguay was limited to just 3 further appearances with the club before he was ruled out for the remainder of the season to undergo hip surgery on February 21 , 2014 . In his 16 games , Tanguay totalled 11 points and helped the Avalanche to a 15 - 1 record when in the line - up . In the final season of his contract with the Avalanche in 2015 - 16 , Tanguay struggled to retain his offensive role in the top six , registering just 4 goals in 52 games . On February 29 , 2016 Tanguay was traded to the Arizona Coyotes along with Conner Bleackley and Kyle Wood in exchange for Mikkel Boedker . He made a successful transition and played out the season in contributing with 13 points in 18 games . As a unrestricted free agent over the following summer , Tanguay proceeded to go un - signed into the 2016 - 17 season . On February 16 , 2017 , he officially noted his retirement from professional hockey in accepting a Studio analyst role for the NHL Network . Playing style . Tanguay is best known for his playmaking skills and ability to set his teammates up for scoring opportunities . His speed and passing skills are considered his strongest attributes . Calgary teammates Olli Jokinen and Jarome Iginla both praised his ability to find a way to pass the puck to them in difficult plays . He has been criticized for not shooting the puck enough , resulting in the view that his goal totals could be higher . Tanguay has good shooting ability ; he led the league in shooting percentage in 2005 – 06 and finished third in 2006 – 07 with an average of 23 . 2 % both seasons . He is also a top player in the shootout , and led the league with 10 shootout goals in 2010 – 11 . Personal life . Tanguay was born on November 21 , 1979 in the town of Sainte - Justine , Quebec . His father worked with the family - owned transportation company , while his mother worked at a nearby school division . His younger brother , Maxime , is also a professional hockey player . Tanguay is distantly related to French - Canadian author , and fellow Sainte - Justine native , Roch Carrier . Tanguay grew up a fan of the Quebec Nordiques and frequently accompanied his grandfather to their games . Owing to the nature of the Battle of Quebec rivalry with the Canadiens that existed when he was growing up , Tanguay admitted unease at joining the Canadiens in 2008 . Tanguay and his wife Helene have three children , a daughter named Maya and sons Blake and Samuel . . The two volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society ; in the 2010 – 11 season , he donated $ 200 for every assist he recorded . With 47 assists , the total reached $ 9 , 400 ; Tanguay established at the beginning of the season , however , that he would donate a minimum of $ 10 , 000 .