Marty McSorley

Martin James McSorley (born May 18, 1963) is a retired Canadian professional hockey player, who played in the National Hockey League from 1983 to 2000. A versatile player, he was able to play both the forward and defense positions. He is also a former head coach of the Springfield Falcons of the American Hockey League (2002–2004). In addition to his hockey career, he has also worked as an actor, appearing in several film and television roles. 
==Biography==
===Early life and hockey career===
McSorley was born in Hamilton, Ontario, but grew up in Cayuga, a small town in Haldimand County.
He made his NHL debut in October, 1983, with the Pittsburgh Penguins, but rose to fame after a trade in September 1985 brought him to the Edmonton Oilers. McSorley's arrival and physical presence soon made Edmonton's incumbent enforcer Dave Semenko expendable, and McSorley inherited the title of "Wayne Gretzky's Bodyguard".
This title would follow McSorley to Los Angeles in 1988, when both he and Gretzky - along with Mike Krushelnyski - were obtained by the Kings. The Kings reached the 1993 Stanley Cup Finals against the Montreal Canadiens, but in Game 2 with the Kings up 2-1, McSorley was caught with an illegal stick, contributing to the Canadiens game-tying goal. Montreal ending up winning that game in overtime and ultimately took the series in five games. McSorley otherwise had ten points in the playoffs and was the only King to score during the final game.
McSorley would remain with the Kings until an August 1993 trade sent him to Pittsburgh in exchange for offensive forward Shawn McEachern; however, his stay in Pittsburgh would be brief, lasting 47 games. The Los Angeles Kings, realizing that trading McSorley had been a mistake, re-acquired him on February 16, 1994. Back with the Kings, McSorley assisted on Gretzky's goal which broke Gordie Howe's all-time record.
On March 14, 1996, McSorley left the Kings' organization for good, as he was traded to the New York Rangers in a multi-player deal.
After completing the 1995-96 season with the Rangers, McSorley returned to the west coast when he was acquired by the San Jose Sharks in August, 1996. He would spend two injury-plagued seasons with the Sharks before returning to Edmonton as a free agent in October, 1998. Confined to a part-time role in his second stint in Edmonton, he left after one season and signed with the Boston Bruins in December, 1999. With the Bruins, McSorley's NHL career would come to a sudden and infamous end in a game against the Vancouver Canucks on February 21, 2000.
==== Assault incident ====
On February 21, 2000, McSorley, playing for the Boston Bruins, swung his stick and hit Donald Brashear in the head with 3 seconds left in the game. Brashear fell backward and hit his head hard on the ice as a result of the stick's contact with his head and helmet. As a result of the fall and hard contact with the ice, Brashear lost consciousness and suffered a grade 3 concussion.
As a result of the stick incident, McSorley was charged with assault and suspended by the NHL for the remainder of the 1999–2000 season (including playoffs) missing 23 games. On October 4, 2000, a jury found McSorley guilty of assault with a weapon for his attack on Brashear. He was sentenced to 18 months probation. The trial was the first for an on-ice attack by an NHL player since 1988.
After his assault conviction his NHL suspension was extended to one full year (through February 21, 2001). This suspension was the longest in NHL history, and McSorley would never play in another NHL game.
==== United Kingdom ====
During his suspension McSorley attempted to continue playing hockey in the United Kingdom with the London Knights where his elder brother Chris was coaching but this move was blocked by the International Ice Hockey Federation in respect to the NHL. A similar intention to play in Germany for the Munich Barons also failed. McSorley would play for the Grand Rapids Griffins in their final IHL season, dressing for 14 contests.
In the autumn of 2001, following the completion of his suspension, McSorley again looked towards the other side of the Atlantic. He considered purchasing the then struggling Cardiff Devils team with his brother in order to pursue a new player-coach role and to develop interest in the sport in the UK.
McSorley appeared as a guest player for both Great Britain and the Cardiff Devils during a series of exhibition games in November 2001, but the business deal failed to materialise.
