Nigel Dawes Nigel Dawes ( born February 9 , 1985 ) is a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger for Barys Astana . Before joining Barys , he played for the Montreal Canadiens , the Atlanta Thrashers and the Calgary Flames of the National Hockey League ( NHL ) . He has also played for the New York Rangers and Phoenix Coyotes during his career . Playing career . Dawes played junior hockey for the Kootenay Ice in the Western Hockey League . In his first year , 2001 – 02 , the Ice won the Memorial Cup after winning the Presiant ' s Cup as champions of the WHL . Dawes improved his play in his next two seasons in the WHL , and , for the 2003 – 04 season , he was named a first team All - Star in the Western Conference , the winner of the Brad Hornung Trophy ( most sportsmanlike ) , and the Ice ' s most valuable player . Dawes was drafted in the fifth round , 149th overall , in the 2003 NHL Entry Draft by the New York Rangers , after two seasons in the WHL . After three seasons of junior hockey and four games in the American Hockey League for the Hartford Wolf Pack at the end of the 2003 – 04 season , the Rangers signed Dawes to his first professional contract on September 1 , 2004 , when he was 19 years old . Dawes went on to play another season with the Ice , recognized for his talent as a finalist for the Four Broncos Memorial Trophy ( WHL player of the year ) , before breaking into the professional game in the AHL . Dawes finished his Kootenay Ice career as the franchise leader in goals , with 159 scored in 245 games . Dawes scored his first NHL goal against Andrew Raycroft on October 21 , 2006 in the Rangers 5 – 4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs . After playing in seven games then being a healthy scratch for seven of the next eight , Dawes was sent down to play with the Wolf Pack for the rest of the 2006 – 07 season . He returned to play in the Rangers ' final game of the playoffs on May 6 , 2007 . Game six against the Buffalo Sabres in the Eastern Conference Semifinals was Dawes ' s first NHL playoff game . While Dawes was trying to block a shot , the first Sabres goal deflected off of his body to go into the net past goalie Henrik Lundqvist . The Rangers lost the game 5 – 4 to lose the series 4 – 2 . Over a year after his first goal , Dawes recorded his first NHL assist on a goal by Brandon Dubinsky against Marc - André Fleury on November 8 , 2007 . That goal was also Dubinsky ' s first NHL goal , scored in the Rangers 4 – 2 win against the Pittsburgh Penguins . Dawes seemed to have a decided advantage against New Jersey Devils goaltender Martin Brodeur during the 2007 – 08 season , scoring four of his 14 goals against Brodeur and getting into Brodeur ' s head by scoring a winning shootout goal on March 19 , 2008 , which Brodeur later called lucky . However , Dawes had become a good shootout option for the Rangers , scoring four times on seven attempts at that point . During regular play , played as high as the second line at points during the 2007 - 08 season . On July 16 , 2008 , Dawes re - signed with the Rangers to a one - year , $ 587 , 500 contract . On March 4 , 2009 , Dawes was traded to the Phoenix Coyotes along with Dmitri Kalinin and Petr Průcha for Derek Morris . On July 16 , 2009 Dawes was claimed off waivers by the Calgary Flames . On September 8 , 2010 , Dawes signed a 1 year two - way contract with the Atlanta Thrashers worth $ 600 , 000 in the NHL and $ 105 , 000 in the AHL . He was traded on February 24th , 2011 , to the Montreal Canadiens , along with Brent Sopel for Ben Maxwell and a 4th - round pick in the 2011 NHL Entry Draft . On May 31 , 2011 , Dawes left the NHL and signed a one - year contract with Kazakh based KHL team , Barys Astana . International play . Dawes played for Canada in the 2004 and 2005 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships , winning silver and gold medals , respectively . In 2004 , Dawes led all players with six goals to go along with five assists in six games , tying for first with 11 points . Two goals and one assist came in the gold medal game against the United States , after which Dawes was named as Canada ' s player of the game . He registered two goals and four assists in six games in 2005 . Personal . His mother is Canadian and his father is Jamaica n . He hails from the city of Winnipeg , Manitoba .