====Career statistics====
 	 	 		Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season	Regular season		Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs	Playoffs
Season 	Team 	League 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM 		GP 	G 	A 	Pts 	PIM
1981–82 	Belleville Bulls 	OHL 		58 	6 	13 	19 	234 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1982–83 	Belleville Bulls 	OHL 		70 	10 	41 	51 	183 		4 	0 	0 	0 	7
1982–83 	Baltimore Skipjacks 	AHL 		2 	0 	0 	0 	22 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1983–84 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	NHL 		72 	2 	7 	9 	224 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1984–85 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	NHL 		15 	0 	0 	0 	15 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1984–85 	Baltimore Skipjacks 	AHL 		58 	6 	24 	30 	154 		14 	0 	7 	7 	47
1985–86 	Edmonton Oilers 	NHL 		59 	11 	12 	23 	265 		8 	0 	2 	2 	50
1985–86 	Nova Scotia Oilers 	AHL 		9 	2 	4 	6 	34 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1986–87 	Edmonton Oilers 	NHL 		41 	2 	4 	6 	159 		21 	4 	3 	7 	65
1986–87 	Nova Scotia Oilers 	AHL 		7 	2 	2 	4 	48 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1987–88 	Edmonton Oilers 	NHL 		60 	9 	17 	26 	223 		16 	0 	3 	3 	67
1988–89 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		66 	10 	17 	27 	350 		11 	0 	2 	2 	33
1989–90 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		75 	15 	21 	36 	322 		10 	1 	3 	4 	18
1990–91 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		61 	7 	32 	39 	221 		12 	0 	0 	0 	58
1991–92 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		71 	7 	22 	29 	268 		6 	1 	0 	1 	21
1992–93 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		81 	15 	26 	41 	399 		24 	4 	6 	10 	60
1993–94 	Pittsburgh Penguins 	NHL 		47 	3 	18 	21 	139 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1993–94 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		18 	4 	6 	10 	55 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1994–95 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		41 	3 	18 	21 	83 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1995–96 	Los Angeles Kings 	NHL 		59 	10 	21 	31 	148 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1995–96 	New York Rangers 	NHL 		9 	0 	2 	2 	21 		4 	0 	0 	0 	0
1996–97 	San Jose Sharks 	NHL 		57 	4 	12 	16 	186 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1997–98 	San Jose Sharks 	NHL 		56 	2 	10 	12 	140 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
1998–99 	Edmonton Oilers 	NHL 		46 	2 	3 	5 	101 		3 	0 	0 	0 	2
1999–00 	Boston Bruins 	NHL 		27 	2 	3 	5 	62 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
2000–01 	Grand Rapids Griffins	IHL 		14 	0 	2 	2 	36 		- 	- 	- 	- 	-
NHL totals	NHL totals 	NHL totals		961 	108 	251 	359 	3381 		115 	10 	19 	29 	374
===Coaching career===
McSorley coached the American Hockey League team the Springfield Falcons between 2002 and 2004.
==Awards & Achievements==
*1986–87 - NHL - Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
*1987–88 - NHL - Stanley Cup (Edmonton)
==Transactions==
*July 30, 1982 - Signed as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Penguins.
*September 11, 1985 - Traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Tim Hrynewich and Craig Muni to the Edmonton Oilers in exchange for Gilles Meloche.
*August 9, 1988 - Traded by the Edmonton Oilers, along with Wayne Gretzky and Mike Krushelnyski, to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Jimmy Carson, Martin Gelinas, Los Angeles' 1989 1st round draft choice, Los Angeles' 1991 1st round draft choice, Los Angeles' 1993 1st round draft choice and $15 million.
*August 27, 1993 - Traded by the Los Angeles Kings to the Pittsburgh Penguins in exchange for Shawn McEachern.
*February 16, 1994 - Traded by the Pittsburgh Penguins, along with Jim Paek, to the Los Angeles Kings in exchange for Shawn McEachern and Tomas Sandstrom.
*March 14, 1996 - Traded by the Los Angeles Kings, along with Jari Kurri and Shane Churla, to the New York Rangers in exchange for Ray Ferraro, Ian Laperrière, Mattias Norström, Nathan LaFayette and New York's 1997 4th round choice.
*August 20, 1996 - Traded by the New York Rangers to the San Jose Sharks in exchange for Jayson More, Brian Swanson and San Jose's 1997 4th round choice.
*October 1, 1998 - Signed as a free agent with the Edmonton Oilers.
*December 9, 1999 - Signed as a free agent with the Boston Bruins.
==External links==
* 
* hockeyfights.com - Marty McSorley
* IMDB.com Filmography
==References==
Category:Born in 1963
Category:Belleville Bulls alumni
Category:Boston Bruins players
Category:Canadian ice hockey players
Category:Edmonton Oilers players
Category:Los Angeles Kings players
Category:New York Rangers players
Category:Pittsburgh Penguins players
Category:San Jose Sharks players
Category:Stanley Cup champions
Category:Retired in 2001
Category:Undrafted